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10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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270 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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279 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
280 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
283 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
284 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
285 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
286 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
287 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
288 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
289 License'' in the Emacs manual.
291 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
292 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
293 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
295 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
296 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
297 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
298 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
306 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
308 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
309 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
311 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
312 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
313 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
314 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
315 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
316 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
317 License'' in the Emacs manual.
319 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
320 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
321 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
323 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
324 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
325 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
326 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
334 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
337 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
338 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
339 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
341 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
342 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
343 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
344 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
345 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
346 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
347 License'' in the Emacs manual.
349 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
350 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
351 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
353 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
354 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
355 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
356 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
365 @top The Gnus Newsreader
369 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
370 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
371 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
374 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v.
385 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
386 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
388 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
389 being accused of plagiarism:
391 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
392 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
393 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
394 can even read news with it!
396 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
397 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
398 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
399 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
400 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
406 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
407 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
408 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
409 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
410 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
411 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
412 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
413 * Various:: General purpose settings.
414 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
415 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
416 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
417 * Key Index:: Key Index.
420 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
424 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
425 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
426 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
427 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
428 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
429 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
430 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
431 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
432 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
433 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
434 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
438 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
439 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
440 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
444 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
445 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
446 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
447 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
448 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
449 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
450 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
451 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
452 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
453 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
454 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
455 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
456 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
457 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
458 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
459 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
460 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
464 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
465 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
466 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
470 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
471 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
472 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
473 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
474 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
478 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
479 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
480 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
481 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
485 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
486 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
487 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
488 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
489 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
491 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
492 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
493 * Threading:: How threads are made.
494 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
495 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
496 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
497 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
498 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
499 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
500 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
501 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
502 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
503 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
504 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
505 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
506 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
507 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
508 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
509 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
510 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
511 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
512 or reselecting the current group.
513 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
514 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
515 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
516 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
518 Summary Buffer Format
520 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
521 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
522 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
523 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
527 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
528 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
530 Reply, Followup and Post
532 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
533 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
534 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
535 * Canceling and Superseding::
539 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
540 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
541 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
543 * Generic Marking Commands::
544 * Setting Process Marks::
548 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
549 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
550 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
554 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
555 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
557 Customizing Threading
559 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
560 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
561 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
562 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
566 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
567 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
568 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
569 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
570 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
571 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
575 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
576 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
577 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
581 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
582 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
583 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
584 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
585 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
586 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
587 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
588 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
590 Alternative Approaches
592 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
593 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
595 Various Summary Stuff
597 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
598 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
599 * Summary Generation Commands::
600 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
604 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
605 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
606 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
607 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
608 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
612 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
613 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
614 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
615 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
616 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
617 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
618 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
619 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
623 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
624 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
625 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
626 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
627 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
628 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
629 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
630 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
634 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
635 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
636 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
637 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
638 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
639 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
640 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
644 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
645 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
649 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
650 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
651 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
655 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
656 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
657 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
658 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
659 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
660 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
661 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
662 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
663 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
664 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
665 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
666 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
667 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
668 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
672 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
673 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
674 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
676 Choosing a Mail Back End
678 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
679 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
680 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
681 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
682 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
683 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
687 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
688 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
689 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
690 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
691 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
692 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
696 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
697 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
698 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
702 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
703 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
704 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
705 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
706 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
710 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
714 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
715 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
716 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
720 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
721 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
725 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
726 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
727 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
728 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
729 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
730 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
731 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
732 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
733 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
734 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
738 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
739 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
740 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
744 * Group Agent Commands::
745 * Summary Agent Commands::
746 * Server Agent Commands::
750 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
751 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
752 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
753 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
754 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
755 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
756 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
757 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
758 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
759 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
760 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
761 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
762 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
763 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
764 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
765 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
766 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
770 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
771 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
772 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
773 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
777 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
778 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
779 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
783 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
784 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
785 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
786 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
787 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
788 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
789 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
790 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
791 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
792 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
793 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
794 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
795 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
796 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
797 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
798 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
799 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
800 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
804 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
805 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
806 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
807 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
808 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
809 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
810 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
811 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
815 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
816 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
817 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
818 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
822 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
823 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
824 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
825 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
826 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
830 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
831 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
832 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
833 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
834 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
835 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
836 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
840 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
841 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
842 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
843 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
844 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
845 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
846 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
847 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
848 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
852 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
853 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
854 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
855 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
856 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
860 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
861 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
862 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
863 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
867 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
868 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
869 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
870 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
871 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
872 * Group Info:: The group info format.
873 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
874 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
875 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
879 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
880 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
881 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
882 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
883 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
884 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
888 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
889 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
893 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
894 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
900 @chapter Starting Gnus
905 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
906 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
909 @findex gnus-other-frame
910 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
911 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
912 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
914 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
915 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
916 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
918 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
919 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
922 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
923 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
924 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
925 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
926 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
927 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
928 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
929 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
930 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
931 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
932 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
936 @node Finding the News
937 @section Finding the News
940 @vindex gnus-select-method
942 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
943 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
944 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
945 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
948 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
949 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
952 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
955 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
958 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
961 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
962 certainly be much faster.
964 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
966 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
967 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
968 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
969 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
970 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
971 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
973 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
974 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
975 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
976 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
978 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
979 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
980 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
981 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
982 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
983 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
984 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
985 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
986 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
989 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
991 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
992 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
993 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
994 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
995 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
996 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
998 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1000 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1001 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1002 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1003 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1004 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1005 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1008 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1009 you would typically set this variable to
1012 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1016 @node The First Time
1017 @section The First Time
1018 @cindex first time usage
1020 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1021 be subscribed by default.
1023 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1024 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1025 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1026 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1029 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1030 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1031 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1033 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1034 help you with most common problems.
1036 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1037 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1041 @node The Server is Down
1042 @section The Server is Down
1043 @cindex server errors
1045 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1046 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1047 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1049 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1050 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1051 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1052 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1053 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1054 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1055 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1057 @findex gnus-no-server
1058 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1060 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1061 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1062 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1063 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1064 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1065 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1066 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1070 @section Slave Gnusae
1073 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1074 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1075 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1076 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1078 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1079 @code{.newsrc} file.
1081 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1082 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1083 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1084 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1085 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1086 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1087 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1089 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1090 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1091 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1092 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1093 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1094 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1095 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1096 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1098 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1099 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1102 @node Fetching a Group
1103 @section Fetching a Group
1104 @cindex fetching a group
1106 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1107 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1108 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1109 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1110 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1111 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1117 @cindex subscription
1119 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1120 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1121 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1122 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1123 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1124 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1125 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1126 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1127 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1130 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1131 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1132 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1136 @node Checking New Groups
1137 @subsection Checking New Groups
1139 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1140 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1141 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1142 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1143 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1144 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1145 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1146 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1147 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1148 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1150 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1151 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1152 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1153 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1154 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1155 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1156 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1157 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1158 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1159 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1160 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1162 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1163 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1164 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1165 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1166 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1167 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1170 @node Subscription Methods
1171 @subsection Subscription Methods
1173 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1174 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1175 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1177 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1178 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1180 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1184 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1185 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1186 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1187 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1188 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1190 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1191 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1192 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1193 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1195 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1196 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1197 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1199 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1200 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1201 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1202 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1203 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1204 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1205 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1206 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1207 up. Or something like that.
1209 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1210 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1211 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1212 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1213 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1215 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1216 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1217 Kill all new groups.
1219 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1220 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1221 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1222 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1223 topic parameter that looks like
1229 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1232 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1237 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1238 A closely related variable is
1239 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1240 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1241 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1242 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1245 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1246 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1247 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1248 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1251 @node Filtering New Groups
1252 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1254 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1255 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1256 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1259 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1262 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1263 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1264 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1265 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1266 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1267 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1268 subscribing these groups.
1269 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1270 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1272 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1273 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1274 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1275 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1276 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1277 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1278 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1279 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1281 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1282 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1283 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1284 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1285 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1286 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1287 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1288 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1289 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1290 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1292 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1293 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1296 @node Changing Servers
1297 @section Changing Servers
1298 @cindex changing servers
1300 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1301 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1302 very flaky and you want to use another.
1304 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1305 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1309 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1310 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1311 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1312 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1315 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1316 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1317 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1318 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1320 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1321 @findex gnus-change-server
1322 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1323 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1324 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1325 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1326 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1328 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1329 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1330 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1331 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1332 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1334 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1335 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1336 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1337 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1338 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1339 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1341 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1342 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1343 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1347 @section Startup Files
1348 @cindex startup files
1353 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1354 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1356 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1357 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1358 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1359 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1360 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1361 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1362 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1364 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1365 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1366 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1367 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1368 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1369 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1371 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1372 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1373 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1374 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1375 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1376 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1377 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1378 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1379 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1380 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1382 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1383 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1384 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1385 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1386 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1387 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1388 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1389 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1390 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1391 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1392 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1393 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1395 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1396 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1397 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1398 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1400 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1401 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1402 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1403 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1404 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1405 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1406 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1407 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1408 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1409 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1412 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1413 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1415 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1416 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1419 @vindex gnus-init-file
1420 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1421 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1422 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1423 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1424 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1425 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1426 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1427 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1428 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1434 @cindex dribble file
1437 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1438 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1439 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1440 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1441 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1444 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1445 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1448 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1449 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1450 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1452 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1453 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1454 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1455 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1456 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1457 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1459 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1460 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1461 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1464 @node The Active File
1465 @section The Active File
1467 @cindex ignored groups
1469 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1470 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1471 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1473 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1474 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1475 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1476 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1477 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1478 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1479 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1482 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1483 @c if you set it to anything else.
1485 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1487 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1488 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1489 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1491 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1492 you actually subscribe to.
1494 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1495 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1496 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1497 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1499 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1500 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1501 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1502 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1503 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1504 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1506 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1507 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1508 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1511 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1512 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1513 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1514 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1515 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1516 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1518 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1519 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1521 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1522 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1524 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1525 secondary select methods.
1528 @node Startup Variables
1529 @section Startup Variables
1533 @item gnus-load-hook
1534 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1535 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1536 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1537 times you start Gnus.
1539 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1540 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1541 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1543 @item gnus-startup-hook
1544 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1545 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1547 @item gnus-started-hook
1548 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1549 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1552 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1553 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1554 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1555 generating the group buffer.
1557 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1558 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1559 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1560 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1561 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1562 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1563 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1564 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1566 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1567 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1568 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1569 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1570 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1571 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1573 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1574 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1575 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1577 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1578 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1579 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1581 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1582 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1583 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1584 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1590 @chapter Group Buffer
1591 @cindex group buffer
1593 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1595 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1596 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1597 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1598 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1599 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1600 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1601 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1602 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1603 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1604 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1605 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1606 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1607 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1608 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1609 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1610 @c human rights at 9...
1613 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1614 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1615 long as Gnus is active.
1619 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1620 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1621 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1622 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1623 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1624 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1625 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1626 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1632 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1633 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1634 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1635 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1636 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1637 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1638 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1639 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1640 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1641 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1642 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1643 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1644 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1645 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1646 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1647 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1648 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1652 @node Group Buffer Format
1653 @section Group Buffer Format
1656 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1657 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1658 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1662 @node Group Line Specification
1663 @subsection Group Line Specification
1664 @cindex group buffer format
1666 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1667 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1669 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1672 25: news.announce.newusers
1673 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1678 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1679 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1680 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1681 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1683 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1684 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1685 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1686 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1687 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1688 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1690 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1692 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1693 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1694 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1695 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1698 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1699 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1700 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1702 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1707 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1710 Whether the group is subscribed.
1713 Level of subscribedness.
1716 Number of unread articles.
1719 Number of dormant articles.
1722 Number of ticked articles.
1725 Number of read articles.
1728 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1729 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1731 Gnus uses this estimation because the NNTP protocol provides efficient
1732 access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting the true
1733 unread message count is not possible efficiently. For hysterical
1734 raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of unread
1735 messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1736 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the
1737 back end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1738 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1741 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1744 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1753 Newsgroup description.
1756 @samp{m} if moderated.
1759 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1768 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1772 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1775 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1776 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1777 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1778 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1779 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1782 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1784 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1788 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1791 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1795 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1796 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1797 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1798 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1799 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1800 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1805 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1806 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1807 group, or a bogus native group.
1810 @node Group Modeline Specification
1811 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1812 @cindex group modeline
1814 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1815 The mode line can be changed by setting
1816 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1817 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1821 The native news server.
1823 The native select method.
1827 @node Group Highlighting
1828 @subsection Group Highlighting
1829 @cindex highlighting
1830 @cindex group highlighting
1832 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1833 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1834 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1835 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1836 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1838 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1842 (cond (window-system
1843 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1844 (defface my-group-face-1
1845 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1846 (defface my-group-face-2
1847 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1848 (defface my-group-face-3
1849 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1850 (defface my-group-face-4
1851 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1852 (defface my-group-face-5
1853 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1855 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1856 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1857 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1858 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1859 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1860 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1863 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1865 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1872 The number of unread articles in the group.
1876 Whether the group is a mail group.
1878 The level of the group.
1880 The score of the group.
1882 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1884 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1885 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1887 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1888 topic being inserted.
1891 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1892 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1893 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1895 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1896 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1897 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1898 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1899 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1902 @node Group Maneuvering
1903 @section Group Maneuvering
1904 @cindex group movement
1906 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1907 expected, hopefully.
1913 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1914 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1915 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1921 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1922 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1923 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1927 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1928 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1932 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1933 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1937 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1938 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1939 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1943 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1944 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1945 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1948 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1954 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1955 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1956 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1961 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1962 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1963 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1967 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1968 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1969 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1972 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1973 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1974 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1975 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1979 @node Selecting a Group
1980 @section Selecting a Group
1981 @cindex group selection
1986 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1987 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1988 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1989 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1990 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1991 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1992 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1993 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1994 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1995 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1997 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
1998 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
1999 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2001 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2002 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2007 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2008 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2009 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2010 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2011 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2015 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2016 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2017 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2018 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2019 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2020 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2021 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2022 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2023 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2024 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2027 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2028 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2029 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2030 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2031 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2034 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
2035 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2036 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2037 doing any processing of its contents
2038 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2039 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2040 manner will have no permanent effects.
2044 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2045 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2046 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2047 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2048 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2049 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2050 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2051 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2054 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2055 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2056 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
2057 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2062 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2063 full summary buffer.
2066 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2069 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2074 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2075 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2076 Useful functions include:
2079 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2080 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2081 don't select the article.
2083 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2084 Select the first unread article.
2086 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2087 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2091 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2092 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2093 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2097 @node Subscription Commands
2098 @section Subscription Commands
2099 @cindex subscription
2107 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2108 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2109 Toggle subscription to the current group
2110 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2116 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2117 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2118 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2119 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2125 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2126 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2127 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2133 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2134 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2137 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2138 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2139 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2140 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2141 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2147 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2148 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2152 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2153 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2156 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2157 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2158 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2159 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2160 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2161 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2162 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2163 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2164 @file{.newsrc} file.
2168 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2178 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2179 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2180 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2181 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2182 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2183 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2188 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2189 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2190 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2194 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2195 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2196 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2198 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2199 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2200 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2201 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2202 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2203 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2210 @section Group Levels
2214 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2215 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2216 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2217 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2218 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2220 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2226 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2227 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2228 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2229 prompted for a level.
2232 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2233 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2234 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2235 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2236 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2237 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2238 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2239 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2240 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2241 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2242 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2243 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2244 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2245 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2246 reasons of efficiency.
2248 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2249 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2251 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2252 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2253 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2254 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2255 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2256 groups are hidden, in a way.
2258 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2259 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2260 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2261 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2262 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2263 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2265 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2266 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2267 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2268 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2269 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2270 list of killed groups.)
2272 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2273 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2274 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2276 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2277 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2278 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2279 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2280 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2281 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2282 relevant valid ranges.
2284 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2285 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2286 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2287 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2288 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2289 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2292 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2293 one with the best level.
2295 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2296 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2297 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2300 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2301 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2302 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2303 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2306 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2307 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2308 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2309 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2311 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2312 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2313 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2314 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2315 to 5. The default is 6.
2319 @section Group Score
2324 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2325 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2326 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2329 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2330 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2331 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2332 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2333 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2334 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2335 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2336 least significant part.))
2338 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2339 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2340 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2341 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2342 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2343 action after each summary exit, you can add
2344 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2345 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2346 slow things down somewhat.
2349 @node Marking Groups
2350 @section Marking Groups
2351 @cindex marking groups
2353 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2354 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2355 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2356 bidding on those groups.
2358 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2359 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2360 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2368 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2369 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2375 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2376 Remove the mark from the current group
2377 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2381 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2382 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2386 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2387 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2391 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2392 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2396 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2397 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2398 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2401 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2403 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2404 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2405 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2406 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2407 the command to be executed.
2410 @node Foreign Groups
2411 @section Foreign Groups
2412 @cindex foreign groups
2414 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2415 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2416 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2417 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2424 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2425 @cindex making groups
2426 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2427 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2428 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2432 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2433 @cindex renaming groups
2434 Rename the current group to something else
2435 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2436 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2442 @findex gnus-group-customize
2443 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2447 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2448 @cindex renaming groups
2449 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2450 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2454 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2455 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2456 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2460 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2461 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2462 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2466 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2468 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2469 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2474 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2475 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2479 @cindex (ding) archive
2480 @cindex archive group
2481 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2482 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2483 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2484 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2485 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2486 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2487 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2491 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2493 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2494 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2495 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2496 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2500 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2502 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2503 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2504 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2508 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2509 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2511 Make a group based on some file or other
2512 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2513 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2514 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2515 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2516 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2517 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2518 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2522 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2523 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2524 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2525 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2529 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2534 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2535 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2536 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2537 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2538 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2539 @xref{Web Searches}.
2541 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2542 to a particular group by using a match string like
2543 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2546 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2547 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2548 This function will delete the current group
2549 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2550 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2551 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2552 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2553 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2557 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2558 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2559 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2563 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2564 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2565 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2568 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2571 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2572 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2573 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2574 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2575 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2576 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2580 @node Group Parameters
2581 @section Group Parameters
2582 @cindex group parameters
2584 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2585 Here's an example group parameter list:
2588 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2592 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2593 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2594 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2595 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2597 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2598 is an alist of regexps and values.
2600 The following group parameters can be used:
2605 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2608 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2611 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2612 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2613 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2614 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2615 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2617 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2618 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2619 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2620 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2621 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2622 list address instead.
2624 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2628 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2631 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2634 It is totally ignored
2635 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2636 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2638 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2639 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2640 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2641 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2642 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2644 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2645 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2646 sending the message.
2648 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2649 @cindex Mail List Groups
2650 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2651 entering summary buffer.
2653 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2657 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2658 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2659 of whether it has any unread articles.
2661 @item broken-reply-to
2662 @cindex broken-reply-to
2663 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2664 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2665 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2666 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2667 broken behavior. So there!
2671 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2672 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2676 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2677 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2678 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2683 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2684 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2685 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2686 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2687 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2688 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2689 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2693 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2694 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2695 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2697 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2700 @cindex total-expire
2701 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2702 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2703 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2704 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2707 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2711 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2712 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2713 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2714 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2715 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2716 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2719 @cindex score file group parameter
2720 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2721 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2722 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2725 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2726 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2727 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2728 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2731 @cindex admin-address
2732 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2733 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2734 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2735 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2739 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2740 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2744 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2747 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2751 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2753 Here are some examples:
2757 Display only read articles.
2760 Display everything except expirable articles.
2762 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2763 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2767 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2768 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2769 @code{read}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2770 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2771 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{seen} and @code{recent}.
2775 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2776 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2777 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2781 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2782 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2783 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2788 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2789 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2790 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2792 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2794 @item ignored-charsets
2795 @cindex ignored-charset
2796 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2797 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2798 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2800 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2803 @cindex posting-style
2804 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2805 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2806 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2807 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2808 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2810 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2811 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2812 like this in the group parameters:
2817 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2822 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2823 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2827 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2828 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2829 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2830 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2831 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2833 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2834 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2835 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2836 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2837 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2838 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2839 @code{eval}ed there.
2841 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2842 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2843 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2844 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2845 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2849 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2850 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2851 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2852 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2853 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2855 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2856 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2860 (setq gnus-parameters
2862 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2863 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2864 (gnus-summary-line-format
2865 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2869 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2873 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2877 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2880 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2881 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2884 @node Listing Groups
2885 @section Listing Groups
2886 @cindex group listing
2888 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2896 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2897 List all groups that have unread articles
2898 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2899 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2900 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2901 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2908 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2909 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2910 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2911 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2912 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2913 unsubscribed groups).
2917 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2918 List all unread groups on a specific level
2919 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2920 with no unread articles.
2924 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2925 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2926 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2927 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2932 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2933 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2937 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2938 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2939 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2943 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2944 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2948 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2949 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2950 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2951 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2952 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2953 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2954 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2955 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2959 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2960 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2961 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2965 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2966 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2967 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2971 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2972 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2976 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2977 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2981 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
2982 List groups limited within the current selection
2983 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
2987 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
2988 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
2992 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
2993 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
2997 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2998 @cindex visible group parameter
2999 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3000 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3001 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3002 get the same effect.
3004 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3005 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3006 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3007 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3008 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3011 @node Sorting Groups
3012 @section Sorting Groups
3013 @cindex sorting groups
3015 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3016 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3017 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3018 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3019 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3020 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3025 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3026 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3027 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3029 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3030 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3031 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3033 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3034 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3035 Sort by group level.
3037 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3038 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3039 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3041 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3042 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3043 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3044 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3046 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3047 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3048 Sort by number of unread articles.
3050 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3051 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3052 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3054 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3055 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3056 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3061 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3062 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3066 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3067 some sorting criteria:
3071 @kindex G S a (Group)
3072 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3073 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3074 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3077 @kindex G S u (Group)
3078 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3079 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3080 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3083 @kindex G S l (Group)
3084 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3085 Sort the group buffer by group level
3086 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3089 @kindex G S v (Group)
3090 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3091 Sort the group buffer by group score
3092 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3095 @kindex G S r (Group)
3096 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3097 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3098 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3101 @kindex G S m (Group)
3102 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3103 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3104 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3108 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3109 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3111 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3112 commands will sort in reverse order.
3114 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3118 @kindex G P a (Group)
3119 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3120 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3121 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3124 @kindex G P u (Group)
3125 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3126 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3127 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3130 @kindex G P l (Group)
3131 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3132 Sort the groups by group level
3133 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3136 @kindex G P v (Group)
3137 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3138 Sort the groups by group score
3139 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3142 @kindex G P r (Group)
3143 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3144 Sort the groups by group rank
3145 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3148 @kindex G P m (Group)
3149 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3150 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3151 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3155 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3159 @node Group Maintenance
3160 @section Group Maintenance
3161 @cindex bogus groups
3166 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3167 Find bogus groups and delete them
3168 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3172 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3173 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3174 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3175 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3176 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3180 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3181 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3182 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3183 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3184 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3185 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3188 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
3189 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3190 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3191 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3196 @node Browse Foreign Server
3197 @section Browse Foreign Server
3198 @cindex foreign servers
3199 @cindex browsing servers
3204 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3205 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3206 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3207 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3210 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3211 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3212 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3213 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3215 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3220 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3221 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3225 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3226 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3229 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3230 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3231 Enter the current group and display the first article
3232 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3235 @kindex RET (Browse)
3236 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3237 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3241 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3242 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3243 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3249 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3250 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3254 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3255 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3256 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3261 @section Exiting Gnus
3262 @cindex exiting Gnus
3264 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3269 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3270 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3271 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3272 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3276 @findex gnus-group-exit
3277 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3278 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3282 @findex gnus-group-quit
3283 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3284 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3287 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3288 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3289 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3290 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3291 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3296 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3297 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3298 trying to customize meta-variables.
3303 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3304 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3305 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3311 @section Group Topics
3314 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3315 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3316 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3317 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3318 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3319 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3323 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3324 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3335 2: alt.religion.emacs
3338 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3340 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3341 13: comp.sources.unix
3344 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3346 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3347 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3348 is a toggling command.)
3350 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3351 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3352 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3353 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3356 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3357 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3358 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3361 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3365 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3366 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3367 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3368 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3369 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3373 @node Topic Commands
3374 @subsection Topic Commands
3375 @cindex topic commands
3377 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3378 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3379 definitions slightly.
3381 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3382 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3383 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3384 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3385 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3386 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3388 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3395 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3396 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3397 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3401 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3403 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3404 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3405 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3406 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3409 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3410 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3411 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3412 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3416 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3417 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3418 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3419 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3425 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3426 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3427 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3431 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3432 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3433 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3436 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3437 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3438 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3439 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3440 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3442 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3443 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3447 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3448 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3455 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3457 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3458 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3459 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3460 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3461 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3462 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3466 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3472 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3473 Move the current group to some other topic
3474 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3475 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3479 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3480 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3484 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3485 Copy the current group to some other topic
3486 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3487 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3491 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3492 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3493 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3497 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3498 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3499 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3503 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3504 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3505 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3506 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3507 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3508 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3509 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3512 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3513 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3517 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3518 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3519 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3523 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3524 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3525 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3529 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3530 Toggle hiding empty topics
3531 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3535 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3536 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3537 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3540 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3541 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3542 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3543 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3546 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3547 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3548 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3549 expiry process (if any)
3550 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3554 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3555 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3558 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3559 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3560 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3564 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3565 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3566 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3570 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3571 @cindex group parameters
3572 @cindex topic parameters
3574 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3575 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3580 @node Topic Variables
3581 @subsection Topic Variables
3582 @cindex topic variables
3584 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3585 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3587 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3588 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3589 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3602 Number of groups in the topic.
3604 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3606 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3609 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3610 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3611 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3614 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3615 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3617 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3618 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3619 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3623 @subsection Topic Sorting
3624 @cindex topic sorting
3626 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3632 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3633 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3634 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3635 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3638 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3639 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3640 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3641 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3644 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3645 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3646 Sort the current topic by group level
3647 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3650 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3651 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3652 Sort the current topic by group score
3653 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3656 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3657 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3658 Sort the current topic by group rank
3659 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3662 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3663 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3664 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3665 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3669 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3672 @node Topic Topology
3673 @subsection Topic Topology
3674 @cindex topic topology
3677 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3683 2: alt.religion.emacs
3686 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3688 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3689 13: comp.sources.unix
3692 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3693 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3694 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3699 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3700 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3704 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3705 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3706 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3707 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3708 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3709 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3711 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3712 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3713 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3716 @node Topic Parameters
3717 @subsection Topic Parameters
3718 @cindex topic parameters
3720 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3721 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3722 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3724 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3729 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3730 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3731 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3736 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3737 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3738 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3739 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3745 2: alt.religion.emacs
3749 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3751 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3752 13: comp.sources.unix
3756 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3757 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3758 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3759 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3760 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3761 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3763 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3764 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3765 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3766 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3767 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3769 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3770 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3771 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3772 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3773 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3774 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3775 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3776 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3779 @node Misc Group Stuff
3780 @section Misc Group Stuff
3783 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3784 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3785 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3786 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3793 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3794 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3795 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3799 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3800 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3801 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3805 @findex gnus-group-mail
3806 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3810 Variables for the group buffer:
3814 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3815 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3816 is called after the group buffer has been
3819 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3820 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3821 is called after the group buffer is
3822 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3825 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3826 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3827 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3828 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3830 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3831 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3832 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3833 whether they are empty or not.
3835 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3836 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3837 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3838 non-ASCII group names.
3842 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3843 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3846 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3847 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3848 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3849 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3853 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3854 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3859 @node Scanning New Messages
3860 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3861 @cindex new messages
3862 @cindex scanning new news
3868 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3869 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3870 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3871 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3872 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3873 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3878 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3879 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3880 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3881 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3882 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3883 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3884 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3886 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3887 @cindex activating groups
3889 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3890 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3895 @findex gnus-group-restart
3896 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3897 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3898 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3902 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3903 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3905 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3906 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3910 @node Group Information
3911 @subsection Group Information
3912 @cindex group information
3913 @cindex information on groups
3920 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3921 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3924 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3925 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3926 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3927 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3928 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3929 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3930 for fetching the file.
3932 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3933 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3937 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3939 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3940 @cindex describing groups
3941 @cindex group description
3942 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3943 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3944 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3948 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3949 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3950 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3957 @findex gnus-version
3958 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3962 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3963 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3966 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3969 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3970 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3974 @node Group Timestamp
3975 @subsection Group Timestamp
3977 @cindex group timestamps
3979 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3980 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3981 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3984 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3987 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3989 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3990 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3993 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3994 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3997 This will result in lines looking like:
4000 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4001 0: custom 19961002T012713
4004 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4005 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4009 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4010 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4015 @subsection File Commands
4016 @cindex file commands
4022 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4023 @vindex gnus-init-file
4024 @cindex reading init file
4025 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4026 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4030 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4031 @cindex saving .newsrc
4032 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4033 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4034 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4037 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4038 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4039 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4044 @node Summary Buffer
4045 @chapter Summary Buffer
4046 @cindex summary buffer
4048 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4049 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4051 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4052 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4054 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4057 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4058 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4059 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4060 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4061 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4062 * Delayed Articles::
4063 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4064 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4065 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4066 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4067 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4068 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4069 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4070 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4071 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4072 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4073 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4074 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4075 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4076 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4077 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4078 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4079 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4080 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4081 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4082 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4083 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4084 or reselecting the current group.
4085 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4086 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4087 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4088 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4092 @node Summary Buffer Format
4093 @section Summary Buffer Format
4094 @cindex summary buffer format
4098 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4099 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4100 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4106 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4107 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4108 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4109 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4112 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4113 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4114 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4115 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4116 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4117 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4118 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4119 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4120 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4121 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4122 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4125 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4126 'mail-extract-address-components)
4129 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4130 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4131 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4132 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4135 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4136 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4138 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4139 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4140 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4141 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4142 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4144 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4145 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4146 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4147 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4148 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4150 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%) %s\n}.
4152 The following format specification characters are understood:
4158 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4159 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4161 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4162 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4163 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4165 Full @code{From} header.
4167 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4169 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4170 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4172 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4173 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4174 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4175 may be more thorough.
4177 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4180 Number of lines in the article.
4182 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4183 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4185 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4187 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4190 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4191 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4193 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4194 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4196 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4197 for adopted articles.
4199 One space for each thread level.
4201 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4206 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4207 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4211 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4213 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4214 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4215 default level. If the difference between
4216 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4217 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4225 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4227 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4233 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4234 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4236 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4237 article has any children.
4243 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4244 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4245 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4246 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4247 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4248 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4251 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4252 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4253 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4254 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4255 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4256 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4258 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4259 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4261 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4264 @node To From Newsgroups
4265 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4269 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4270 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4271 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4272 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4273 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4277 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4278 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4279 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4283 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4284 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4287 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4288 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4291 @findex gnus-extra-header
4292 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4293 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4294 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4297 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4301 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4302 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4303 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4304 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4305 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4306 headers are used instead.
4310 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4311 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4312 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4313 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4316 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4317 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4318 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4319 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4321 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4325 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4327 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4328 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4329 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4330 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4334 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4335 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4342 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4343 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4346 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4347 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4349 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4350 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4351 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4352 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4354 Here are the elements you can play with:
4360 Unprefixed group name.
4362 Current article number.
4364 Current article score.
4368 Number of unread articles in this group.
4370 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4373 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4374 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4375 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4376 and no unselected ones.
4378 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4379 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4381 Subject of the current article.
4383 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4385 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4387 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4389 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4391 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4393 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4397 @node Summary Highlighting
4398 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4402 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4403 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4404 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4405 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4406 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4408 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4409 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4410 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4411 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4413 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4414 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4415 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4416 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4418 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4419 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4420 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4421 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4422 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4423 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4426 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4427 ((> score default) . bold))
4429 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4430 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4434 @node Summary Maneuvering
4435 @section Summary Maneuvering
4436 @cindex summary movement
4438 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4439 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4441 None of these commands select articles.
4446 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4447 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4448 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4449 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4450 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4454 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4455 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4456 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4457 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4458 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4461 @kindex G g (Summary)
4462 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4463 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4464 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4467 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4468 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4469 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4470 to the group buffer.
4472 Variables related to summary movement:
4476 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4477 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4478 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4479 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4480 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4481 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4482 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4483 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4484 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4485 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4486 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4487 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4488 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4489 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4491 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4492 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4493 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4494 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4495 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4496 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4497 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4499 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4501 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4502 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4503 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4504 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4505 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4507 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4508 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4509 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4510 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4511 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4512 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4513 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4514 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4517 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4518 the given number of lines from the top.
4523 @node Choosing Articles
4524 @section Choosing Articles
4525 @cindex selecting articles
4528 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4529 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4533 @node Choosing Commands
4534 @subsection Choosing Commands
4536 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4537 and they all select and display an article.
4539 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4540 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4544 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4545 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4546 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4547 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4552 @kindex G n (Summary)
4553 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4554 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4555 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4560 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4561 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4562 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4567 @kindex G N (Summary)
4568 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4569 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4574 @kindex G P (Summary)
4575 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4576 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4579 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4580 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4581 Go to the next article with the same subject
4582 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4585 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4586 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4587 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4588 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4592 @kindex G f (Summary)
4594 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4595 Go to the first unread article
4596 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4600 @kindex G b (Summary)
4602 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4603 Go to the article with the highest score
4604 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4609 @kindex G l (Summary)
4610 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4611 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4614 @kindex G o (Summary)
4615 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4617 @cindex article history
4618 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4619 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4620 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4621 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4622 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4623 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4628 @kindex G j (Summary)
4629 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4630 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4631 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4636 @node Choosing Variables
4637 @subsection Choosing Variables
4639 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4642 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4643 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4644 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4645 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4646 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4647 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4649 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4650 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4651 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4652 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4654 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4655 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4656 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4657 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4658 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4659 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4660 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4661 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4662 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4663 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4664 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4665 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4666 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4667 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4672 @node Paging the Article
4673 @section Scrolling the Article
4674 @cindex article scrolling
4679 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4680 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4681 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4682 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4683 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4686 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4687 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4688 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4691 @kindex RET (Summary)
4692 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4693 Scroll the current article one line forward
4694 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4697 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4698 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4699 Scroll the current article one line backward
4700 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4704 @kindex A g (Summary)
4706 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4707 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4708 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4709 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4710 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4711 the way it came from the server.
4713 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4714 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4715 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4718 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4723 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4728 @kindex A < (Summary)
4729 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4730 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4731 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4736 @kindex A > (Summary)
4737 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4738 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4742 @kindex A s (Summary)
4744 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4745 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4746 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4750 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4751 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4756 @node Reply Followup and Post
4757 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4760 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4761 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4762 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4763 * Canceling and Superseding::
4767 @node Summary Mail Commands
4768 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4770 @cindex composing mail
4772 Commands for composing a mail message:
4778 @kindex S r (Summary)
4780 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4781 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4782 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4783 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4784 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4789 @kindex S R (Summary)
4790 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4791 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4792 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4793 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4794 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4797 @kindex S w (Summary)
4798 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4799 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4800 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4801 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4802 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4805 @kindex S W (Summary)
4806 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4807 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4808 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4809 the process/prefix convention.
4812 @kindex S v (Summary)
4813 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
4814 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
4815 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
4816 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4817 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
4818 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
4822 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4823 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4824 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4825 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4826 Forward the current article to some other person
4827 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4828 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4829 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4830 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4831 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4832 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4833 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4834 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4835 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4840 @kindex S m (Summary)
4841 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4842 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4843 Send a mail to some other person
4844 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4847 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4848 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4849 @cindex bouncing mail
4850 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4851 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4852 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4853 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4854 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4855 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4856 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4857 very well fail, though.
4860 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4861 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4862 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4863 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4864 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4865 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4866 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4867 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4868 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4869 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4871 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4872 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4873 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4874 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4875 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4877 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4878 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4881 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4882 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4883 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4884 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4885 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4888 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4889 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4890 @cindex crossposting
4891 @cindex excessive crossposting
4892 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4893 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4895 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4896 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4897 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4898 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4899 command understands the process/prefix convention
4900 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4904 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
4905 Manual}, for more information.
4908 @node Summary Post Commands
4909 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4911 @cindex composing news
4913 Commands for posting a news article:
4919 @kindex S p (Summary)
4920 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4921 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4922 Post an article to the current group
4923 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4928 @kindex S f (Summary)
4929 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4930 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4931 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4935 @kindex S F (Summary)
4937 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4938 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4939 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4940 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4941 process/prefix convention.
4944 @kindex S n (Summary)
4945 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4946 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4947 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4950 @kindex S N (Summary)
4951 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4952 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4953 message through mail and include the original message
4954 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4955 the process/prefix convention.
4958 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4959 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4960 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4961 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
4962 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
4963 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
4964 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4965 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4966 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4967 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4968 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4969 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4970 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4973 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4974 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4976 @cindex making digests
4977 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4978 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4979 process/prefix convention.
4982 @kindex S u (Summary)
4983 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4984 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4985 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4986 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4989 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
4990 Manual}, for more information.
4993 @node Summary Message Commands
4994 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4998 @kindex S y (Summary)
4999 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5000 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5001 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5002 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5003 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5008 @node Canceling and Superseding
5009 @subsection Canceling Articles
5010 @cindex canceling articles
5011 @cindex superseding articles
5013 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5014 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5016 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5018 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5020 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5021 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5022 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5023 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5024 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5025 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5027 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5028 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5031 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5032 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5033 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5035 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5036 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5037 your original article.
5039 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5041 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5042 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5043 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5046 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5047 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5048 have posted almost the same article twice.
5050 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5051 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5052 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5053 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5054 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5055 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5056 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5057 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5058 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5059 canceled/superseded.
5061 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5063 @node Delayed Articles
5064 @section Delayed Articles
5065 @cindex delayed sending
5066 @cindex send delayed
5068 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5069 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5070 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5071 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5074 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5077 @findex gnus-delay-article
5078 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5079 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5080 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5081 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5085 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5086 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5087 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5088 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5091 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5092 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5093 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5096 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5097 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5098 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5099 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5100 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5101 that means a time tomorrow.
5104 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5105 couple of variables:
5108 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5109 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5110 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5111 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5113 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5114 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5115 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5116 formats described above.
5118 @item gnus-delay-group
5119 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5120 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5121 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5122 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5124 @item gnus-delay-header
5125 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5126 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5127 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5128 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5131 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5132 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5133 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5134 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5135 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5137 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5138 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts}
5139 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5140 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5141 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5142 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} function.
5145 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5146 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5147 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5148 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} in
5149 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5150 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5151 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5152 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5154 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5155 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5156 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5157 forget to set that up :-)
5161 @node Marking Articles
5162 @section Marking Articles
5163 @cindex article marking
5164 @cindex article ticking
5167 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5169 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5170 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5171 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5173 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5176 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5177 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5178 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5182 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5186 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5187 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5188 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5192 @node Unread Articles
5193 @subsection Unread Articles
5195 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5200 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5201 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5203 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5204 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5205 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5206 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5207 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5208 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5209 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5212 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5213 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5215 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5216 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5217 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5218 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5222 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5223 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5225 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5230 @subsection Read Articles
5231 @cindex expirable mark
5233 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5238 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5239 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5240 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5243 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5244 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5247 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5248 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5249 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5252 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5253 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5256 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5257 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5260 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5261 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5264 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5265 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5268 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5269 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5272 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5273 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5276 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5277 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5281 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5282 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5283 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5287 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5288 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5290 One more special mark, though:
5294 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5295 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5297 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5298 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5299 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5300 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5306 @subsection Other Marks
5307 @cindex process mark
5310 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5316 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5317 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5318 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5319 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5320 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5323 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5324 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5325 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5326 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5328 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5329 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5330 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5332 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5333 Articles that are ``recently'' arrived in the group will be marked
5334 with an @samp{N} in the second column (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Most
5335 back end doesn't support the mark, in which case it's not shown.
5338 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5339 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5340 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5343 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5344 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5345 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5346 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5349 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5350 Articles that according to the back end haven't been seen by the user
5351 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5352 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all back ends support this
5353 mark, in which case it simply never appear.
5356 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5357 Articles that haven't been seen by the user before are marked with a
5358 @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5361 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5362 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5363 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5364 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5365 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5368 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5369 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5370 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5371 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5372 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5373 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5377 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5378 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5379 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5381 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5382 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5383 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5387 @subsection Setting Marks
5388 @cindex setting marks
5390 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5395 @kindex M c (Summary)
5396 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5397 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5398 @cindex mark as unread
5399 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5400 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5406 @kindex M t (Summary)
5407 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5408 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5409 @xref{Article Caching}.
5414 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5415 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5416 Mark the current article as dormant
5417 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5421 @kindex M d (Summary)
5423 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5424 Mark the current article as read
5425 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5429 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5430 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5431 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5436 @kindex M k (Summary)
5437 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5438 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5439 and then select the next unread article
5440 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5444 @kindex M K (Summary)
5445 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5446 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5447 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5448 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5451 @kindex M C (Summary)
5452 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5453 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5454 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5457 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5458 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5459 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5460 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5463 @kindex M H (Summary)
5464 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5465 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5466 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5469 @kindex M h (Summary)
5470 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5471 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5472 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5475 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5476 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5477 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5478 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5481 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5482 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5483 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5484 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5488 @kindex M e (Summary)
5490 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5491 Mark the current article as expirable
5492 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5495 @kindex M b (Summary)
5496 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5497 Set a bookmark in the current article
5498 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5501 @kindex M B (Summary)
5502 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5503 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5504 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5507 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5508 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5509 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5510 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5513 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5514 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5515 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5516 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5519 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5520 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5521 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5522 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5523 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5526 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5527 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5528 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5529 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5530 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5531 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5532 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5533 The default is @code{t}.
5536 @node Generic Marking Commands
5537 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5539 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5540 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5541 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5542 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5543 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5546 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5547 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5550 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5551 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5552 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5553 to list in this manual.
5555 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5556 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5557 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5558 article, you could say something like:
5561 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5562 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5563 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5569 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5570 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5574 @node Setting Process Marks
5575 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5576 @cindex setting process marks
5583 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5584 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5585 Mark the current article with the process mark
5586 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5587 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5591 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5592 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5593 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5594 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5597 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5598 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5599 Remove the process mark from all articles
5600 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5603 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5604 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5605 Invert the list of process marked articles
5606 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5609 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5610 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5611 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5612 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5615 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5616 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5617 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5618 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5621 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5622 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5623 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5626 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5627 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5628 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5629 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5632 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5633 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5634 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5635 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5638 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5639 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5640 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5641 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5644 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5645 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5646 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5649 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5650 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5651 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5652 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5655 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5656 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5657 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5660 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5661 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5662 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5663 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5666 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5667 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5668 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5669 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5672 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5673 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5674 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5675 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5678 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5679 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5680 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5681 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5685 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5686 set process marks based on article body contents.
5693 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5694 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5695 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5698 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5699 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5700 additional articles.
5706 @kindex / / (Summary)
5707 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5708 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5709 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5712 @kindex / a (Summary)
5713 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5714 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5715 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5718 @kindex / x (Summary)
5719 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5720 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5721 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5722 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5726 @kindex / u (Summary)
5728 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5729 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5730 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5731 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5732 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5735 @kindex / m (Summary)
5736 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5737 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5738 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5741 @kindex / t (Summary)
5742 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5743 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5744 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5745 articles younger than that number of days.
5748 @kindex / n (Summary)
5749 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5750 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5751 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5752 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5755 @kindex / w (Summary)
5756 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5757 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5758 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5762 @kindex / v (Summary)
5763 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5764 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5765 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5768 @kindex / p (Summary)
5769 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter
5770 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
5771 group parameter predicate
5772 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter}). See @pxref{Group
5773 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
5777 @kindex M S (Summary)
5778 @kindex / E (Summary)
5779 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5780 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5781 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5784 @kindex / D (Summary)
5785 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5786 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5787 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5790 @kindex / * (Summary)
5791 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5792 Include all cached articles in the limit
5793 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5796 @kindex / d (Summary)
5797 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5798 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5799 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5802 @kindex / M (Summary)
5803 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5804 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5807 @kindex / T (Summary)
5808 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5809 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5812 @kindex / c (Summary)
5813 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5814 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5815 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5818 @kindex / C (Summary)
5819 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5820 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5821 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5822 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5825 @kindex / N (Summary)
5826 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
5827 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
5828 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
5831 @kindex / o (Summary)
5832 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
5833 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
5834 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
5842 @cindex article threading
5844 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5845 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5846 hierarchical fashion.
5848 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5849 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5850 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5851 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
5852 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5853 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5854 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5856 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5860 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5863 A tree-like article structure.
5866 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5869 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5870 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5871 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5872 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5873 called loose threads.
5875 @item thread gathering
5876 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5878 @item sparse threads
5879 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5880 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5886 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5887 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5891 @node Customizing Threading
5892 @subsection Customizing Threading
5893 @cindex customizing threading
5896 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5897 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5898 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5899 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5904 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5907 @cindex loose threads
5910 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5911 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5912 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5913 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5914 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5915 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5917 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
5918 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
5919 There are four possible values:
5923 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5924 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
5925 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
5926 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
5927 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
5932 @cindex adopting articles
5937 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5938 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5939 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5940 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5943 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5944 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5945 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5946 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5947 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5948 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5949 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5952 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5953 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5954 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5958 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5959 display them after one another.
5962 Don't gather loose threads.
5965 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5966 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5967 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5968 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
5969 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5970 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5971 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5972 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5973 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5974 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
5975 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5977 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5978 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
5979 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5982 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5983 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5984 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5985 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5986 simplification is used.
5988 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5989 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5990 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5991 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5993 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5995 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6001 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6002 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6003 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6004 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6009 (mapconcat 'identity
6010 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6012 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6015 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6018 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6019 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6020 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6021 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6022 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6023 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6025 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6028 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6029 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6030 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6032 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6033 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6036 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6037 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6038 Remove excessive whitespace.
6041 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6044 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6045 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6046 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6047 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6048 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6049 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6050 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6051 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6053 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6054 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6055 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6056 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6057 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6058 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6059 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6060 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6061 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6065 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6066 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6067 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6068 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6070 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6071 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6072 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6075 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6079 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6080 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6086 @node Filling In Threads
6087 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6090 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6091 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6092 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6093 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6094 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6095 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6096 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6097 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6098 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6099 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
6100 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
6101 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
6103 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6104 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6105 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6107 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6108 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6109 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6110 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6111 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6112 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6113 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6114 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6115 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6116 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6117 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6118 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6119 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6120 @code{nil} by default.
6122 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6123 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6124 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6125 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6126 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6127 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6128 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6130 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6131 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6132 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6137 @node More Threading
6138 @subsubsection More Threading
6141 @item gnus-show-threads
6142 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6143 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6144 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6145 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6146 slower and more awkward.
6148 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6149 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6150 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6153 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6154 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6155 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6156 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6157 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6158 threads are expunged.
6160 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6161 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6162 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6165 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6166 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6167 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6168 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6169 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6170 result in a new thread.
6172 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6173 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6174 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6177 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6178 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6179 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6180 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6181 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6182 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6183 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6184 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6185 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6186 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6187 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6192 @node Low-Level Threading
6193 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6197 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6198 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6199 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6201 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6202 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6203 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6204 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6205 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6206 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6207 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6208 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6209 meaningful. Here's one example:
6212 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6214 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6215 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6217 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6219 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6226 @node Thread Commands
6227 @subsection Thread Commands
6228 @cindex thread commands
6234 @kindex T k (Summary)
6235 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
6236 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6237 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6238 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6239 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6244 @kindex T l (Summary)
6245 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
6246 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6247 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6248 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6251 @kindex T i (Summary)
6252 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6253 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6254 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6257 @kindex T # (Summary)
6258 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6259 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6260 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6263 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6264 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6265 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6266 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6269 @kindex T T (Summary)
6270 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6271 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6274 @kindex T s (Summary)
6275 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6276 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6277 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6280 @kindex T h (Summary)
6281 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6282 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6285 @kindex T S (Summary)
6286 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6287 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6290 @kindex T H (Summary)
6291 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6292 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6295 @kindex T t (Summary)
6296 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6297 Re-thread the current article's thread
6298 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6299 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6302 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6303 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6304 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6305 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6309 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6310 understand the numeric prefix.
6315 @kindex T n (Summary)
6317 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
6319 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6320 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6321 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6324 @kindex T p (Summary)
6326 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
6328 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6329 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6330 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6333 @kindex T d (Summary)
6334 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6335 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6338 @kindex T u (Summary)
6339 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6340 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6343 @kindex T o (Summary)
6344 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6345 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6348 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6349 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6350 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6351 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6352 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6353 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6354 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6355 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6356 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6357 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6358 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6359 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6363 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6364 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6366 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6367 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6368 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6369 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6370 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6371 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6372 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6373 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6374 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6375 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6376 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6378 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6379 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6380 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6381 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
6382 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6384 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6385 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6386 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6388 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6389 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6390 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6391 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6392 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6393 ascending article order.
6395 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6396 by number, you could do something like:
6399 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6400 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6401 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6402 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6405 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6406 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6407 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6408 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6409 which the articles arrived.
6411 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6415 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6417 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6418 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6421 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6422 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6423 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6424 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6427 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6428 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6429 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6430 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6431 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6432 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6433 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6434 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6435 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6436 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6437 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6438 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6439 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6441 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6445 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6446 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6447 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6452 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6453 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6454 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6455 @cindex article pre-fetch
6458 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6459 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6460 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6461 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6462 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6464 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6465 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6467 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6468 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6469 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6470 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6471 connection is blocked.
6473 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6474 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6475 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6476 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6478 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6479 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6480 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6481 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6484 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6487 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6488 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6489 happen automatically.
6491 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6492 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6493 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6494 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6495 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6496 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6497 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6499 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6500 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6501 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6502 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6503 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6504 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6505 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6506 data structure as the only parameter.
6508 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6511 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6512 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6513 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6514 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6517 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6520 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6521 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6522 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6524 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6525 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6526 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6527 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6531 Remove articles when they are read.
6534 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6537 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6539 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6540 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6541 @c from the next group.
6544 @node Article Caching
6545 @section Article Caching
6546 @cindex article caching
6549 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6550 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6551 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6552 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6553 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6555 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6557 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6558 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6559 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6560 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6561 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6562 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6563 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6564 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6566 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6567 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6568 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6569 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6570 as dormant, and don't worry.
6572 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6574 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6575 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6576 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6577 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6578 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6579 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6580 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6581 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6582 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6583 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6585 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6586 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6587 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6588 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6589 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6590 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6591 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6592 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6593 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6594 not then be downloaded by this command.
6596 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6597 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6598 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6599 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6600 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6601 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6603 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6604 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6605 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6606 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6607 variables, the group is not cached.
6609 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6610 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6611 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6612 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6613 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6614 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6615 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6616 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6617 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6621 @node Persistent Articles
6622 @section Persistent Articles
6623 @cindex persistent articles
6625 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6626 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6627 useful in my opinion.
6629 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6630 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6631 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6632 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6633 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6634 the expiry going on at the news server.
6636 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6637 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6638 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6644 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6645 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6648 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6649 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6650 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6651 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6655 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6657 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6658 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6659 interested in persistent articles:
6662 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6666 @node Article Backlog
6667 @section Article Backlog
6669 @cindex article backlog
6671 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6672 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6673 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6674 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6675 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6676 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6677 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6678 increase memory usage some.
6680 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6681 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6682 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6683 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6684 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6685 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6686 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6688 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6691 @node Saving Articles
6692 @section Saving Articles
6693 @cindex saving articles
6695 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6696 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6697 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6698 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6699 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6701 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6702 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6703 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6705 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6706 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6707 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6708 deleted before saving.
6714 @kindex O o (Summary)
6716 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6717 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6718 Save the current article using the default article saver
6719 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6722 @kindex O m (Summary)
6723 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6724 Save the current article in mail format
6725 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6728 @kindex O r (Summary)
6729 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6730 Save the current article in rmail format
6731 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6734 @kindex O f (Summary)
6735 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6736 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6737 Save the current article in plain file format
6738 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6741 @kindex O F (Summary)
6742 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6743 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6744 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6747 @kindex O b (Summary)
6748 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6749 Save the current article body in plain file format
6750 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6753 @kindex O h (Summary)
6754 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6755 Save the current article in mh folder format
6756 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6759 @kindex O v (Summary)
6760 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6761 Save the current article in a VM folder
6762 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6766 @kindex O p (Summary)
6768 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6769 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6770 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6773 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6774 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6775 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6776 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6777 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6778 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6779 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6780 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6781 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6782 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6783 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6784 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6788 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6789 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6790 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6791 functions below, or you can create your own.
6795 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6796 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6797 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6798 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6799 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6800 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6801 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6803 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6804 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6805 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6806 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6807 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6808 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6810 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6811 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6812 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6813 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6814 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6815 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6816 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6818 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6819 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6820 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6821 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6822 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6824 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6825 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6826 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6827 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6828 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6831 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6832 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6833 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6834 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6835 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6837 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6838 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6839 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6840 reader to use this setting.
6843 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6844 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6845 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6846 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6849 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6850 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6851 available functions that generate names:
6855 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6856 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6857 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6859 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6860 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6861 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6863 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6864 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6865 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6867 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6868 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6869 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6871 @item gnus-sender-save-name
6872 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
6873 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
6876 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6877 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6878 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6879 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6880 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6884 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6885 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6886 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6887 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6890 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6891 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6892 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6893 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6894 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6895 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6896 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6897 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6898 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6900 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6901 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6902 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6903 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6905 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6906 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6907 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6910 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6911 lots of mail groups called things like
6912 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6913 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6914 following will do just that:
6917 (defun my-save-name (group)
6918 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6919 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6921 (setq gnus-split-methods
6922 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6927 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6928 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6929 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6930 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6931 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6932 all the files in the top level directory
6933 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6934 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6935 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6936 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6938 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6939 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6940 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6941 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6942 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6945 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6949 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6950 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
6951 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6954 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6955 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6956 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6957 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6960 @node Decoding Articles
6961 @section Decoding Articles
6962 @cindex decoding articles
6964 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6965 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6968 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6969 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6970 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6971 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6972 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6973 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6977 @cindex article series
6978 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6979 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6980 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6981 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6982 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6984 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6985 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6986 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6988 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
6989 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6990 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6992 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6993 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6994 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6997 @node Uuencoded Articles
6998 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7000 @cindex uuencoded articles
7005 @kindex X u (Summary)
7006 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7007 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7008 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7011 @kindex X U (Summary)
7012 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7013 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7014 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7017 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7018 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7019 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7022 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7023 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7024 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7025 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7029 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7030 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7031 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7032 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7033 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7035 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7036 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7037 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7038 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7041 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7042 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7043 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7044 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7045 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7046 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7050 @node Shell Archives
7051 @subsection Shell Archives
7053 @cindex shell archives
7054 @cindex shared articles
7056 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7057 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7058 some commands to deal with these:
7063 @kindex X s (Summary)
7064 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7065 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7068 @kindex X S (Summary)
7069 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7070 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7073 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7074 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7075 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7078 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7079 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7080 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7081 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7085 @node PostScript Files
7086 @subsection PostScript Files
7092 @kindex X p (Summary)
7093 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7094 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7097 @kindex X P (Summary)
7098 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7099 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7100 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7103 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7104 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7105 View the current PostScript series
7106 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7109 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7110 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7111 View and save the current PostScript series
7112 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7117 @subsection Other Files
7121 @kindex X o (Summary)
7122 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7123 Save the current series
7124 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7127 @kindex X b (Summary)
7128 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7129 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7130 doesn't really work yet.
7134 @node Decoding Variables
7135 @subsection Decoding Variables
7137 Adjective, not verb.
7140 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7141 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7142 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7146 @node Rule Variables
7147 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7148 @cindex rule variables
7150 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7151 variables are of the form
7154 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7161 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7162 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7164 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7165 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7168 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7169 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7172 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7173 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7174 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7175 user and default view rules.
7177 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7178 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7179 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7184 @node Other Decode Variables
7185 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7188 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7190 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7191 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7192 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7193 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7194 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7198 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7199 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7202 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7203 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7204 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7207 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7208 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7209 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7210 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7211 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7214 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7215 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7216 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7218 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7219 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7220 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7221 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7222 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7225 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7226 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7227 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7229 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7230 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7231 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7232 looking for files to display.
7234 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7235 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7236 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7239 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7240 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7241 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7244 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7245 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7246 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7249 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7250 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7251 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7254 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7255 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7256 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7257 decoded articles as unread.
7259 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7260 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7261 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7262 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7264 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7265 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7266 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7268 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7269 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7271 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7272 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7273 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7274 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7276 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7277 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7278 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7279 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7280 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7281 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7282 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7283 simply dropped them.
7288 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7289 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7293 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7294 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7295 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7296 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7297 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7298 for you when you post the article.
7300 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7301 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7302 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7303 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7305 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7306 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7307 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7308 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7309 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7310 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7311 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7313 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7314 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7315 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7316 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7317 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7318 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7319 Default is @code{t}.
7325 @subsection Viewing Files
7326 @cindex viewing files
7327 @cindex pseudo-articles
7329 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7330 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7331 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7332 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7333 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7334 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7335 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7337 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7338 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7339 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7340 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7342 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7343 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7344 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7346 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7347 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7348 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7349 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7350 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7352 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7353 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7354 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7355 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7356 a list of parameters to that command.
7358 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7359 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7360 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7362 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7363 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7364 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7367 @node Article Treatment
7368 @section Article Treatment
7370 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7371 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7372 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7373 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7374 these articles easier.
7377 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7378 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7379 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7380 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7381 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7382 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7383 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7384 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7388 @node Article Highlighting
7389 @subsection Article Highlighting
7390 @cindex highlighting
7392 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7393 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7398 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7399 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7400 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7401 Do much highlighting of the current article
7402 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7403 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7406 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7407 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7408 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7409 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7410 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7411 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7412 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7413 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7414 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7415 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7416 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7417 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7420 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7421 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7422 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7424 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7427 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7429 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7430 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7431 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7433 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7434 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7435 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7437 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7438 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7439 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7440 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7441 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7442 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7444 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7445 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7446 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7448 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7449 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7450 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7452 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7453 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7454 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7455 that it's a citation.
7457 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7458 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7459 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7461 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7462 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7463 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7465 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7466 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7467 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7468 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7474 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7475 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7476 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7477 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7478 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7479 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7480 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7481 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7486 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7489 @node Article Fontisizing
7490 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7492 @cindex article emphasis
7494 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7495 @kindex W e (Summary)
7496 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7497 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7498 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7499 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7501 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7502 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7503 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7504 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7505 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7506 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7507 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7508 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7512 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7513 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7514 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7523 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7524 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7525 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7526 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7527 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7528 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7529 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7530 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7531 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7532 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7533 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7534 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7535 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7537 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7538 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7539 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7543 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7546 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7548 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7549 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7550 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7551 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7553 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7556 @node Article Hiding
7557 @subsection Article Hiding
7558 @cindex article hiding
7560 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7561 too much cruft in most articles.
7566 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7567 @findex gnus-article-hide
7568 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7569 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7570 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7573 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7574 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7575 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7579 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7580 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7581 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7582 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7585 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7586 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7587 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7591 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7592 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7593 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7594 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7595 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7596 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7597 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7598 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7602 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7603 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7604 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7605 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7610 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7611 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7612 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7613 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7614 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7615 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7616 articles that have signatures in them do:
7618 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7620 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7622 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7623 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7625 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7628 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7633 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7634 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7635 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7636 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7639 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7640 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7643 @cindex stripping advertisements
7644 @cindex advertisements
7645 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7646 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7647 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7648 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7649 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7650 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7651 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7652 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7653 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7654 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7658 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7659 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7660 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7661 customizing the hiding:
7665 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7666 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7667 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7668 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7669 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7670 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7671 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7676 Starting point of the hidden text.
7678 Ending point of the hidden text.
7680 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7682 Number of lines of hidden text.
7685 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7686 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7687 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7688 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7689 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7694 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7695 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7697 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7698 following two variables:
7701 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7702 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7703 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7704 50), hide the cited text.
7706 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7707 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7708 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7713 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7714 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7715 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7716 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7717 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7718 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7722 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7723 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7724 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7726 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7727 citation customization.
7729 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7733 @node Article Washing
7734 @subsection Article Washing
7736 @cindex article washing
7738 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7739 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7741 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7742 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7745 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7746 articles by default.
7751 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7752 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7756 @kindex W l (Summary)
7757 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7758 Remove page breaks from the current article
7759 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7763 @kindex W r (Summary)
7764 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7765 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7766 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7767 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7768 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7769 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7771 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7772 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7773 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7774 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7778 @kindex W t (Summary)
7780 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7781 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7782 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7785 @kindex W v (Summary)
7786 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7787 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7788 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7791 @kindex W o (Summary)
7792 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7793 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7796 @kindex W d (Summary)
7797 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7798 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7800 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7802 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7803 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7804 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7805 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7808 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7809 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7810 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7811 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7814 @kindex W w (Summary)
7815 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7816 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7818 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7822 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7823 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7824 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7827 @kindex W C (Summary)
7828 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7829 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7830 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7833 @kindex W c (Summary)
7834 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7835 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7836 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7837 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7838 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7841 @kindex W q (Summary)
7842 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7843 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7844 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7845 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7846 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7847 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7848 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7849 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7850 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7853 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7854 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7855 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7856 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7857 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7858 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7859 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7861 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7864 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7865 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7866 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7867 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7868 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7871 @kindex W h (Summary)
7872 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7873 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7874 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7875 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7877 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7880 @kindex W f (Summary)
7882 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7883 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7884 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7885 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7892 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7893 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7894 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7895 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7896 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7897 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7898 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7899 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7900 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7901 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7902 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7903 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7904 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7905 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7906 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7907 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7908 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7909 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7910 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7911 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7915 @kindex W b (Summary)
7916 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7917 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7918 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7921 @kindex W B (Summary)
7922 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7923 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7924 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7927 @kindex W p (Summary)
7928 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
7929 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
7930 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
7931 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
7932 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
7933 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
7934 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
7937 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7938 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7939 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7940 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7943 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7944 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7945 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7946 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7949 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7950 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7951 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7952 lines with a single empty line.
7953 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7956 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7957 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7958 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7959 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7962 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7963 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7964 Do all the three commands above
7965 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7968 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7969 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7970 Remove all blank lines
7971 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7974 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7975 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7976 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7977 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7980 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7981 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7982 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7983 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7987 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7990 @node Article Buttons
7991 @subsection Article Buttons
7994 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7995 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7996 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7997 button on these references.
7999 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8000 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
8001 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
8006 @item gnus-button-alist
8007 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8008 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8011 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8017 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8018 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8019 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
8022 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8023 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8024 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8027 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8028 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8029 avoid false matches.
8032 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8035 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8036 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8040 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8043 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8046 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8047 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8048 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8049 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8050 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8053 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8056 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8058 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8059 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8060 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8061 default values of the variables above.
8063 @item gnus-article-button-face
8064 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8065 Face used on buttons.
8067 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8068 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8069 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8073 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8077 @subsection Article Date
8079 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8080 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8081 when the article was sent.
8086 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8087 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8088 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8089 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8092 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8093 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8095 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8096 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8099 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8100 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8101 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8104 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8105 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8106 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8107 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8110 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8111 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8112 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8113 @findex format-time-string
8114 Display the date using a user-defined format
8115 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8116 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8117 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8118 for a list of possible format specs.
8121 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8122 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8123 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8124 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8125 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8126 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8129 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8132 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8133 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8136 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8137 into wonderful absurdities.
8139 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8142 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8145 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8146 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8150 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8151 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8152 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8153 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8154 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8155 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8156 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8160 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8161 preferred format automatically.
8164 @node Article Signature
8165 @subsection Article Signature
8167 @cindex article signature
8169 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8170 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8171 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8172 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8173 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8174 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8175 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8176 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8177 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8180 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8181 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8182 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8183 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8184 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8185 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8186 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8187 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8190 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8193 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8194 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8195 signature when displaying articles.
8199 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8202 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8205 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8206 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8208 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8209 in question is not a signature.
8212 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8213 listed above. Here's an example:
8216 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8217 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8220 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8221 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8222 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8223 signature after all.
8226 @node Article Miscellania
8227 @subsection Article Miscellania
8231 @kindex A t (Summary)
8232 @findex gnus-article-babel
8233 Translate the article from one language to another
8234 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8240 @section @sc{mime} Commands
8241 @cindex MIME decoding
8243 @cindex viewing attachments
8245 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8246 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8252 @kindex K v (Summary)
8253 View the @sc{mime} part.
8256 @kindex K o (Summary)
8257 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8260 @kindex K c (Summary)
8261 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8264 @kindex K e (Summary)
8265 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8268 @kindex K i (Summary)
8269 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8272 @kindex K | (Summary)
8273 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8276 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8281 @kindex K b (Summary)
8282 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8283 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8287 @kindex K m (Summary)
8288 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8289 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8290 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8291 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8292 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8295 @kindex X m (Summary)
8296 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8297 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8298 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8299 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8302 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8303 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
8304 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8305 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8308 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8309 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8310 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8313 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8314 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8315 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8317 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8318 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8319 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8320 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
8321 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
8322 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8325 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8326 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8327 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8334 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8335 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8336 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8337 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8340 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8343 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8347 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8348 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8349 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8350 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8351 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8352 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8355 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8356 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8357 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8358 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8359 displayed. This variable overrides
8360 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8362 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8363 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8364 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8366 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8367 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8368 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8369 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8370 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8371 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8372 save all jpegs into some directory).
8374 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8377 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8378 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8380 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8381 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8382 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8383 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8384 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8387 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8388 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8389 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8391 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8392 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8393 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8394 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8396 Ready-made functions include@*
8397 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8398 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8399 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8400 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8401 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8402 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8403 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8404 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8405 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8406 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8407 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8408 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8410 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8411 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8413 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8414 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8415 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8418 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8419 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8420 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8421 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8425 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8434 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8435 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8436 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8437 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8438 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8439 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8440 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8442 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8443 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8444 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8445 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8447 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8448 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8449 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8450 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8451 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8452 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8453 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8454 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8456 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8457 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8458 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8459 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8460 quoted-printable header encoding.
8462 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8463 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8464 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8468 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8471 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8472 means encode all charsets),
8474 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8475 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8476 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8483 @cindex coding system aliases
8484 @cindex preferred charset
8486 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8488 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8489 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8492 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8493 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8496 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8497 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8499 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8502 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8505 This will almost do the right thing.
8507 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8511 (codepage-setup 1251)
8512 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8516 @node Article Commands
8517 @section Article Commands
8524 @kindex A P (Summary)
8525 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8526 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8527 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8528 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8529 run just before printing the buffer.
8534 @node Summary Sorting
8535 @section Summary Sorting
8536 @cindex summary sorting
8538 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8539 can't really see why you'd want that.
8544 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8545 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8546 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8549 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8550 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8551 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8554 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8555 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8556 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8559 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8560 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8561 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8564 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8565 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8566 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8569 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8570 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8571 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8574 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8575 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8576 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8579 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8580 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8581 Sort using the default sorting method
8582 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8585 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8586 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8587 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8588 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8589 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8593 @node Finding the Parent
8594 @section Finding the Parent
8595 @cindex parent articles
8596 @cindex referring articles
8601 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8602 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8603 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8604 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8605 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8606 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8607 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8608 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8609 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8611 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8612 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8613 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8614 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8615 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8619 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8620 @kindex A R (Summary)
8621 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8622 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8625 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8626 @kindex A T (Summary)
8627 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8628 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8629 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8630 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8631 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8632 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8633 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8635 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8636 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8637 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8638 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8639 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8640 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8643 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8644 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8646 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8647 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8648 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8649 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8650 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8651 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8652 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8655 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8656 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8657 by giving this command a prefix.
8659 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8660 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
8661 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8662 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8663 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8664 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8667 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8668 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8669 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8672 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8673 then ask Deja if that fails:
8676 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8678 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8681 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
8682 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox}
8683 and @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8684 @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder} and @code{nnimap}1 are only able to locate
8685 articles that have been posted to the current group. (Anything else
8686 would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at
8690 @node Alternative Approaches
8691 @section Alternative Approaches
8693 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8694 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8697 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8698 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8703 @subsection Pick and Read
8704 @cindex pick and read
8706 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8707 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8708 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8709 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8711 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8712 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8713 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8714 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8715 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8716 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8718 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8723 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8724 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8725 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8726 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8727 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8728 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8729 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8730 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8733 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8734 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8735 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8736 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8740 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8741 Unpick the thread or article
8742 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8743 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8744 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8745 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8746 the thread or article at that line.
8750 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8751 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8752 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8753 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8754 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8755 will still be visible when you are reading.
8759 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8760 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8761 which is mapped to the same function
8762 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8764 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8767 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8770 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8771 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8773 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8774 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8775 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8777 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8778 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8779 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8780 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8781 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8782 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8783 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8787 @subsection Binary Groups
8788 @cindex binary groups
8790 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8791 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8792 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8793 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8794 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8795 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8796 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8799 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8800 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8801 command, when you have turned on this mode
8802 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8804 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8805 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8809 @section Tree Display
8812 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8813 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8814 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8815 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8818 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8821 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8822 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8823 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8825 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8826 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8827 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8828 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8829 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8831 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8832 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8833 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8834 default is @code{modeline}.
8836 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8837 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8838 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8839 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8840 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8841 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8842 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8848 The name of the poster.
8850 The @code{From} header.
8852 The number of the article.
8854 The opening bracket.
8856 The closing bracket.
8861 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8863 Variables related to the display are:
8866 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8867 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8868 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8869 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8870 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8871 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8873 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8874 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8875 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8876 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8880 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8881 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8882 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
8883 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
8884 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8885 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8886 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8887 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8888 other windows displayed next to it.
8890 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8891 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8892 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8893 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8894 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8895 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8896 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8900 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8903 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8913 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8917 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8918 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8920 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8922 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8927 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8928 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8929 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8932 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8933 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8934 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8935 (gnus-add-configuration
8939 (summary 0.75 point)
8944 @xref{Window Layout}.
8947 @node Mail Group Commands
8948 @section Mail Group Commands
8949 @cindex mail group commands
8951 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8952 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8954 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8955 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8960 @kindex B e (Summary)
8961 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8962 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
8963 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
8964 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
8965 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
8968 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8969 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8970 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8971 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8972 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8973 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8976 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8977 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8978 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8979 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8980 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8981 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8984 @kindex B m (Summary)
8986 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8987 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8988 Move the article from one mail group to another
8989 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8990 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8993 @kindex B c (Summary)
8995 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8996 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8997 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8998 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8999 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9002 @kindex B B (Summary)
9003 @cindex crosspost mail
9004 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9005 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9006 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9007 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9008 be properly updated.
9011 @kindex B i (Summary)
9012 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9013 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9014 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9015 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9018 @kindex B r (Summary)
9019 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9020 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9021 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9022 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9023 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9024 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9025 (which is the default).
9029 @kindex B w (Summary)
9031 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9032 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9033 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9034 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9035 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9036 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9039 @kindex B q (Summary)
9040 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9041 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9042 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9043 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9046 @kindex B t (Summary)
9047 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9048 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9049 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9052 @kindex B p (Summary)
9053 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9054 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9055 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9056 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9057 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9058 article from your news server (or rather, from
9059 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9060 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9061 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9062 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9063 just not have arrived yet.
9067 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9068 @cindex moving articles
9069 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9070 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9071 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9072 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9073 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9074 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9075 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9078 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9079 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9080 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9081 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9085 @node Various Summary Stuff
9086 @section Various Summary Stuff
9089 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9090 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9091 * Summary Generation Commands::
9092 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9096 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9097 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9098 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9100 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9101 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9102 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9103 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9104 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9105 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9108 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9109 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9110 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9111 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9112 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9114 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9115 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9116 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9119 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9120 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9121 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9122 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9123 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9124 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9125 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9126 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9127 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9128 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9130 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9131 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9132 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9133 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9134 list of articles to be selected.
9136 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9137 the list in one particular group:
9140 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9141 (if (string= group "some.group")
9142 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9149 @node Summary Group Information
9150 @subsection Summary Group Information
9155 @kindex H f (Summary)
9156 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9157 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9158 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9159 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9160 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9161 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9162 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9163 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9164 be used for fetching the file.
9167 @kindex H d (Summary)
9168 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9169 Give a brief description of the current group
9170 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9171 rereading the description from the server.
9174 @kindex H h (Summary)
9175 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9176 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9177 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9180 @kindex H i (Summary)
9181 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9182 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9186 @node Searching for Articles
9187 @subsection Searching for Articles
9192 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9193 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9194 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9195 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9198 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9199 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9200 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9201 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9205 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9206 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9207 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9208 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9209 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9210 search backward instead.
9212 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9213 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9216 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9217 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9218 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9219 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9222 @node Summary Generation Commands
9223 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9228 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9229 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9230 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9233 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9234 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9235 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9236 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9241 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9242 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9248 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9249 @kindex A D (Summary)
9250 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9251 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9252 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9253 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9254 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9255 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9256 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9257 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9261 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
9262 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9263 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9264 several documents into one biiig group
9265 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9266 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9267 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9268 command understands the process/prefix convention
9269 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9272 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9273 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9274 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9275 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9276 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9277 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9281 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9282 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9283 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9286 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
9287 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9288 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9289 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9292 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
9293 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9294 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9295 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9300 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9301 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9302 @cindex summary exit
9303 @cindex exiting groups
9305 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9306 group and return you to the group buffer.
9312 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9314 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9315 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9316 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9317 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9318 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9319 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9320 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9321 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9322 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9323 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9324 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9328 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9330 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9331 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9332 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9336 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9338 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9339 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9340 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9341 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9344 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9345 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9346 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9347 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9350 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9351 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9352 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9353 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9356 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9357 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9358 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9359 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9360 all articles, both read and unread.
9364 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9365 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9366 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9367 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9368 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9369 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9370 articles, both read and unread.
9373 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9374 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9375 Exit the group and go to the next group
9376 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9379 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9380 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9381 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9382 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9385 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9386 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9387 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9388 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9389 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9390 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9393 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9394 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9395 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9396 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9398 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9399 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9400 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9401 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9402 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9403 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9404 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9405 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9406 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9407 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9408 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9409 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9411 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9413 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9414 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9415 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9416 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9417 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9418 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9419 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9420 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9421 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9424 @node Crosspost Handling
9425 @section Crosspost Handling
9429 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9430 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9431 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9432 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9433 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9434 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9437 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9438 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9439 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9440 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9441 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9443 @cindex cross-posting
9446 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9447 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9448 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9449 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9450 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9451 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9452 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9453 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9454 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9455 the cross reference mechanism.
9457 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9458 @cindex overview.fmt
9459 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9460 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9461 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9462 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9463 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9464 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9467 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9468 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9469 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9474 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9477 @node Duplicate Suppression
9478 @section Duplicate Suppression
9480 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9481 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9482 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9483 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9488 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9489 is evil and not very common.
9492 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9493 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9496 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9497 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9500 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9503 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9504 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9506 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9507 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9508 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9509 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9510 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9511 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9512 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9515 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9516 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9517 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9518 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9519 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9523 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9524 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9525 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9527 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9528 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9529 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9530 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9531 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9532 session are suppressed.
9534 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9535 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9536 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9537 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9539 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9540 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9541 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9542 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9545 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9546 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9547 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9548 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9549 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9550 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9551 to you to figure out, I think.
9556 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
9557 The formats that are supported are PGP and S/MIME, however you need
9558 some external programs to get things to work:
9562 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9563 gpg.el as well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG). @xref{Using GPG}.
9566 To verify or decrypt S/MIME message, you need to install OpenSSL.
9567 OpenSSL 0.9.6 or newer is recommended.
9571 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
9572 manual. @xref{Security, ,Security, message, The Message Manual}.
9575 @item mm-verify-option
9576 @vindex mm-verify-option
9577 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9578 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9579 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9581 @item mm-decrypt-option
9582 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9583 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9584 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9585 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9590 @section Mailing List
9592 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
9593 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
9594 possibly using @kbd{A M} in the summary buffer, or say:
9597 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
9600 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
9605 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
9606 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
9607 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
9610 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
9611 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
9612 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
9615 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
9616 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
9617 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
9621 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
9622 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
9623 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
9626 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
9627 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9628 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
9631 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
9632 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9633 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
9637 @node Article Buffer
9638 @chapter Article Buffer
9639 @cindex article buffer
9641 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9642 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9643 tell Gnus otherwise.
9646 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9647 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9648 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9649 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9650 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9654 @node Hiding Headers
9655 @section Hiding Headers
9656 @cindex hiding headers
9657 @cindex deleting headers
9659 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9660 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9662 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9663 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9664 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9665 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9666 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9667 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9668 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9669 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9670 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9672 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9676 @item gnus-visible-headers
9677 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9678 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9679 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9680 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9682 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9683 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9686 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9689 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9692 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9693 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9694 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9695 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9696 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9697 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9699 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9700 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9703 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9706 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9709 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9710 variable will have no effect.
9714 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9715 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9716 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9717 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9718 the headers are to be displayed.
9720 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9721 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9724 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9727 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9728 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9730 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9731 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9732 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9733 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9734 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9735 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9736 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9739 These conditions are:
9742 Remove all empty headers.
9744 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9745 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9747 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9750 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9753 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
9754 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
9756 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9759 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9761 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9764 To include these three elements, you could say something like;
9767 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9768 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9771 This is also the default value for this variable.
9775 @section Using @sc{mime}
9778 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9779 while people stand around yawning.
9781 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9782 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9784 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9785 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9786 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9788 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9789 @findex gnus-display-mime
9790 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9791 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9792 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9793 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9795 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9799 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9801 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9802 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9803 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9805 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9806 @item M-RET (Article)
9808 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9809 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9811 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9813 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9814 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9816 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
9818 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9819 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
9821 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9823 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9824 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9826 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
9828 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
9829 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
9830 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
9831 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
9832 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
9833 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
9835 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9837 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9838 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9840 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9842 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9843 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
9844 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
9845 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
9846 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
9849 @findex gnus-mime-internalize-part
9851 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
9852 viewer is available, use an external viewer
9853 (@code{gnus-mime-internalize-part}).
9855 @findex gnus-mime-externalize-part
9857 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
9858 (@code{gnus-mime-externalize-part}).
9860 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
9862 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
9864 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
9866 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
9867 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
9871 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
9872 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
9875 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
9876 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
9877 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
9878 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
9879 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
9880 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
9881 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
9882 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
9883 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
9885 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9887 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9890 @node Customizing Articles
9891 @section Customizing Articles
9892 @cindex article customization
9894 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9895 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9896 called automatically when you select the articles.
9898 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9899 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9900 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9901 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9903 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9904 for sensible values.
9908 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9911 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9914 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9917 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9920 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9924 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9925 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9926 regexps in the list.
9929 A list where the first element is not a string:
9931 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9932 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9933 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9937 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9942 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9943 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9944 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9945 considered to contain just a single part.
9947 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9948 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9949 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9950 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9951 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9952 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9953 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9955 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9956 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9957 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9958 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9961 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9962 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9963 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9964 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9965 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9966 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9967 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9968 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9969 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9970 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9971 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
9972 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9973 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
9974 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9975 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9976 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9977 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9978 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9979 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9980 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
9981 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9982 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9983 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
9984 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
9985 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9986 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9987 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9988 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9989 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9990 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9991 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9992 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9993 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9994 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9995 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9996 @item gnus-treat-translate
9999 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10000 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10001 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10002 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10003 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10007 @node Article Keymap
10008 @section Article Keymap
10010 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10011 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10012 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10013 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10016 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10021 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10022 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10023 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10026 @kindex DEL (Article)
10027 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10028 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10031 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10032 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10033 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10034 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10035 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10038 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10039 @findex gnus-article-mail
10040 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10041 given a prefix, include the mail.
10044 @kindex s (Article)
10045 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10046 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10047 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10050 @kindex ? (Article)
10051 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10052 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10053 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10056 @kindex TAB (Article)
10057 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10058 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10059 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10062 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10063 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10064 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10070 @section Misc Article
10074 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10075 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10076 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10077 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10080 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10081 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10083 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10084 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10086 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10087 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10088 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10089 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10090 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10091 the contents of the article buffer.
10093 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10094 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10095 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10097 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10098 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10099 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10100 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10102 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10103 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10104 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10105 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10106 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10111 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10112 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10115 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10118 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10120 @item gnus-break-pages
10121 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10122 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10123 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10124 paging will not be done.
10126 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10127 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10128 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10133 @node Composing Messages
10134 @chapter Composing Messages
10135 @cindex composing messages
10138 @cindex sending mail
10144 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10145 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10146 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10147 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
10148 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10149 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10152 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10153 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
10154 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10155 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10156 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10157 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10158 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10159 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
10162 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10163 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10169 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10172 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10173 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10174 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10175 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10177 @item gnus-add-to-list
10178 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10179 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10180 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10185 @node Posting Server
10186 @section Posting Server
10188 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10189 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10191 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10193 @vindex gnus-post-method
10195 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
10196 select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
10197 you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
10198 However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
10199 just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
10200 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
10201 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10204 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10207 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10208 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10209 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10210 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10212 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10213 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10215 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10216 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10219 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10220 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
10223 @node Mail and Post
10224 @section Mail and Post
10226 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10230 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10231 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10232 @cindex mailing lists
10234 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10235 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10236 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10237 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10238 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10239 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10240 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10241 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10242 still a pain, though.
10246 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10247 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10248 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10251 @findex ispell-message
10253 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10256 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10257 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10260 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10264 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10265 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10267 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10270 Modify to suit your needs.
10273 @node Archived Messages
10274 @section Archived Messages
10275 @cindex archived messages
10276 @cindex sent messages
10278 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10279 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10280 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10281 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10284 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10285 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
10286 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10289 (nnfolder "archive"
10290 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10291 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10292 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10293 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10296 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10297 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10298 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10299 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10302 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10303 '(nnfolder "archive"
10304 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10305 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10306 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10309 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10311 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10312 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10313 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10315 This variable can be used to do the following:
10319 Messages will be saved in that group.
10321 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10322 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10323 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10324 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10325 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10326 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10327 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10328 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10330 @item a list of strings
10331 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10332 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10333 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10335 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10340 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10342 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10345 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10347 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10350 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10352 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10353 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10354 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10355 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10358 More complex stuff:
10360 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10361 '((if (message-news-p)
10366 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10367 messages in one file per month:
10370 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10371 '((if (message-news-p)
10373 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10376 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10377 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10379 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10380 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10381 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10382 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10383 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10384 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10385 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10386 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10387 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10388 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10390 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10391 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10392 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10393 this will disable archiving.
10396 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10397 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10398 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10399 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10400 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
10403 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
10404 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
10405 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
10408 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
10409 but the latter is the preferred method.
10411 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10412 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10413 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
10418 @node Posting Styles
10419 @section Posting Styles
10420 @cindex posting styles
10423 All them variables, they make my head swim.
10425 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
10426 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
10427 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
10430 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
10431 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
10432 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
10433 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
10434 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
10439 (signature "Peace and happiness")
10440 (organization "What me?"))
10442 (signature "Death to everybody"))
10443 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
10444 (organization "Emacs is it")))
10447 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
10448 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
10449 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
10450 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
10451 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
10452 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
10453 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
10454 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
10456 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
10457 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
10458 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
10459 next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
10460 the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
10461 will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
10462 variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
10463 @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
10464 then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
10466 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
10467 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
10468 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
10469 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
10470 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
10471 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
10472 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
10473 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
10474 result is thrown away.
10476 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
10477 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
10478 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
10479 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
10480 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
10481 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
10483 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
10484 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
10485 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
10487 @findex message-mail-p
10488 @findex message-news-p
10490 So here's a new example:
10493 (setq gnus-posting-styles
10495 (signature-file "~/.signature")
10497 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
10498 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
10500 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
10501 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
10502 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
10504 (signature my-news-signature))
10505 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
10506 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
10507 ((posting-from-work-p)
10508 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
10509 (address "user@@bar.foo")
10510 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
10511 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
10513 (From (save-excursion
10514 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
10515 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
10517 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
10520 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
10521 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
10522 if you fill many roles.
10529 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
10530 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
10531 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
10532 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
10533 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
10535 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
10536 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
10537 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
10538 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
10539 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
10543 @vindex nndraft-directory
10544 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10545 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10546 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10547 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10548 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10549 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10551 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10552 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10555 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10556 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10557 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10558 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10559 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10560 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10561 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10562 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10563 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10564 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10565 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10566 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10567 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10568 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10570 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10571 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10572 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10574 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10575 @kindex D e (Draft)
10576 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10577 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10578 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10580 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10583 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10584 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10585 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10586 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10587 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10588 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10589 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10592 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10593 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10594 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10597 @node Rejected Articles
10598 @section Rejected Articles
10599 @cindex rejected articles
10601 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10602 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10603 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10604 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10606 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
10607 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10608 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10609 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
10610 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10612 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10613 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10614 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10620 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
10621 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
10622 verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
10624 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10625 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10629 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10630 (setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
10633 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10634 to 700, for your own safety.
10636 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10637 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10641 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10644 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10645 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10648 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10651 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security
10652 menu or @kbd{C-c C-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME,
10653 @kbd{C-c C-m s s} to sign your message using S/MIME. There's also
10654 @kbd{C-c C-m c p} to encrypt your message with PGP/MIME and @kbd{C-c
10655 C-m c s} to encrypt using S/MIME. @xref{Security, ,Security, message,
10656 The Message Manual}.
10658 Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
10659 you've typed it correctly.
10661 @node Select Methods
10662 @chapter Select Methods
10663 @cindex foreign groups
10664 @cindex select methods
10666 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10667 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10668 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10669 personal mail group.
10671 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10672 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10673 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10674 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10675 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10676 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
10678 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10679 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
10681 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
10684 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10685 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10686 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10687 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10688 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10690 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10693 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10694 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10695 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10696 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10697 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
10698 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10699 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10700 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10704 @node Server Buffer
10705 @section Server Buffer
10707 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10708 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10709 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10710 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10711 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10712 back end represents a virtual server.
10714 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
10715 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10716 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
10717 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10719 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10720 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10721 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10722 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10723 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10724 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10725 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10727 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10728 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10731 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10732 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10733 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10734 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10735 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10736 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10737 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10740 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10741 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10744 @node Server Buffer Format
10745 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10746 @cindex server buffer format
10748 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10749 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10750 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10751 variable, with some simple extensions:
10756 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
10759 The name of this server.
10762 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10765 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10768 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10769 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10770 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10771 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10781 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10784 @node Server Commands
10785 @subsection Server Commands
10786 @cindex server commands
10792 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10793 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10797 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10798 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10801 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10802 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10803 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10807 @findex gnus-server-exit
10808 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10812 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10813 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10817 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10818 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10822 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10823 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10827 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10828 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10832 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10833 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10834 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10839 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10840 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10841 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10842 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
10847 @node Example Methods
10848 @subsection Example Methods
10850 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10853 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10856 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10862 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10863 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10866 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10867 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10869 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10870 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10874 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10877 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
10878 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10880 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10881 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10882 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10886 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10889 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10892 Here's the method for a public spool:
10896 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10897 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10903 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10904 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10905 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10906 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10907 should probably look something like this:
10911 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
10912 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
10913 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
10914 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10917 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10918 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
10919 configuration to the example above:
10922 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
10925 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
10926 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
10927 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
10931 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
10932 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
10933 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
10934 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10937 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10938 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10939 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10940 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10943 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10944 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10946 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10947 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10949 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10950 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10951 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10953 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10955 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10956 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10957 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10958 will contain the following:
10968 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10969 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10970 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10973 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10974 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10975 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10978 @node Server Variables
10979 @subsection Server Variables
10981 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
10982 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10983 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10984 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10985 won't change the "derived" variables.
10987 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10988 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10989 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10990 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10991 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10992 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10993 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10994 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
10995 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10999 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11000 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11001 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11005 @node Servers and Methods
11006 @subsection Servers and Methods
11008 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11009 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11010 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11011 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11015 @node Unavailable Servers
11016 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11018 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11019 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11020 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11021 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11022 actually the case or not.
11024 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11025 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11026 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11027 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11028 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11029 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11030 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11031 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11033 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11034 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11036 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11037 with the following commands:
11043 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11044 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11045 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11049 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11050 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11051 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11055 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11056 Mark the current server as unreachable
11057 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11060 @kindex M-o (Server)
11061 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11062 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11063 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11066 @kindex M-c (Server)
11067 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11068 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11069 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11073 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11074 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11075 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11081 @section Getting News
11082 @cindex reading news
11083 @cindex news back ends
11085 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11086 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11087 or it can read from a local spool.
11090 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11091 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11096 @subsection @sc{nntp}
11099 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11100 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11101 server as the, uhm, address.
11103 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11104 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11105 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11106 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11108 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11109 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11110 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11112 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11117 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11118 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11119 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11121 @cindex authentification
11122 @cindex nntp authentification
11123 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11124 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11125 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11126 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11127 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11128 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11129 present in this hook.
11131 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11132 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11133 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11134 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11135 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11136 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11137 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11138 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11139 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11140 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11141 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11142 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11146 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11149 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11151 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11152 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11153 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11154 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11155 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11156 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11157 @samp{force} is explained below.
11161 Here's an example file:
11164 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11165 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11168 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11169 have to be first, for instance.
11171 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11172 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11173 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11174 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11175 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11176 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11177 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11179 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11180 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11186 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11187 previously mentioned.
11189 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11191 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11192 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11193 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11194 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11195 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11198 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11199 '(("innd" (ding))))
11202 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11204 The default value is
11207 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11208 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11209 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11212 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11213 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11215 @item nntp-maximum-request
11216 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11217 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11218 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11219 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11220 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11221 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11222 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11224 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11225 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11226 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11227 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11228 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11229 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11230 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11231 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11232 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11233 no timeouts are done.
11235 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11236 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11237 @c @cindex PPP connections
11238 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11239 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11240 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11241 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11242 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11243 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11244 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11245 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11246 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11247 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11249 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11250 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11251 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11252 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11253 @c described above.
11255 @item nntp-server-hook
11256 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11257 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11260 @item nntp-buggy-select
11261 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11262 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11264 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11265 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
11266 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
11267 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
11270 @item nntp-xover-commands
11271 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
11274 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
11275 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
11279 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
11280 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
11281 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
11282 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
11283 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
11284 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
11285 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
11286 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
11287 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
11288 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
11289 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
11291 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
11292 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
11293 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
11295 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11296 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11297 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
11298 server closes connection.
11300 @item nntp-record-commands
11301 @vindex nntp-record-commands
11302 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
11303 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
11304 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
11305 that doesn't seem to work.
11307 @item nntp-open-connection-function
11308 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
11309 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
11310 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
11311 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
11312 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
11313 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
11314 indirect ones (two pre-made).
11318 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
11319 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
11320 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
11324 @node Direct Functions
11325 @subsubsection Direct Functions
11326 @cindex direct connection functions
11328 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
11329 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
11330 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
11331 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11334 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
11335 @item nntp-open-network-stream
11336 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
11339 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
11340 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
11341 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
11342 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
11343 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
11344 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
11345 define a server as follows:
11348 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
11350 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
11352 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
11353 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
11354 (nntp-port-number "snews")
11355 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
11358 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
11359 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
11360 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
11361 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
11362 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
11363 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
11364 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
11365 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
11369 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11370 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
11371 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
11374 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
11375 session, which is not a good idea.
11379 @node Indirect Functions
11380 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
11381 @cindex indirect connection functions
11383 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
11384 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
11385 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
11386 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
11387 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
11388 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11391 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11392 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11393 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
11394 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
11395 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
11397 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11400 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
11401 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
11402 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
11403 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
11406 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11407 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11408 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
11409 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
11411 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11414 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
11415 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
11416 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
11419 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
11420 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
11421 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
11422 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
11424 @item nntp-via-user-password
11425 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
11426 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
11428 @item nntp-via-envuser
11429 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
11430 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
11431 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
11432 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
11434 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
11435 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
11436 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
11437 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
11444 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
11449 @item nntp-via-user-name
11450 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
11451 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
11453 @item nntp-via-address
11454 @vindex nntp-via-address
11455 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
11460 @node Common Variables
11461 @subsubsection Common Variables
11463 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
11464 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
11469 @item nntp-pre-command
11470 @vindex nntp-pre-command
11471 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
11472 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
11473 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
11474 wrapper for instance.
11477 @vindex nntp-address
11478 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
11480 @item nntp-port-number
11481 @vindex nntp-port-number
11482 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
11484 @item nntp-end-of-line
11485 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
11486 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
11487 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
11488 using a non native connection function.
11490 @item nntp-telnet-command
11491 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
11492 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
11493 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
11494 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
11496 @item nntp-telnet-switches
11497 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
11498 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
11505 @subsection News Spool
11509 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
11510 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
11511 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
11514 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
11515 anything else) as the address.
11517 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
11518 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
11519 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
11520 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
11524 @item nnspool-inews-program
11525 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
11526 Program used to post an article.
11528 @item nnspool-inews-switches
11529 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
11530 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
11532 @item nnspool-spool-directory
11533 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
11534 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
11535 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
11537 @item nnspool-nov-directory
11538 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
11539 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
11540 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
11542 @item nnspool-lib-dir
11543 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
11544 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
11546 @item nnspool-active-file
11547 @vindex nnspool-active-file
11548 The path to the active file.
11550 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
11551 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
11552 The path to the group descriptions file.
11554 @item nnspool-history-file
11555 @vindex nnspool-history-file
11556 The path to the news history file.
11558 @item nnspool-active-times-file
11559 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
11560 The path to the active date file.
11562 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
11563 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
11564 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
11567 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11568 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11570 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
11571 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
11572 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
11578 @section Getting Mail
11579 @cindex reading mail
11582 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
11586 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
11587 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
11588 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
11589 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
11590 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
11591 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
11592 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
11593 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
11594 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
11595 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
11596 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
11597 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
11598 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
11599 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
11603 @node Mail in a Newsreader
11604 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
11606 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
11607 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
11608 of a culture shock.
11610 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
11611 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
11613 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
11614 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
11615 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
11616 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
11618 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
11620 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
11621 deleted? How awful!
11623 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
11624 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
11625 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
11626 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
11629 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
11630 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
11631 they want to treat a message.
11633 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11634 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11635 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11636 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11637 archived somewhere else.
11639 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11640 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11641 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11642 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11643 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11645 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11646 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11647 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11649 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11650 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11653 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11654 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11655 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11656 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11657 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11659 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11660 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11661 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11662 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11663 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11664 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11668 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11669 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11671 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11672 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11673 and things will happen automatically.
11675 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11676 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11679 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11682 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
11683 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11684 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11685 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11686 like any other group.
11688 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11691 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11692 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11693 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11697 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11698 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11699 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11702 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11703 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11704 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11707 @node Splitting Mail
11708 @subsection Splitting Mail
11709 @cindex splitting mail
11710 @cindex mail splitting
11712 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11713 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11714 to be split into groups.
11717 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11718 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11719 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11720 ("mail.other" "")))
11723 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11724 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11725 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11726 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11727 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11728 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11729 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11732 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11735 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11736 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11737 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11738 mail belongs in that group.
11740 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11741 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11742 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11743 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11744 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11745 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11747 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11748 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11749 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11750 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11751 thinks should carry this mail message.
11753 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11754 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11755 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11756 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11758 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11759 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11760 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11761 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11762 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11764 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11767 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11768 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11769 links. If that's the case for you, set
11770 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11771 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11773 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11774 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11775 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11776 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11777 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11778 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11781 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11782 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11783 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11784 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11785 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11786 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11787 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11788 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11789 month's rent money.
11793 @subsection Mail Sources
11795 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11796 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11800 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11801 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11802 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11806 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11807 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11809 @cindex mail server
11812 @cindex mail source
11814 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11815 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11820 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11823 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11824 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11825 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11828 The following mail source types are available:
11832 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11838 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11839 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11842 An example file mail source:
11845 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11848 Or using the default path:
11854 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11855 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11856 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11859 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11863 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11866 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11870 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11873 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11875 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11878 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11882 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11883 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11884 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
11885 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
11886 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
11892 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11896 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11900 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11901 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11902 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11903 predicate are considered.
11907 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11911 An example directory mail source:
11914 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11919 Get mail from a POP server.
11925 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11926 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11929 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11930 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11931 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11932 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
11933 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
11936 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11940 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11944 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
11945 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11948 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11951 The valid format specifier characters are:
11955 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11956 included in this string.
11959 The name of the server.
11962 The port number of the server.
11965 The user name to use.
11968 The password to use.
11971 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11972 corresponding keywords.
11975 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11976 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11979 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11980 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11983 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11984 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11987 @item :authentication
11988 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11989 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11994 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11995 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11997 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11998 default user name, and default fetcher:
12004 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12007 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12008 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12011 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12014 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12018 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12019 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12020 contains exactly one mail.
12026 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12027 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12030 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12031 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12033 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12034 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12035 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12038 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12039 from locking problems).
12043 Two example maildir mail sources:
12046 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12047 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12051 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12056 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12057 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12058 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12059 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12066 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12067 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12070 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12071 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
12074 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12078 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12082 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12083 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12084 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12085 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12087 @item :authentication
12088 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12089 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12090 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12091 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12094 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12095 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12096 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12102 The valid format specifier characters are:
12106 The name of the server.
12109 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12112 The port number of the server.
12115 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12116 corresponding keywords.
12119 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12120 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12123 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12124 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12125 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12126 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
12127 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12128 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
12131 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12132 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12133 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12134 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
12137 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12138 after finishing the fetch.
12142 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12145 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12147 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12151 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
12152 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
12154 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
12157 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12158 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12160 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
12166 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12167 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
12170 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
12174 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
12178 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
12179 folder after finishing the fetch.
12183 An example webmail source:
12186 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
12188 :password "secret")
12193 @item Common Keywords
12194 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
12200 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
12201 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
12205 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
12210 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
12211 useful when you use local mail and news.
12216 @subsubsection Function Interface
12218 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
12219 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
12220 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
12221 consider the following mail-source setting:
12224 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
12225 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
12228 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
12229 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
12230 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
12231 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
12232 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
12234 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
12237 @node Mail Source Customization
12238 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
12240 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
12241 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
12245 @item mail-source-crash-box
12246 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
12247 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
12248 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
12250 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
12251 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
12252 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
12254 @item mail-source-directory
12255 @vindex mail-source-directory
12256 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
12257 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
12258 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
12261 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12262 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12263 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
12264 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
12265 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
12266 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
12268 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
12269 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
12270 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
12275 @node Fetching Mail
12276 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
12278 @vindex mail-sources
12279 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
12280 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
12281 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
12282 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
12284 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
12285 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
12288 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
12289 mail server, you'd say something like:
12294 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12295 :password "secret")))
12298 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
12302 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
12303 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12306 :password "secret")))
12310 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
12311 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
12312 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
12313 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
12314 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
12315 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
12319 @node Mail Back End Variables
12320 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
12322 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
12326 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12327 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12328 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
12329 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
12331 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
12332 @item nnmail-split-hook
12333 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
12334 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
12335 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
12336 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
12337 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
12338 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
12339 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
12340 in the buffer will show up in any files.
12341 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
12344 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12345 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12346 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12347 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12348 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
12349 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
12350 starting to handle the new mail) and
12351 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
12352 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
12353 default file modes the new mail files get:
12356 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12357 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
12359 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12360 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
12363 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
12364 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
12365 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
12366 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
12367 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
12368 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
12369 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
12371 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
12372 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
12373 @findex delete-file
12374 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
12376 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12377 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12378 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
12379 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
12380 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
12385 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
12386 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
12387 @cindex mail splitting
12388 @cindex fancy mail splitting
12390 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
12391 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
12392 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
12393 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
12394 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
12395 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
12397 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
12400 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
12401 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
12402 ;; from real errors.
12403 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
12405 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
12406 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
12407 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
12408 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
12409 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
12410 ;; Other mailing lists...
12411 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
12412 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
12413 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
12414 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
12415 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
12416 ;; message was really cross-posted.
12417 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
12418 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
12420 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
12421 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
12425 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
12426 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
12427 the five possible split syntaxes:
12432 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
12433 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
12437 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
12438 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
12439 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
12440 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
12441 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
12442 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
12443 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
12444 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
12447 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12448 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
12449 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
12450 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
12453 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12454 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
12457 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
12458 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
12461 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
12462 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
12463 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
12464 function should return a @var{split}.
12467 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
12468 body of the messages:
12471 (defun split-on-body ()
12473 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
12474 (goto-char (point-min))
12475 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
12479 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
12480 when the @code{:} function is run.
12483 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12484 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
12485 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
12489 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
12493 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
12494 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
12495 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
12496 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
12497 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
12499 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
12500 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
12501 are expanded as specified by the variable
12502 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
12503 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
12506 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
12507 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
12508 when all this splitting is performed.
12510 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
12511 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
12512 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
12515 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
12518 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
12519 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
12521 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
12522 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
12523 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
12524 groupings 1 through 9.
12526 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
12527 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
12528 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
12529 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
12530 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
12531 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
12532 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
12533 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
12534 it once per thread.
12536 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
12537 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
12538 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
12541 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12542 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
12543 ;; other splits go here
12547 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
12548 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
12549 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
12550 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
12551 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
12552 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
12553 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
12554 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
12555 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
12556 unless the group name matches the regexp
12557 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
12558 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
12559 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
12560 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
12561 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12562 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
12563 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
12564 messages goes into the new group.
12567 @node Group Mail Splitting
12568 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
12569 @cindex mail splitting
12570 @cindex group mail splitting
12572 @findex gnus-group-split
12573 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
12574 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
12575 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
12576 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
12577 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
12578 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
12579 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
12580 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
12582 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
12583 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
12584 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
12585 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
12587 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
12588 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
12589 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
12590 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
12591 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
12592 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
12593 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
12595 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
12596 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
12597 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
12598 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
12599 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
12600 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
12601 @code{gnus-group-split}.
12603 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
12604 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
12605 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
12606 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
12607 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
12608 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
12609 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
12610 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
12611 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
12612 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
12613 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
12614 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
12615 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
12617 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
12622 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
12623 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
12625 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
12626 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
12627 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
12628 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
12630 ((split-spec . catch-all))
12633 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
12634 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
12635 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
12638 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
12639 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
12640 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
12644 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
12645 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
12646 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
12650 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
12653 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
12654 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
12655 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
12656 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
12657 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
12658 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
12659 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
12660 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
12661 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
12663 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
12664 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
12665 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
12666 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
12667 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
12668 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
12669 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
12670 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
12671 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12673 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12674 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12675 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12676 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12677 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12678 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12681 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12684 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12685 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12686 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12687 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12688 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12691 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12692 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12693 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12694 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12696 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12697 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12698 @cindex incorporating old mail
12699 @cindex import old mail
12701 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12702 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12703 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12706 Doing so can be quite easy.
12708 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12709 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12710 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12711 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12712 your @code{nnml} groups.
12718 Go to the group buffer.
12721 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12722 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12725 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12728 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12729 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12732 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12733 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12736 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12737 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12738 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12739 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
12740 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
12742 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
12743 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
12744 using the new mail back end.
12747 @node Expiring Mail
12748 @subsection Expiring Mail
12749 @cindex article expiry
12751 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
12752 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
12753 different approach to mail reading.
12755 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
12756 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
12757 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
12758 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
12759 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
12760 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
12763 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
12764 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
12765 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
12766 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
12767 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
12768 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
12769 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
12770 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
12772 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12773 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
12774 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
12775 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
12776 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
12777 column in the summary buffer.
12779 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
12780 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
12781 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
12782 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
12785 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
12787 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
12788 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
12789 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12792 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
12793 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
12794 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
12795 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
12796 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
12798 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
12799 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
12802 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12803 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
12806 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
12807 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
12809 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
12810 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
12811 don't really mix very well.
12813 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
12814 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
12815 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
12816 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
12819 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
12820 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
12821 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
12822 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
12825 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12827 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12829 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
12831 ((string= group "mail.junk")
12833 ((string= group "important")
12839 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
12840 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
12842 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
12843 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
12844 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
12847 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
12848 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
12850 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
12851 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
12852 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
12853 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
12854 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
12855 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
12856 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
12857 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
12858 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
12859 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
12860 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
12861 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
12864 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
12866 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
12870 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
12871 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
12872 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
12873 easier for procmail users.
12875 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
12876 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
12877 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
12878 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
12879 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
12880 caution. Even more dangerous is the
12881 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
12882 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12883 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12884 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12885 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12886 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12887 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12890 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12892 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12893 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12894 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12895 auto-expire turned on.
12899 @subsection Washing Mail
12900 @cindex mail washing
12901 @cindex list server brain damage
12902 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12904 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12905 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12906 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12907 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12908 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12909 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12911 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12912 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12913 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12916 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12917 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12918 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12919 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12922 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12923 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12924 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12925 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12926 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12929 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12930 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12931 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12932 Emacs running on MS machines.
12936 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12937 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12938 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12939 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12942 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12943 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12944 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12945 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12947 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12948 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12949 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12950 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12951 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12952 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12953 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12956 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12957 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12960 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12961 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12964 This can also be done non-destructively with
12965 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12967 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12968 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12969 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12971 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12972 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12974 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12975 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12976 @code{References} headers.
12980 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12981 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12982 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12986 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12987 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12988 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12995 @subsection Duplicates
12997 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12998 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12999 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13000 @cindex duplicate mails
13001 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13002 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13003 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13004 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13005 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13006 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13007 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13008 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13009 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13010 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13011 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13012 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13013 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13015 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13016 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13017 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13018 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13020 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13023 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13024 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13028 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13029 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13030 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13031 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13032 (any mail "mail.misc")
13039 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13040 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13045 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13046 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13047 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13048 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13049 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13052 @node Not Reading Mail
13053 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13055 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13056 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13057 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13059 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13060 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13061 mail, which should help.
13063 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13064 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13065 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13066 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13067 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13068 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13069 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13070 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13071 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13072 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13073 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13075 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13076 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13080 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13081 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13083 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13084 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13085 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13087 There are five different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13088 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13089 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
13090 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
13093 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13094 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13095 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13096 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13097 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13098 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13102 @node Unix Mail Box
13103 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13105 @cindex unix mail box
13107 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13108 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13109 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13110 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13111 which group it belongs in.
13113 Virtual server settings:
13116 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
13117 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13118 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
13121 @item nnmbox-active-file
13122 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13123 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
13124 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
13126 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
13127 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13128 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
13129 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
13134 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
13138 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13139 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13140 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
13141 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
13142 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
13144 Virtual server settings:
13147 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
13148 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13149 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
13151 @item nnbabyl-active-file
13152 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13153 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
13154 @file{~/.rmail-active}
13156 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13157 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13158 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
13164 @subsubsection Mail Spool
13166 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
13168 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
13169 format. It should be used with some caution.
13171 @vindex nnml-directory
13172 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
13173 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
13174 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
13175 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
13177 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
13180 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
13181 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
13182 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
13183 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
13184 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
13185 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
13186 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
13187 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
13189 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
13190 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
13191 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
13192 back end when it comes to reading mail.
13194 @cindex self contained nnml servers
13195 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
13196 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13197 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13198 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
13199 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
13200 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
13201 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
13202 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
13205 Virtual server settings:
13208 @item nnml-directory
13209 @vindex nnml-directory
13210 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
13211 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
13214 @item nnml-active-file
13215 @vindex nnml-active-file
13216 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
13217 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
13219 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
13220 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
13221 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13222 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
13224 @item nnml-get-new-mail
13225 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13226 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
13229 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
13230 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
13231 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13232 default is @code{nil}.
13234 @item nnml-nov-file-name
13235 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
13236 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
13238 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13239 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13240 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
13242 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
13243 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
13244 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13245 default is @code{nil}.
13247 @item nnml-marks-file-name
13248 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
13249 The name of the @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
13253 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
13254 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
13255 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
13256 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
13257 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
13258 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
13259 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
13264 @subsubsection MH Spool
13266 @cindex mh-e mail spool
13268 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
13269 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
13270 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
13271 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
13273 Virtual server settings:
13276 @item nnmh-directory
13277 @vindex nnmh-directory
13278 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
13279 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13282 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
13283 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13284 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
13288 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
13289 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
13290 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
13291 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
13292 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
13293 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
13294 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
13299 @subsubsection Mail Folders
13301 @cindex mbox folders
13302 @cindex mail folders
13304 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
13305 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
13306 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
13309 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
13310 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
13311 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13312 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13313 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
13314 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
13315 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
13316 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
13317 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
13318 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
13319 @code{nnfolder} directory).
13321 Virtual server settings:
13324 @item nnfolder-directory
13325 @vindex nnfolder-directory
13326 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
13327 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13330 @item nnfolder-active-file
13331 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
13332 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
13334 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13335 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13336 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13337 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
13339 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
13340 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13341 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
13344 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13345 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13346 @cindex backup files
13347 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
13348 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
13349 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
13350 your @file{.emacs} file:
13353 (defun turn-off-backup ()
13354 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
13356 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
13359 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13360 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13361 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
13362 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
13363 extract some information from it before removing it.
13365 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13366 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13367 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13368 default is @code{nil}.
13370 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13371 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13372 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
13374 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
13375 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
13376 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
13377 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13379 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13380 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13381 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13382 default is @code{nil}.
13384 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13385 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13386 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
13388 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
13389 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
13390 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
13391 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13396 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
13397 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
13398 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
13399 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
13400 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
13401 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
13404 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
13405 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
13407 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
13408 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
13409 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
13410 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
13411 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
13413 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
13414 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
13415 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
13416 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
13417 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
13418 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
13419 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
13420 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
13423 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
13424 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
13425 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
13426 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
13431 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
13432 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
13433 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
13434 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
13435 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
13436 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
13437 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
13438 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
13439 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
13440 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
13441 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
13442 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
13443 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
13448 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
13449 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
13450 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
13451 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
13452 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
13453 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
13454 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
13455 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
13456 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
13457 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
13458 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
13459 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
13460 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
13461 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
13463 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
13464 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
13469 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
13470 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
13471 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
13472 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
13473 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
13474 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
13475 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
13476 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
13477 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
13478 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
13479 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
13480 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
13481 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
13482 provided by the active file and overviews.
13484 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
13485 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
13486 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
13487 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
13488 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
13491 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
13492 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
13497 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
13498 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
13499 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
13500 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
13501 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
13502 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
13503 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
13507 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
13508 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
13509 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
13510 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
13511 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
13512 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
13513 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
13514 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
13515 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
13517 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
13518 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
13519 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
13520 friendly mail back end all over.
13525 @node Browsing the Web
13526 @section Browsing the Web
13528 @cindex browsing the web
13532 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
13533 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
13534 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
13535 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
13536 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
13537 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
13538 even know what a news group is.
13540 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
13541 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
13542 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
13543 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
13544 you mad in the end.
13546 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
13549 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
13550 interfaces to these sources.
13553 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
13554 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
13555 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
13556 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
13557 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
13558 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
13561 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
13563 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
13564 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
13565 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
13566 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
13567 though, you should be ok.
13569 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
13570 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
13571 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
13572 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
13573 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
13575 @node Archiving Mail
13576 @subsection Archiving Mail
13577 @cindex archiving mail
13578 @cindex backup of mail
13580 Some of the back ends, notably nnml and nnfolder, now actually store
13581 the article marks with each group. For these servers, archiving and
13582 restoring a group while preserving marks is fairly simple.
13584 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
13585 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @code{.newsrc.eld} deity
13588 To archive an entire @code{nnml} or @code{nnfolder} server, take a
13589 recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need to shut down
13590 Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or similar. You
13591 restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and adding a server
13592 definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The @ref{Article
13593 Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things might interfer
13594 with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus before you
13597 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml} or
13598 @code{nnfolder} groups, while preserving marks. For @code{nnml}, you
13599 copy all files in the group's directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need
13600 to copy both the base folder file itself (@code{FOO}, say), and the
13601 marks file (@code{FOO.mrk} in this example). Restoring the group is
13602 done with @kbd{G m} from the Group buffer. The last step makes Gnus
13603 notice the new directory.
13606 @subsection Web Searches
13610 @cindex InReference
13611 @cindex Usenet searches
13612 @cindex searching the Usenet
13614 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
13615 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
13616 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
13617 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
13618 searches without having to use a browser.
13620 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
13621 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
13622 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
13623 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
13624 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
13626 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
13627 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
13628 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
13629 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
13630 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
13631 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
13632 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
13633 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
13634 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
13635 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
13638 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
13639 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
13640 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
13641 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
13642 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
13643 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
13645 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
13646 to use @code{nnweb}.
13648 Virtual server variables:
13653 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
13654 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
13658 @vindex nnweb-search
13659 The search string to feed to the search engine.
13661 @item nnweb-max-hits
13662 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
13663 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
13666 @item nnweb-type-definition
13667 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
13668 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
13669 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
13674 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
13678 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
13681 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
13684 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
13688 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
13695 @subsection Slashdot
13699 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
13700 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
13701 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
13703 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
13704 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
13707 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13708 '((nnslashdot "")))
13711 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
13712 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
13713 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
13714 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
13715 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
13718 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
13719 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13721 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
13722 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
13723 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
13724 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
13725 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
13726 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
13729 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
13732 @item nnslashdot-threaded
13733 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
13734 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
13735 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
13736 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
13737 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
13738 but much, much slower than untreaded.
13740 @item nnslashdot-login-name
13741 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
13742 The login name to use when posting.
13744 @item nnslashdot-password
13745 @vindex nnslashdot-password
13746 The password to use when posting.
13748 @item nnslashdot-directory
13749 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
13750 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
13751 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
13753 @item nnslashdot-active-url
13754 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
13755 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
13756 news articles and comments. The default is
13757 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
13759 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
13760 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
13761 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
13763 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
13765 @item nnslashdot-article-url
13766 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
13767 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
13769 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
13771 @item nnslashdot-threshold
13772 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
13773 The score threshold. The default is -1.
13775 @item nnslashdot-group-number
13776 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
13777 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
13778 updated. The default is 0.
13785 @subsection Ultimate
13787 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
13789 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
13790 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
13791 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
13792 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
13794 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
13795 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
13796 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
13797 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
13798 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
13799 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
13800 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
13802 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
13805 @item nnultimate-directory
13806 @vindex nnultimate-directory
13807 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
13808 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
13813 @subsection Web Archive
13815 @cindex Web Archive
13817 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
13818 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
13819 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
13820 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13823 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
13824 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
13825 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
13826 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
13827 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
13828 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
13829 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
13831 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
13834 @item nnwarchive-directory
13835 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
13836 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
13837 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
13839 @item nnwarchive-login
13840 @vindex nnwarchive-login
13841 The account name on the web server.
13843 @item nnwarchive-passwd
13844 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
13845 The password for your account on the web server.
13853 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
13854 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
13855 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13858 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
13859 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
13862 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
13865 @item nnrss-directory
13866 @vindex nnrss-directory
13867 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
13868 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
13872 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
13873 the summary buffer.
13876 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
13877 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
13879 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
13881 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
13882 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
13885 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
13888 (require 'browse-url)
13890 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
13892 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
13895 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
13896 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
13898 (browse-url (cdr url))
13899 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
13901 (eval-after-load "gnus"
13902 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
13903 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
13904 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
13907 @node Customizing w3
13908 @subsection Customizing w3
13914 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
13915 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
13916 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
13918 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
13919 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
13920 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
13923 (eval-after-load "w3"
13925 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
13926 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
13927 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
13928 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
13930 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
13933 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
13934 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
13942 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13943 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
13944 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
13945 specify the network address of the server.
13947 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
13948 POP can, it can hence be viewed as POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
13949 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
13950 protocol. (@sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp} because news
13951 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.)
13953 If you want to use @sc{imap} as POP++, use an imap entry in
13954 mail-sources. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the @sc{imap}
13955 server and store them on the local disk. This is not the usage
13956 described in this section. @xref{Mail Sources}.
13958 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
13959 entry in gnus-secondary-select-methods. With this, Gnus will
13960 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
13961 usage explained in this section.
13963 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
13964 might look something like this:
13967 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13968 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
13969 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
13971 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13972 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
13973 ; a UW server running on localhost
13975 (nnimap-server-port 143)
13976 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13977 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
13978 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
13979 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
13980 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
13981 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
13982 (nnimap-stream network))
13983 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
13985 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
13986 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
13987 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
13990 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
13995 @item nnimap-address
13996 @vindex nnimap-address
13998 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
13999 server name if not specified.
14001 @item nnimap-server-port
14002 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14003 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14005 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
14008 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14009 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14012 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14013 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14014 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14015 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14016 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14017 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14018 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14020 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14021 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14022 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14025 Example server specification:
14028 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14029 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14030 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14033 @item nnimap-stream
14034 @vindex nnimap-stream
14035 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14036 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14037 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
14038 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
14040 Example server specification:
14043 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14044 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14047 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14051 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Requires the
14052 @samp{imtest} program.
14054 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14056 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14057 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14060 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the
14061 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
14063 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14065 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14068 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14069 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
14070 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
14071 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
14072 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
14073 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
14074 restrictions on IMAP commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
14075 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
14076 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14079 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14080 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14081 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14082 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
14083 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14084 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14085 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14088 @vindex imap-shell-program
14089 @vindex imap-shell-host
14090 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14091 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14093 @item nnimap-authenticator
14094 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14096 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14097 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14099 Example server specification:
14102 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14103 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14106 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
14110 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
14111 external program @code{imtest}.
14113 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
14116 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
14117 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
14119 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
14121 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
14123 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
14126 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
14128 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
14129 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
14130 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
14131 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
14132 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
14133 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
14136 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
14137 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
14138 running in circles yet?
14140 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
14141 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
14144 The possible options are:
14149 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
14152 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
14153 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
14154 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
14155 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
14157 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
14162 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
14163 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
14165 If non-nil, marks dormant articles as ticked (as well), for other IMAP
14166 clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will naturally still (only) be
14167 marked as ticked. This is to make dormant articles stand out, just
14168 like ticked articles, in other IMAP clients. (In other words, Gnus has
14169 two ``Tick'' marks and IMAP has only one.)
14171 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
14172 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
14175 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
14176 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14177 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
14178 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14181 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
14182 as ticked for other users.
14184 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
14186 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
14188 This variable contain the IMAP search command sent to server when
14189 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
14190 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
14191 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
14193 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
14194 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
14195 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
14196 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
14198 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
14199 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14201 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14202 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14203 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14209 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14210 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14211 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14216 @node Splitting in IMAP
14217 @subsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14218 @cindex splitting imap mail
14220 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14221 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14222 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14223 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14224 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14228 Here are the variables of interest:
14232 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14233 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14235 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14237 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14238 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14240 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14242 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14243 @cindex splitting, inbox
14245 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14247 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14248 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14252 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14253 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14256 No nnmail equivalent.
14258 @item nnimap-split-rule
14259 @cindex Splitting, rules
14260 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14262 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14265 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14266 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14267 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14268 Neither did I, we need examples.
14271 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14273 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14274 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14275 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14278 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14279 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14280 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
14282 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14283 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14287 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14290 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14291 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14292 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14293 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14295 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14296 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14297 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14298 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
14299 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14300 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14302 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14303 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14304 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14306 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14307 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14308 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14310 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
14312 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14313 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14314 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14317 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14318 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14319 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14320 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14321 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14322 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14325 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14326 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14327 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14328 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14329 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14330 group/function elements.
14332 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14334 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14336 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14338 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14339 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14341 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14342 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14343 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14346 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14347 @cindex splitting, fancy
14348 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14349 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14351 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14352 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14353 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14355 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14356 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14357 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14358 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14363 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14364 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14367 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14371 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14372 @subsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14373 @cindex editing imap acls
14374 @cindex Access Control Lists
14375 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14377 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14379 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14380 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14381 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14384 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14385 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14386 editing window with detailed instructions.
14388 Some possible uses:
14392 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14393 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14394 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14396 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14397 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14398 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14402 @node Expunging mailboxes
14403 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
14407 @cindex Manual expunging
14409 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14411 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
14412 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14413 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14415 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14420 @node Other Sources
14421 @section Other Sources
14423 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
14424 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
14428 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
14429 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
14430 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
14431 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
14432 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
14436 @node Directory Groups
14437 @subsection Directory Groups
14439 @cindex directory groups
14441 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
14442 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
14445 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
14446 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
14447 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
14448 back end to read directories. Big deal.
14450 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
14451 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
14452 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
14453 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
14454 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
14456 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
14458 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
14459 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
14460 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
14461 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
14464 @node Anything Groups
14465 @subsection Anything Groups
14468 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
14469 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
14470 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
14473 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
14474 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
14475 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
14476 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
14477 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
14478 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
14479 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
14480 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
14481 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
14482 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
14485 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
14486 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
14487 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
14488 in the article buffer, just as usual.
14490 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
14491 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
14492 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
14493 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
14495 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
14496 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
14497 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
14498 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
14499 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
14500 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
14501 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
14502 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
14507 @item nneething-map-file-directory
14508 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
14509 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
14510 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
14512 @item nneething-exclude-files
14513 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
14514 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
14515 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
14517 @item nneething-include-files
14518 @vindex nneething-include-files
14519 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
14520 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
14522 @item nneething-map-file
14523 @vindex nneething-map-file
14524 Name of the map files.
14528 @node Document Groups
14529 @subsection Document Groups
14531 @cindex documentation group
14534 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
14535 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
14542 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
14547 The standard Unix mbox file.
14549 @cindex MMDF mail box
14551 The MMDF mail box format.
14554 Several news articles appended into a file.
14557 @cindex rnews batch files
14558 The rnews batch transport format.
14559 @cindex forwarded messages
14562 Forwarded articles.
14565 Netscape mail boxes.
14568 MIME multipart messages.
14570 @item standard-digest
14571 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
14574 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
14577 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
14578 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
14579 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
14582 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
14583 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
14584 group. And that's it.
14586 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
14587 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
14588 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
14589 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
14590 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
14591 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
14592 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
14593 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
14594 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
14595 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
14597 Virtual server variables:
14600 @item nndoc-article-type
14601 @vindex nndoc-article-type
14602 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
14603 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
14604 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
14605 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
14607 @item nndoc-post-type
14608 @vindex nndoc-post-type
14609 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
14610 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
14615 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
14619 @node Document Server Internals
14620 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
14622 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
14623 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
14624 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
14625 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
14627 First, here's an example document type definition:
14631 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
14632 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
14635 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
14636 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
14637 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
14638 types can be defined with very few settings:
14641 @item first-article
14642 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
14643 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
14646 @item article-begin
14647 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
14648 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
14650 @item head-begin-function
14651 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
14654 @item nndoc-head-begin
14655 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
14658 @item nndoc-head-end
14659 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
14660 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
14662 @item body-begin-function
14663 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
14667 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
14670 @item body-end-function
14671 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
14675 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
14678 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
14679 regexp will be totally ignored.
14683 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
14684 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
14685 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
14686 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
14687 something that's palatable for Gnus:
14690 @item prepare-body-function
14691 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
14692 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
14693 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
14695 @item article-transform-function
14696 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
14697 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
14698 body of the article.
14700 @item generate-head-function
14701 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
14702 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
14703 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
14704 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
14708 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
14713 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14714 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14715 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
14716 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
14717 (head-end . "^ ?$")
14718 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
14719 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
14720 (subtype digest guess))
14723 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
14724 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
14725 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
14726 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
14727 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
14729 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
14730 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
14731 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
14732 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
14733 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
14734 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
14735 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
14736 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
14737 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
14738 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
14746 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
14747 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
14748 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
14750 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
14751 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
14752 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
14755 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
14756 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
14757 that interested in doing things properly.
14759 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
14760 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
14763 First some terminology:
14768 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
14769 get news and/or mail from.
14772 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
14773 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
14776 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
14780 @item message packets
14781 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
14782 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
14783 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14785 @item response packets
14786 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
14787 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
14788 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14798 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
14799 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
14800 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
14801 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
14804 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
14807 You put the packet in your home directory.
14810 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
14811 the native or secondary server.
14814 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
14815 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
14818 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
14822 You transfer this packet to the server.
14825 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
14828 You then repeat until you die.
14832 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
14833 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
14836 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
14837 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
14838 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
14842 @node SOUP Commands
14843 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
14845 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
14849 @kindex G s b (Group)
14850 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
14851 Pack all unread articles in the current group
14852 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
14853 process/prefix convention.
14856 @kindex G s w (Group)
14857 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
14858 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
14861 @kindex G s s (Group)
14862 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
14863 Send all replies from the replies packet
14864 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
14867 @kindex G s p (Group)
14868 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
14869 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
14872 @kindex G s r (Group)
14873 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
14874 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
14877 @kindex O s (Summary)
14878 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
14879 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
14880 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
14881 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14886 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
14891 @item gnus-soup-directory
14892 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
14893 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
14894 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
14896 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
14897 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
14898 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
14899 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
14901 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
14902 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
14903 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
14904 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
14906 @item gnus-soup-packer
14907 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
14908 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
14909 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
14911 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
14912 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
14913 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
14914 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
14916 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
14917 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
14918 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
14920 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
14921 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
14922 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
14923 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
14929 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
14932 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
14933 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
14934 you can read them at leisure.
14936 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
14940 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
14941 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
14942 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
14943 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
14945 @item nnsoup-directory
14946 @vindex nnsoup-directory
14947 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
14948 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
14950 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
14951 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
14952 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
14953 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
14955 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
14956 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
14957 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
14958 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
14959 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
14961 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
14962 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
14963 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
14964 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
14966 @item nnsoup-active-file
14967 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
14968 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
14969 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
14970 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
14971 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
14973 @item nnsoup-packer
14974 @vindex nnsoup-packer
14975 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
14976 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
14978 @item nnsoup-unpacker
14979 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
14980 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
14981 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
14983 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
14984 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
14985 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
14988 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
14989 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
14990 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
14993 @item nnsoup-always-save
14994 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
14995 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
15001 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
15003 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
15004 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
15005 more for that to happen.
15007 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
15008 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
15009 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
15012 In specific, this is what it does:
15015 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
15016 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
15019 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
15020 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
15021 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
15024 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
15025 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
15026 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
15029 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
15030 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
15031 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
15033 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
15039 @item nngateway-address
15040 @vindex nngateway-address
15041 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
15043 @item nngateway-header-transformation
15044 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
15045 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
15046 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
15047 transformation should be called, and defaults to
15048 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
15049 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
15052 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
15053 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
15054 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
15057 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
15060 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
15063 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
15066 The following pre-defined functions exist:
15068 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15071 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15072 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15073 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
15075 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15077 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15078 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15079 @code{nngateway-address}.
15084 (setq gnus-post-method
15086 "mail2news@@replay.com"
15087 (nngateway-header-transformation
15088 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
15096 So, to use this, simply say something like:
15099 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
15104 @node Combined Groups
15105 @section Combined Groups
15107 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
15111 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
15112 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
15116 @node Virtual Groups
15117 @subsection Virtual Groups
15119 @cindex virtual groups
15120 @cindex merging groups
15122 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
15125 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
15126 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
15127 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
15129 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
15130 regexp to match component groups.
15132 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
15133 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
15134 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
15135 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
15136 the virtual group.)
15138 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
15139 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
15142 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
15145 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
15146 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
15148 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
15149 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
15150 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
15151 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
15154 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
15157 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
15158 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
15159 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
15161 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
15162 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
15163 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
15164 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
15165 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
15167 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
15168 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
15169 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
15171 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
15172 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
15173 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
15174 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15175 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
15176 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
15177 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
15178 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
15179 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
15180 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
15181 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
15183 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
15184 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
15185 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
15186 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
15187 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
15188 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
15189 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
15191 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
15192 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
15196 @node Kibozed Groups
15197 @subsection Kibozed Groups
15201 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
15202 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
15203 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
15204 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
15206 @kindex G k (Group)
15207 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
15210 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
15211 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
15212 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
15213 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
15215 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
15216 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
15217 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
15219 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
15220 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
15221 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
15222 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
15223 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
15224 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
15225 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
15226 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
15228 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
15229 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
15230 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
15231 Stranger things have happened.
15233 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
15234 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
15236 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
15237 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
15238 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
15239 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
15240 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
15241 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
15243 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
15244 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
15247 @node Gnus Unplugged
15248 @section Gnus Unplugged
15253 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
15255 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
15256 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
15257 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
15258 read news. Believe it or not.
15260 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
15261 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
15262 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
15263 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
15264 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
15266 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
15267 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
15268 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
15269 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
15270 reading news on a machine.
15272 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
15276 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
15277 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
15281 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
15282 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15289 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
15291 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
15294 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
15295 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
15296 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
15297 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
15298 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
15299 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
15300 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
15301 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
15302 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
15303 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
15308 @subsection Agent Basics
15310 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
15312 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
15313 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
15314 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
15315 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
15317 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
15318 connected to the net continuously.
15320 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
15321 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
15323 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
15328 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
15329 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
15330 already fetched while in this mode.
15333 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
15334 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
15335 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
15336 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
15337 Source Specifiers}).
15340 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
15341 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
15342 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
15343 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
15344 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
15347 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
15348 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
15349 then you read the news offline.
15352 And then you go to step 2.
15355 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
15361 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
15362 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
15363 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
15364 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
15365 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
15366 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
15369 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
15376 @node Agent Categories
15377 @subsection Agent Categories
15379 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
15380 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
15381 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
15382 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
15383 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
15384 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
15385 you're interested in the articles anyway.
15387 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
15388 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
15389 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
15390 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
15391 managing categories.
15394 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
15395 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
15396 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
15400 @node Category Syntax
15401 @subsubsection Category Syntax
15403 A category consists of two things.
15407 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
15408 are eligible for downloading; and
15411 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
15412 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
15413 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
15416 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
15417 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
15418 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
15419 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
15421 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
15422 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
15423 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
15425 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
15426 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
15427 operators sprinkled in between.
15429 Perhaps some examples are in order.
15431 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
15432 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
15438 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
15439 short (for some value of ``short'').
15441 Here's a more complex predicate:
15450 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
15451 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
15454 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
15455 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
15456 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
15458 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
15459 you want to do, you can write your own.
15463 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
15464 lines; default 100.
15467 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
15468 lines; default 200.
15471 True iff the article has a download score less than
15472 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
15475 True iff the article has a download score greater than
15476 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
15479 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
15480 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
15481 checksum and sees whether articles match.
15490 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
15491 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
15492 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
15495 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
15496 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
15497 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
15498 something along the lines of the following:
15501 (defun my-article-old-p ()
15502 "Say whether an article is old."
15503 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
15504 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
15507 with the predicate then defined as:
15510 (not my-article-old-p)
15513 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
15514 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
15515 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
15516 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
15519 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
15520 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
15521 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
15524 and simply specify your predicate as:
15530 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
15531 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
15532 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
15533 just don't give a damn.
15535 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
15536 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
15537 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
15538 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
15539 parameters like so:
15542 (agent-predicate . short)
15545 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
15546 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
15547 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
15549 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
15552 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
15555 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
15556 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
15557 predicate is assumed to be a list.
15560 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
15561 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
15562 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
15563 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
15564 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
15565 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
15567 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
15568 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
15569 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
15570 if it's to be specific to that group.
15572 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
15579 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
15580 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
15586 Category specification
15590 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15596 Group Parameter specification
15599 (agent-score ("from"
15600 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15605 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
15611 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
15618 Category specification
15621 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
15627 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
15631 Group Parameter specification
15634 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
15637 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
15642 Use @code{normal} score files
15644 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
15645 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
15646 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
15647 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
15649 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
15650 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
15651 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
15652 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
15656 Category Specification
15663 Group Parameter specification
15666 (agent-score . file)
15671 @node Category Buffer
15672 @subsubsection Category Buffer
15674 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
15675 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
15676 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
15678 The following commands are available in this buffer:
15682 @kindex q (Category)
15683 @findex gnus-category-exit
15684 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
15687 @kindex k (Category)
15688 @findex gnus-category-kill
15689 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
15692 @kindex c (Category)
15693 @findex gnus-category-copy
15694 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
15697 @kindex a (Category)
15698 @findex gnus-category-add
15699 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
15702 @kindex p (Category)
15703 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
15704 Edit the predicate of the current category
15705 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
15708 @kindex g (Category)
15709 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
15710 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
15711 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
15714 @kindex s (Category)
15715 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
15716 Edit the download score rule of the current category
15717 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
15720 @kindex l (Category)
15721 @findex gnus-category-list
15722 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
15726 @node Category Variables
15727 @subsubsection Category Variables
15730 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
15731 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
15732 Hook run in category buffers.
15734 @item gnus-category-line-format
15735 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
15736 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
15737 Variables}). Valid elements are:
15741 The name of the category.
15744 The number of groups in the category.
15747 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
15748 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
15749 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
15751 @item gnus-agent-short-article
15752 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
15753 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
15755 @item gnus-agent-long-article
15756 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
15757 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
15759 @item gnus-agent-low-score
15760 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
15761 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
15764 @item gnus-agent-high-score
15765 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
15766 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
15772 @node Agent Commands
15773 @subsection Agent Commands
15775 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
15776 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
15777 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
15781 * Group Agent Commands::
15782 * Summary Agent Commands::
15783 * Server Agent Commands::
15786 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
15787 following incantation:
15789 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15791 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15796 @node Group Agent Commands
15797 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
15801 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
15802 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
15803 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
15804 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
15807 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
15808 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
15809 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
15812 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
15813 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
15814 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
15815 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
15818 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
15819 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
15820 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
15821 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
15824 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
15825 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
15826 Add the current group to an Agent category
15827 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
15828 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15831 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
15832 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
15833 Remove the current group from its category, if any
15834 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
15835 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15838 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
15839 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15840 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
15846 @node Summary Agent Commands
15847 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
15851 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
15852 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
15853 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
15856 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
15857 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
15858 Remove the downloading mark from the article
15859 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
15862 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
15863 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
15864 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
15867 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
15868 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
15869 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
15872 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
15873 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
15874 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
15875 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
15880 @node Server Agent Commands
15881 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
15885 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
15886 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
15887 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
15888 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
15891 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
15892 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
15893 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
15894 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
15900 @subsection Agent Expiry
15902 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
15903 @findex gnus-agent-expire
15904 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
15905 @cindex Agent expiry
15906 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
15909 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
15910 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
15911 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
15912 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
15913 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
15914 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
15916 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
15917 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
15918 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
15919 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
15920 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
15923 @node Agent and IMAP
15924 @subsection Agent and IMAP
15926 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
15927 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
15928 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
15929 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
15931 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
15932 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
15933 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
15934 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
15936 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
15937 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
15938 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
15939 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
15940 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
15942 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15943 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
15944 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
15945 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
15946 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
15947 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
15949 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
15950 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
15951 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
15952 in the group buffer by default.
15954 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
15955 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
15960 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
15963 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
15967 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
15968 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
15969 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
15970 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
15971 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
15972 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
15973 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
15974 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
15977 @node Outgoing Messages
15978 @subsection Outgoing Messages
15980 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
15981 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
15982 after posting, and edit them at will.
15984 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
15985 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
15986 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
15987 messages in the draft group.
15991 @node Agent Variables
15992 @subsection Agent Variables
15995 @item gnus-agent-directory
15996 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
15997 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
15998 @file{~/News/agent/}.
16000 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
16001 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
16002 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
16003 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
16004 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
16007 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16008 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16009 Hook run when connecting to the network.
16011 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16012 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16013 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
16018 @node Example Setup
16019 @subsection Example Setup
16021 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
16022 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
16023 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
16026 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
16027 ;;; from your ISP's server.
16028 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
16030 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
16031 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
16032 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
16034 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
16035 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
16037 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
16041 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
16042 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
16045 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
16046 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
16047 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
16048 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
16049 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
16052 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
16053 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
16054 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
16055 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
16056 back all the killed groups.)
16058 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
16059 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
16060 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
16063 @node Batching Agents
16064 @subsection Batching Agents
16066 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
16067 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
16068 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
16072 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
16076 @node Agent Caveats
16077 @subsection Agent Caveats
16079 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
16080 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
16084 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
16089 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
16090 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
16096 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
16097 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
16104 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
16105 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
16106 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
16109 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
16110 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
16111 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
16112 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
16113 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
16115 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
16116 before generating the summary buffer.
16118 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
16119 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
16120 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
16122 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
16123 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
16124 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
16125 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
16128 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
16129 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
16130 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
16131 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
16132 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
16133 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
16134 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
16135 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
16136 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
16137 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
16138 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
16139 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
16140 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
16141 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
16142 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
16143 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
16144 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
16148 @node Summary Score Commands
16149 @section Summary Score Commands
16150 @cindex score commands
16152 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
16153 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
16154 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
16155 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
16156 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
16158 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
16159 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
16160 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
16161 score file the current one.
16163 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
16168 @kindex V s (Summary)
16169 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
16170 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
16173 @kindex V S (Summary)
16174 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
16175 Display the score of the current article
16176 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
16179 @kindex V t (Summary)
16180 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
16181 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
16182 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
16185 @kindex V R (Summary)
16186 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
16187 Run the current summary through the scoring process
16188 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
16189 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
16190 effect you're having.
16193 @kindex V c (Summary)
16194 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
16195 Make a different score file the current
16196 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
16199 @kindex V e (Summary)
16200 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
16201 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
16202 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
16206 @kindex V f (Summary)
16207 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
16208 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
16209 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
16212 @kindex V F (Summary)
16213 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16214 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
16215 after editing score files.
16218 @kindex V C (Summary)
16219 @findex gnus-score-customize
16220 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
16221 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
16225 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
16230 @kindex V m (Summary)
16231 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
16232 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
16233 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
16236 @kindex V x (Summary)
16237 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
16238 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
16239 expunge all articles below this score
16240 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
16243 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
16244 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
16247 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
16248 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
16252 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
16253 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
16255 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
16256 keys are available:
16260 Score on the author name.
16263 Score on the subject line.
16266 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
16269 Score on the @code{References} line.
16275 Score on the number of lines.
16278 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
16281 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
16282 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
16283 @file{ADAPT} files.)
16292 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
16298 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
16299 what headers you are scoring on.
16311 Substring matching.
16314 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
16343 Greater than number.
16348 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
16349 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
16350 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
16354 Temporary score entry.
16357 Permanent score entry.
16360 Immediately scoring.
16365 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
16366 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
16367 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
16368 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
16370 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
16371 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
16372 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
16373 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
16374 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
16376 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
16377 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
16378 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
16379 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
16380 current score file.
16382 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
16383 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
16384 pretend they are keymaps or not.
16387 @node Group Score Commands
16388 @section Group Score Commands
16389 @cindex group score commands
16391 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
16396 @kindex W f (Group)
16397 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16398 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
16399 all the time. This command will flush the cache
16400 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
16404 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
16406 @findex gnus-batch-score
16407 @cindex batch scoring
16409 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
16413 @node Score Variables
16414 @section Score Variables
16415 @cindex score variables
16419 @item gnus-use-scoring
16420 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
16421 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
16422 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
16424 @item gnus-kill-killed
16425 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
16426 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
16427 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
16428 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
16429 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
16430 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
16431 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
16433 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
16434 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
16435 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
16436 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
16437 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
16439 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
16440 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
16441 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
16442 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
16444 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16445 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16446 @cindex score cache
16447 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
16448 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
16449 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
16450 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
16451 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
16452 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
16455 @item gnus-save-score
16456 @vindex gnus-save-score
16457 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
16458 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
16459 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
16461 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
16462 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
16463 across group visits.
16465 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16466 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16467 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
16468 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
16469 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
16470 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
16471 manually entered data.
16473 @item gnus-summary-default-score
16474 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
16475 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
16477 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
16478 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
16479 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
16480 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
16481 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
16482 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
16484 @item gnus-score-over-mark
16485 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
16486 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
16487 default. Default is @samp{+}.
16489 @item gnus-score-below-mark
16490 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
16491 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
16492 default. Default is @samp{-}.
16494 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16495 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16496 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
16497 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
16499 Predefined functions available are:
16502 @item gnus-score-find-single
16503 @findex gnus-score-find-single
16504 Only apply the group's own score file.
16506 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
16507 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
16508 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
16509 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
16510 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
16511 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
16512 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
16513 then a regexp match is done.
16515 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
16516 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
16518 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
16519 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
16520 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
16521 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
16523 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16524 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16525 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
16526 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
16527 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
16531 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
16532 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
16533 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
16534 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
16535 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
16536 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
16537 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
16540 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
16541 overall score file, you could use the value
16543 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
16544 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
16547 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
16548 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
16549 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
16550 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
16551 are expired. It's 7 by default.
16553 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16554 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16555 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
16556 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
16557 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
16558 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
16559 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
16562 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16563 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16564 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
16566 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
16567 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
16568 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
16569 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
16570 threading---according to the current value of
16571 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
16572 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
16573 simplified in this manner.
16578 @node Score File Format
16579 @section Score File Format
16580 @cindex score file format
16582 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
16583 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
16584 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
16586 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
16590 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
16592 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
16594 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
16596 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
16601 (mark-and-expunge -10)
16605 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
16606 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
16607 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
16608 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
16612 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
16613 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
16615 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
16616 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
16617 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
16619 Six keys are supported by this alist:
16624 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
16625 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
16626 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
16627 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
16628 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
16629 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
16630 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
16631 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
16632 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
16633 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
16634 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
16635 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
16636 to articles that matches these score entries.
16638 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
16639 score entry has one to four elements.
16643 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
16644 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
16648 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
16649 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
16650 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
16651 is successful. If this element is not present, the
16652 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
16653 instead. This is 1000 by default.
16656 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
16657 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
16658 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
16659 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
16660 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
16663 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
16664 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
16665 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
16666 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
16669 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
16670 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
16671 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
16672 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
16673 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
16674 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
16675 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
16676 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
16677 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
16678 instead, if you feel like.
16681 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
16682 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
16684 These predicates are true if
16687 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
16690 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
16691 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
16698 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
16699 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
16700 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
16701 it's not. I think.)
16703 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
16704 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
16705 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
16706 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
16709 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
16710 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
16711 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
16712 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
16713 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
16714 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
16715 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
16719 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
16720 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
16721 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
16722 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
16723 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
16724 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
16725 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
16726 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
16729 @item Head, Body, All
16730 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
16734 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
16735 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
16736 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
16737 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
16738 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
16739 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
16740 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
16744 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
16745 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
16746 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
16747 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
16748 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
16749 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
16750 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
16751 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
16752 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
16753 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
16754 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
16758 @cindex Score File Atoms
16760 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16761 lower than this number will be marked as read.
16764 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16765 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
16767 @item mark-and-expunge
16768 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16769 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
16772 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
16773 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
16774 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
16775 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
16776 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
16779 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
16780 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
16783 @item exclude-files
16784 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
16785 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
16789 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
16790 ignored when handling global score files.
16793 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
16794 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
16795 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
16796 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
16799 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
16800 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
16801 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
16802 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
16804 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
16808 (mark-and-expunge -100)
16811 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
16812 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
16813 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
16814 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
16815 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
16817 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
16818 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
16819 scoring rules exist.
16822 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
16823 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
16824 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
16825 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
16826 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
16827 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
16828 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16829 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
16830 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
16831 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
16832 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
16836 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
16837 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
16838 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
16839 file for a number of groups.
16842 @cindex local variables
16843 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
16844 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
16845 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
16846 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
16847 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
16851 @node Score File Editing
16852 @section Score File Editing
16854 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
16855 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
16856 with a mode for that.
16858 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
16859 additional commands:
16864 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
16865 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
16866 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
16867 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
16870 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
16871 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
16872 Insert the current date in numerical format
16873 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
16874 you were wondering.
16877 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
16878 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
16879 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
16880 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
16881 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
16886 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
16888 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
16889 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
16891 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
16892 e} to begin editing score files.
16895 @node Adaptive Scoring
16896 @section Adaptive Scoring
16897 @cindex adaptive scoring
16899 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
16900 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
16901 stupidity, to be precise.
16903 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
16904 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
16905 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
16906 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
16907 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16908 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
16909 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
16910 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
16911 variable to @code{(word line)}.
16913 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16914 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
16915 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
16916 might look something like this:
16919 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16920 '((gnus-unread-mark)
16921 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
16922 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
16923 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
16924 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
16925 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
16926 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
16927 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
16928 (gnus-ancient-mark)
16929 (gnus-low-score-mark)
16930 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
16933 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
16934 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
16935 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
16936 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
16937 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
16938 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
16941 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
16942 will be applied to each article.
16944 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
16945 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
16946 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
16947 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
16949 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
16950 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
16951 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
16952 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
16954 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
16955 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
16956 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
16957 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
16959 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
16960 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
16961 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
16962 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
16963 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
16964 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
16966 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
16967 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
16968 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
16969 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
16970 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
16971 aspirins afterwards.)
16973 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
16974 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
16975 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
16977 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
16978 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
16979 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
16981 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
16982 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
16983 let you use different rules in different groups.
16985 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
16986 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
16987 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
16990 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
16991 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
16992 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
16993 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
16994 the length of the match is less than
16995 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
16996 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
16999 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17000 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
17001 headers. If you adapt on words, the
17002 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
17003 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
17006 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17007 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
17008 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
17009 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
17010 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
17013 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
17014 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
17015 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
17016 score with 30 points.
17018 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
17019 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
17020 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
17021 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
17022 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
17024 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
17025 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
17026 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
17027 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
17028 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
17030 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
17031 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
17032 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
17033 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
17035 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
17036 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
17037 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
17038 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
17040 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
17041 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
17042 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
17043 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
17044 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
17046 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
17047 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
17048 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
17050 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
17051 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
17052 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
17053 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
17056 @node Home Score File
17057 @section Home Score File
17059 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
17060 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
17061 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
17062 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
17064 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
17065 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
17066 could perhaps use the same home score file.
17068 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
17069 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
17074 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
17078 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
17079 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
17083 A list. The elements in this list can be:
17087 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
17088 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
17091 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
17092 the home score file.
17095 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
17098 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
17103 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
17106 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17107 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
17110 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
17111 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
17113 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
17115 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17116 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
17119 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
17120 Other functions include
17123 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
17124 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
17125 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
17126 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
17130 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
17131 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
17132 their own home score files:
17135 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17136 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
17137 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
17138 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
17139 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
17142 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
17143 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
17144 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
17145 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
17146 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
17148 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
17149 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
17150 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
17151 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
17152 precedence over this variable.
17155 @node Followups To Yourself
17156 @section Followups To Yourself
17158 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
17159 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
17160 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
17161 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
17162 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
17163 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
17167 @item gnus-score-followup-article
17168 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
17169 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
17172 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
17173 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
17174 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
17178 @vindex message-sent-hook
17179 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
17180 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
17182 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
17186 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
17187 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
17191 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17192 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17195 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
17196 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
17201 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
17205 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
17206 is system-dependent.
17209 @node Scoring On Other Headers
17210 @section Scoring On Other Headers
17211 @cindex scoring on other headers
17213 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
17214 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
17215 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
17216 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
17217 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
17219 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
17220 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
17221 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
17222 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
17223 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
17225 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17228 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
17229 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
17232 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
17233 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
17234 time if you have much mail.
17236 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
17237 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
17243 @section Scoring Tips
17244 @cindex scoring tips
17250 @cindex scoring crossposts
17251 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
17252 the @code{Xref} header.
17254 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
17257 @item Multiple crossposts
17258 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
17259 more than, say, 3 groups:
17262 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
17266 @item Matching on the body
17267 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
17268 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
17269 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
17270 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
17271 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
17272 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
17273 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
17276 @item Marking as read
17277 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
17278 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
17279 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
17283 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
17285 @item Negated character classes
17286 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
17287 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
17288 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
17292 @node Reverse Scoring
17293 @section Reverse Scoring
17294 @cindex reverse scoring
17296 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
17297 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
17298 like this in your score file:
17302 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
17307 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
17308 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
17311 @node Global Score Files
17312 @section Global Score Files
17313 @cindex global score files
17315 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
17316 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
17317 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
17319 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
17320 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
17321 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
17323 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
17324 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
17325 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
17326 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
17327 files are applicable to which group.
17329 To use the score file
17330 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
17331 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
17335 (setq gnus-global-score-files
17336 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
17337 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
17340 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
17342 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
17343 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
17344 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
17345 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
17347 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
17348 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
17350 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
17351 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
17352 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
17353 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
17354 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
17355 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
17357 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
17363 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
17365 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
17367 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
17369 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
17370 lowered out of existence.
17372 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
17373 articles completely.
17376 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
17377 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
17378 old articles for a long time.
17381 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
17382 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
17383 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
17384 holding our breath yet?
17388 @section Kill Files
17391 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
17392 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
17393 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
17395 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
17396 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
17397 files into score files.
17399 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
17400 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
17401 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
17402 that isn't a very good idea.
17404 Normal kill files look like this:
17407 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17408 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
17412 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
17413 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
17415 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
17416 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
17419 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
17424 @kindex M-k (Summary)
17425 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
17426 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
17429 @kindex M-K (Summary)
17430 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
17431 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
17434 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
17439 @kindex M-k (Group)
17440 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
17441 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
17444 @kindex M-K (Group)
17445 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
17446 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
17449 Kill file variables:
17452 @item gnus-kill-file-name
17453 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
17454 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
17455 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
17456 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
17457 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
17458 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
17460 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17461 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17462 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
17463 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
17466 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
17467 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
17468 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
17469 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
17470 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
17471 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
17472 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
17473 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
17474 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
17476 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17477 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17478 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
17483 @node Converting Kill Files
17484 @section Converting Kill Files
17486 @cindex converting kill files
17488 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
17489 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
17490 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
17493 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
17494 You can fetch it from
17495 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
17497 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
17498 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
17499 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
17507 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
17508 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
17509 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
17510 news articles generated every day.
17512 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
17513 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
17514 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
17515 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
17516 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
17517 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
17518 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
17519 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
17522 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
17523 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
17526 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
17527 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
17528 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
17529 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
17533 @node Using GroupLens
17534 @subsection Using GroupLens
17536 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
17538 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
17539 better bit in town at the moment.
17541 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
17545 @item gnus-use-grouplens
17546 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
17547 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
17548 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
17550 @item grouplens-pseudonym
17551 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
17552 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
17553 with the Better Bit Bureau.
17555 @item grouplens-newsgroups
17556 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
17557 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
17561 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
17562 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
17563 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
17564 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
17565 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
17566 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
17569 @node Rating Articles
17570 @subsection Rating Articles
17572 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
17573 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
17574 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
17575 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
17578 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
17583 @kindex r (GroupLens)
17584 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
17585 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
17588 @kindex k (GroupLens)
17589 @findex grouplens-score-thread
17590 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
17591 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
17592 threads in rec.humor.
17596 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
17597 the score of the article you're reading.
17602 @kindex n (GroupLens)
17603 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
17604 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
17607 @kindex , (GroupLens)
17608 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
17609 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
17613 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
17614 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
17617 @node Displaying Predictions
17618 @subsection Displaying Predictions
17620 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
17621 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
17622 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
17623 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
17624 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
17626 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
17627 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
17628 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
17629 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
17630 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
17631 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
17632 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
17633 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
17634 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
17635 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
17636 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
17637 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
17638 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
17640 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
17641 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
17642 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
17643 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
17645 The following are valid values for that variable.
17648 @item prediction-spot
17649 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
17652 @item confidence-interval
17653 A numeric confidence interval.
17655 @item prediction-bar
17656 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
17658 @item confidence-bar
17659 Numerical confidence.
17661 @item confidence-spot
17662 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
17664 @item prediction-num
17665 Plain-old numeric value.
17667 @item confidence-plus-minus
17668 Prediction +/- confidence.
17673 @node GroupLens Variables
17674 @subsection GroupLens Variables
17678 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
17679 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
17680 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
17681 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
17684 @item grouplens-bbb-host
17685 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
17688 @item grouplens-bbb-port
17689 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
17691 @item grouplens-score-offset
17692 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
17693 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
17696 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
17697 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
17698 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
17703 @node Advanced Scoring
17704 @section Advanced Scoring
17706 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
17707 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
17708 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
17709 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
17710 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
17712 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
17716 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
17717 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
17718 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
17722 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
17723 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
17725 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
17726 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
17727 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
17728 non-@code{nil} value.
17730 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
17731 operator, and various match operators.
17738 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17739 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
17740 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
17745 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17746 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
17747 then this operator will return @code{false}.
17752 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
17753 logical negation of the value of its argument.
17757 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
17758 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
17759 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
17760 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
17761 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
17762 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
17763 the ancestry you want to go.
17765 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
17766 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
17767 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
17768 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
17769 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
17772 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
17773 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
17775 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
17776 when he's talking about Gnus:
17780 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17781 ("subject" "Gnus"))
17787 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
17791 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17798 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
17799 really don't want to read what he's written:
17803 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17804 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
17808 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
17809 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
17810 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
17817 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
17818 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
17819 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
17820 ("body" "white.*socks"))
17824 The possibilities are endless.
17827 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
17828 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
17830 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
17831 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
17832 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
17833 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
17834 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
17835 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
17836 @samp{subject}) first.
17838 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
17839 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
17850 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
17851 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
17857 ("subject" "Gnus")))
17864 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
17865 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
17870 @section Score Decays
17871 @cindex score decays
17874 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
17875 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
17876 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
17877 use them in any sensible way.
17879 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
17880 @findex gnus-decay-score
17881 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
17882 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
17883 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
17884 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
17885 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
17886 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
17887 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
17888 definition of that function:
17891 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
17893 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
17894 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
17897 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
17899 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
17901 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
17904 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
17905 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
17906 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
17907 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
17911 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
17914 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
17917 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
17921 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
17922 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
17923 the new score, which should be an integer.
17925 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
17926 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
17933 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
17934 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
17935 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
17936 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
17937 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
17938 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
17939 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
17940 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
17941 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
17942 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
17943 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
17944 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
17945 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
17946 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
17947 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
17948 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
17949 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
17950 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
17954 @node Process/Prefix
17955 @section Process/Prefix
17956 @cindex process/prefix convention
17958 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
17959 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
17961 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
17962 command to be performed on.
17966 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
17967 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
17968 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
17969 with the current one.
17971 @vindex transient-mark-mode
17972 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
17973 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
17975 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
17976 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
17979 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
17980 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
17982 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
17985 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
17986 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
17987 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
17988 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
17990 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
17991 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
17992 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
17993 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
17994 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
17995 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
17996 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
17997 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
17999 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
18000 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
18001 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
18002 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
18003 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
18007 @section Interactive
18008 @cindex interaction
18012 @item gnus-novice-user
18013 @vindex gnus-novice-user
18014 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
18015 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
18016 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
18017 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
18020 @item gnus-expert-user
18021 @vindex gnus-expert-user
18022 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
18023 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
18024 matter how strange.
18026 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
18027 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
18028 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
18029 is @code{t} by default.
18031 @item gnus-interactive-exit
18032 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
18033 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18038 @node Symbolic Prefixes
18039 @section Symbolic Prefixes
18040 @cindex symbolic prefixes
18042 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
18043 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
18044 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
18045 rule of 900 to the current article.
18047 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
18048 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
18049 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
18050 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
18051 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
18052 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
18053 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
18055 @kindex M-i (Summary)
18056 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
18057 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
18058 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
18059 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
18060 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
18061 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
18062 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
18063 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
18065 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
18066 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
18067 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
18069 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
18073 @node Formatting Variables
18074 @section Formatting Variables
18075 @cindex formatting variables
18077 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
18078 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
18079 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
18080 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
18081 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
18084 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
18085 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
18086 lots of percentages everywhere.
18089 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
18090 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
18091 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
18092 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
18093 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
18094 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
18095 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
18096 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
18099 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
18100 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
18101 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
18102 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
18103 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
18104 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
18105 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
18106 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
18108 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
18109 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
18111 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
18112 @findex gnus-update-format
18113 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
18114 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
18115 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
18116 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
18120 @node Formatting Basics
18121 @subsection Formatting Basics
18123 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
18124 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
18125 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
18127 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
18128 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
18129 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
18130 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
18131 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
18134 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
18135 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
18136 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
18137 less than 4 characters wide.
18140 @node Mode Line Formatting
18141 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
18143 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
18144 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
18145 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
18146 with the following two differences:
18151 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
18154 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
18155 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
18156 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
18157 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
18158 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
18159 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
18160 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
18165 @node Advanced Formatting
18166 @subsection Advanced Formatting
18168 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
18169 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
18170 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
18171 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
18173 These are the valid modifiers:
18178 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
18182 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
18187 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
18190 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
18195 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
18198 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
18201 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
18204 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
18208 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
18209 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
18210 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
18211 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
18212 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
18213 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
18214 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
18216 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
18217 last operation, padding.
18219 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
18220 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
18221 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
18222 @xref{Compilation}.
18225 @node User-Defined Specs
18226 @subsection User-Defined Specs
18228 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
18229 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
18230 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
18231 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
18232 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
18233 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
18234 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
18235 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
18236 should protect against that.
18238 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
18239 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
18240 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
18241 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
18245 @node Formatting Fonts
18246 @subsection Formatting Fonts
18248 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
18249 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
18250 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
18251 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
18254 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
18255 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
18256 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
18257 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
18258 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
18259 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
18261 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
18262 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
18263 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
18264 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
18265 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
18266 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
18267 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
18268 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
18270 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
18273 ;; Create three face types.
18274 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
18275 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
18277 ;; We want the article count to be in
18278 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
18279 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
18280 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
18282 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
18283 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
18285 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
18286 (setq gnus-group-line-format
18287 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
18290 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
18291 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
18293 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
18294 mode-line variables.
18296 @node Positioning Point
18297 @subsection Positioning Point
18299 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
18300 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
18301 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
18303 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
18305 @findex gnus-goto-colon
18306 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
18307 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
18309 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
18310 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
18311 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
18316 @subsection Tabulation
18318 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
18319 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
18320 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
18321 about lining up the following text afterwards.
18323 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
18324 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
18326 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18327 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
18328 This is the soft tabulator.
18330 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18331 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
18332 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
18335 @node Wide Characters
18336 @subsection Wide Characters
18338 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
18339 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
18340 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
18342 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
18343 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
18344 these coutries, that's not true.
18346 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
18347 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
18348 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
18349 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
18353 @node Window Layout
18354 @section Window Layout
18355 @cindex window layout
18357 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
18359 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
18360 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
18361 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
18362 @code{t} by default.
18364 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
18365 glitches. Use at your own peril.
18367 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
18368 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
18369 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
18372 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
18373 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
18374 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18378 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
18379 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
18380 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
18381 possible names is listed below.
18383 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
18384 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
18387 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18391 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
18392 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
18393 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
18394 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
18395 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
18396 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
18397 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
18398 size spec per split.
18400 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
18401 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
18402 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
18403 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
18404 present) gets focus.
18406 Here's a more complicated example:
18409 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
18410 (summary 0.25 point)
18411 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
18415 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
18416 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
18417 occupy, not a percentage.
18419 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
18420 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
18421 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
18422 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
18423 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
18426 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
18429 (article (horizontal 1.0
18434 (summary 0.25 point)
18439 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
18440 @code{horizontal} thingie?
18442 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
18443 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
18444 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
18445 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
18446 the screen is to be given to this strip.
18448 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
18449 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
18450 lines from the splits.
18452 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
18456 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
18457 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
18458 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
18459 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
18460 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
18461 size = number | frame-params
18462 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
18465 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
18466 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
18467 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
18468 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
18470 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
18471 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
18472 @cindex window height
18473 @cindex window width
18474 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
18475 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
18476 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
18477 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
18478 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
18479 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
18481 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
18482 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
18483 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
18484 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
18486 @findex gnus-configure-frame
18487 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
18488 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
18489 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
18490 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
18491 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
18492 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
18493 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
18494 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
18495 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
18496 configuration list.
18499 (gnus-configure-frame
18503 (article 0.3 point))
18511 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
18512 @code{frame} split:
18515 (gnus-configure-frame
18518 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
18520 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
18521 (user-position . t)
18522 (left . -1) (top . 1))
18527 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
18528 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
18529 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
18530 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
18531 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
18532 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
18533 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
18534 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
18536 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
18537 be found in its default value.
18539 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
18540 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
18541 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
18545 (message (horizontal 1.0
18546 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
18548 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
18553 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
18554 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
18555 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
18560 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
18561 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
18562 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
18563 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
18564 (name . "Message"))
18565 (message 1.0 point))))
18568 @findex gnus-add-configuration
18569 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
18570 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
18571 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
18572 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
18575 (gnus-add-configuration
18576 '(article (vertical 1.0
18578 (summary .25 point)
18582 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
18583 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
18584 Gnus has been loaded.
18586 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
18587 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
18588 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
18589 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
18590 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
18592 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
18593 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
18594 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
18597 @subsection Example Window Configurations
18601 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
18602 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
18617 (gnus-add-configuration
18620 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18622 (summary 0.16 point)
18625 (gnus-add-configuration
18628 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18629 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
18635 @node Faces and Fonts
18636 @section Faces and Fonts
18641 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
18642 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
18643 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
18648 @section Compilation
18649 @cindex compilation
18650 @cindex byte-compilation
18652 @findex gnus-compile
18654 Remember all those line format specification variables?
18655 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
18656 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
18657 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
18658 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
18659 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
18662 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
18663 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
18664 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
18665 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
18666 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
18667 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
18668 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
18672 @section Mode Lines
18675 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
18676 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
18677 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
18678 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
18679 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
18680 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
18681 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
18684 @cindex display-time
18686 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
18687 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
18688 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
18689 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
18690 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
18691 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
18692 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
18693 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
18696 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
18698 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
18699 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
18701 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
18702 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
18703 (length display-time-string)))))
18706 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
18707 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
18708 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
18709 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
18710 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
18713 @node Highlighting and Menus
18714 @section Highlighting and Menus
18716 @cindex highlighting
18719 @vindex gnus-visual
18720 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
18721 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
18722 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
18725 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
18726 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
18729 @item group-highlight
18730 Do highlights in the group buffer.
18731 @item summary-highlight
18732 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
18733 @item article-highlight
18734 Do highlights in the article buffer.
18736 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
18738 Create menus in the group buffer.
18740 Create menus in the summary buffers.
18742 Create menus in the article buffer.
18744 Create menus in the browse buffer.
18746 Create menus in the server buffer.
18748 Create menus in the score buffers.
18750 Create menus in all buffers.
18753 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
18754 buffers, you could say something like:
18757 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
18760 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
18763 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
18766 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
18767 in all Gnus buffers.
18769 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
18772 @item gnus-mouse-face
18773 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
18774 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
18775 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
18779 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
18783 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
18784 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
18785 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
18787 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
18788 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
18789 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
18791 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
18792 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
18793 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
18795 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
18796 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
18797 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
18799 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
18800 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
18801 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
18803 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
18804 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
18805 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
18816 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
18817 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
18818 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
18819 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
18820 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
18824 @vindex gnus-carpal
18825 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
18826 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
18827 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
18832 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18833 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18834 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
18836 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
18837 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
18838 Face used on buttons.
18840 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
18841 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
18842 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
18844 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18845 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18846 Buttons in the group buffer.
18848 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18849 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18850 Buttons in the summary buffer.
18852 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18853 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18854 Buttons in the server buffer.
18856 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18857 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18858 Buttons in the browse buffer.
18861 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
18862 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
18863 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
18871 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
18872 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
18873 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
18874 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
18875 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
18877 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
18878 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
18879 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
18881 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
18882 been idle for thirty minutes:
18885 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
18888 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
18892 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
18895 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
18896 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
18897 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18899 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
18900 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
18901 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
18902 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18904 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
18905 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
18906 @var{idle} minutes.
18908 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
18909 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
18912 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
18913 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
18914 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
18916 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
18917 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
18918 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
18919 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
18921 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
18922 your @file{.gnus} file:
18924 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
18926 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
18929 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
18930 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
18931 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
18932 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
18933 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
18934 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
18935 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
18936 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
18937 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
18938 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
18939 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
18941 @findex gnus-demon-init
18942 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
18943 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
18944 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
18945 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
18946 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
18948 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
18949 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
18950 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
18959 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
18960 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
18962 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
18963 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
18964 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
18965 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
18968 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
18969 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
18970 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
18971 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
18973 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
18974 this will make spam disappear.
18976 There are some variables to customize, of course:
18979 @item gnus-use-nocem
18980 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
18981 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
18984 @item gnus-nocem-groups
18985 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
18986 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
18987 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
18988 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
18990 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
18991 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
18992 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
18993 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
18994 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
18995 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
18997 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
18998 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
19000 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
19001 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
19002 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
19003 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
19004 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
19005 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
19006 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
19007 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
19008 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
19009 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
19011 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
19012 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
19015 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
19018 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
19019 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
19022 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
19025 The specs are applied left-to-right.
19028 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
19029 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
19031 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
19032 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
19033 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
19034 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
19036 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
19037 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
19040 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
19042 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
19050 This might be dangerous, though.
19052 @item gnus-nocem-directory
19053 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
19054 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
19055 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
19057 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19058 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19059 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
19060 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
19061 might then see old spam.
19063 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
19064 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
19065 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
19066 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
19067 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
19070 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19071 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19072 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
19073 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
19077 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
19078 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
19079 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
19080 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
19087 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
19088 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
19089 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
19091 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
19092 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
19093 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
19094 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
19095 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
19096 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
19097 @code{undo} function.
19099 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
19100 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
19101 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
19102 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
19103 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
19104 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
19105 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
19106 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
19107 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
19108 never be totally undoable.
19110 @findex gnus-undo-mode
19111 @vindex gnus-use-undo
19113 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
19114 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
19115 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
19116 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
19121 @section Moderation
19124 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
19125 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
19126 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
19129 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
19133 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
19136 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
19138 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
19143 You split your incoming mail by matching on
19144 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
19145 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
19148 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
19149 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
19152 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
19153 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
19157 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
19160 (setq gnus-moderated-list
19161 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
19165 @node XEmacs Enhancements
19166 @section XEmacs Enhancements
19169 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
19173 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
19174 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
19175 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
19176 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
19189 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
19190 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
19191 over your shoulder as you read news.
19194 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
19195 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
19196 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
19197 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
19198 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
19203 @subsubsection Picon Basics
19205 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
19214 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
19215 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
19216 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
19217 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
19218 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
19219 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
19220 @code{GIF} formats.
19223 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19224 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
19225 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
19226 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
19227 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
19229 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19230 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
19231 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
19232 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
19233 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
19234 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19237 @node Picon Requirements
19238 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
19240 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
19241 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
19242 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
19243 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
19245 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19246 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
19247 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
19248 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
19249 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
19253 @subsubsection Easy Picons
19255 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
19256 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
19259 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
19260 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
19263 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
19264 containing the Picons databases.
19266 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
19269 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19270 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
19275 @subsubsection Hard Picons
19283 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
19284 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
19285 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
19286 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
19287 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
19292 @item gnus-picons-database
19293 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19294 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
19295 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
19296 subdirectories. This is only useful if
19297 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
19298 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
19300 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19301 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19302 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
19303 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
19304 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
19305 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
19306 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19308 @item gnus-picons-display-where
19309 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19310 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
19311 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
19312 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
19313 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
19314 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
19315 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
19317 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19318 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19319 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
19324 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
19325 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
19327 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
19328 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
19331 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19333 @item gnus-article-display-picons
19334 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19335 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
19336 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
19338 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
19339 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19340 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
19346 @node Picon Useless Configuration
19347 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
19355 The following variables offer further control over how things are
19356 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
19357 don't need to worry about.
19361 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
19362 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
19363 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19364 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
19366 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
19367 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
19368 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
19369 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
19371 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
19372 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
19373 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19374 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
19375 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
19377 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19378 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19379 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
19380 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
19381 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
19382 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
19383 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
19385 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19386 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19387 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
19388 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
19390 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19391 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19392 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
19393 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
19394 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
19395 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
19396 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
19398 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19399 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19400 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
19401 Defaults to @code{nil}.
19403 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
19404 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
19405 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
19406 Defaults to @code{t}.
19408 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19409 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19410 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
19411 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
19413 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
19414 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
19415 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
19417 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19418 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19419 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
19420 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
19422 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
19423 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
19425 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19426 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19427 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
19428 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
19429 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
19430 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
19431 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
19432 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
19443 @subsection Smileys
19448 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
19453 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
19454 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
19456 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
19457 @file{.gnus.el} file:
19460 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
19463 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
19464 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
19465 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
19466 text and maps that to file names.
19468 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
19469 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
19470 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
19471 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
19472 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
19473 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
19475 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
19476 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
19478 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
19479 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
19480 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
19482 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
19483 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
19487 @item smiley-data-directory
19488 @vindex smiley-data-directory
19489 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
19491 @item smiley-flesh-color
19492 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
19493 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
19495 @item smiley-features-color
19496 @vindex smiley-features-color
19497 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19499 @item smiley-tongue-color
19500 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
19501 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
19503 @item smiley-circle-color
19504 @vindex smiley-circle-color
19505 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19507 @item smiley-mouse-face
19508 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
19509 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
19515 @subsection Toolbar
19525 @item gnus-use-toolbar
19526 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
19527 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
19528 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
19529 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
19531 @item gnus-group-toolbar
19532 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
19533 The toolbar in the group buffer.
19535 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
19536 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
19537 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
19539 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19540 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19541 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
19547 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
19550 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19551 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19552 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
19553 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
19554 unusual directory structure.
19556 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19557 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19558 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
19559 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
19561 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19562 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19563 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
19564 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
19565 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
19566 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
19568 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19569 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19570 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
19584 @node Fuzzy Matching
19585 @section Fuzzy Matching
19586 @cindex fuzzy matching
19588 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
19589 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
19591 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
19592 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
19593 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
19595 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
19596 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
19597 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
19598 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
19599 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
19602 @node Thwarting Email Spam
19603 @section Thwarting Email Spam
19607 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
19609 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
19610 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
19611 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
19612 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
19613 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
19614 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
19615 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
19616 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
19619 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
19620 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
19621 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
19622 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
19623 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
19624 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
19628 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
19629 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
19631 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
19632 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
19633 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
19634 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
19635 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
19636 part of the mail address.)
19639 (setq message-default-news-headers
19640 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
19643 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
19644 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
19649 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
19650 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
19651 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
19657 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
19658 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
19659 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
19660 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
19662 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
19663 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
19664 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
19665 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
19666 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
19667 your fancy split rule in this way:
19672 (to "larsi" "misc")
19676 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
19677 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
19678 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
19679 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
19680 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
19682 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
19683 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
19684 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
19685 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
19686 cosmic balance somewhat.
19688 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
19689 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
19690 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
19691 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
19694 @node Various Various
19695 @section Various Various
19701 @item gnus-home-directory
19702 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
19703 defaults to @file{~/}.
19705 @item gnus-directory
19706 @vindex gnus-directory
19707 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
19708 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
19709 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
19711 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
19712 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
19713 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
19714 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
19716 @item gnus-default-directory
19717 @vindex gnus-default-directory
19718 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
19719 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
19720 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
19721 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
19722 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
19723 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
19726 @vindex gnus-verbose
19727 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
19728 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
19729 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
19730 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
19731 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
19733 @item gnus-verbose-backends
19734 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
19735 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
19736 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
19738 @item nnheader-max-head-length
19739 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
19740 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
19741 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
19742 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
19743 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
19744 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
19745 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
19746 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
19747 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
19749 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
19750 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
19751 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
19752 read when doing the operation described above.
19754 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19755 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19757 @cindex invalid characters in file names
19758 @cindex characters in file names
19759 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
19760 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
19761 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
19764 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19768 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
19769 Windows (phooey) systems.
19771 @item gnus-hidden-properties
19772 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
19773 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
19774 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
19775 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
19777 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
19778 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
19779 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
19780 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
19781 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
19783 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
19784 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
19785 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
19787 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19788 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19790 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
19791 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
19792 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
19793 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
19796 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
19805 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
19806 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
19808 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
19810 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
19816 Not because of victories @*
19819 but for the common sunshine,@*
19821 the largess of the spring.
19825 but for the day's work done@*
19826 as well as I was able;@*
19827 not for a seat upon the dais@*
19828 but at the common table.@*
19833 @chapter Appendices
19836 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
19837 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
19838 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
19839 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
19840 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
19841 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
19842 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
19843 * Frequently Asked Questions::
19851 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
19852 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
19854 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
19855 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
19856 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
19857 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
19858 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
19860 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
19861 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
19862 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
19863 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
19864 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
19865 appropriate name, don't you think?)
19867 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
19868 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
19869 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
19870 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
19873 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
19874 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
19875 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
19876 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
19877 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
19878 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
19879 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
19880 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
19881 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
19885 @node Gnus Versions
19886 @subsection Gnus Versions
19887 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
19889 @cindex September Gnus
19890 @cindex Quassia Gnus
19892 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
19893 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
19894 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
19896 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
19897 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
19899 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
19900 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
19902 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
19903 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
19905 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
19906 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
19909 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
19911 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
19912 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
19913 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
19914 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
19915 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
19916 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
19919 @node Other Gnus Versions
19920 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
19923 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
19924 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
19925 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
19926 @sc{mime} capabilities.
19928 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
19929 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
19930 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
19931 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
19938 What's the point of Gnus?
19940 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
19941 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
19942 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
19943 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
19944 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
19945 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
19946 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
19947 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
19948 keep track of millions of people who post?
19950 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
19951 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
19952 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
19953 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
19954 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
19955 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
19956 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
19957 every one of you to explore and invent.
19959 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
19960 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
19963 @node Compatibility
19964 @subsection Compatibility
19966 @cindex compatibility
19967 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
19968 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
19969 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
19974 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
19978 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
19981 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
19984 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
19985 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
19986 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
19987 important variables have their values copied into their global
19988 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
19989 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
19991 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
19992 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
19993 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
19994 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
19995 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
19999 @cindex highlighting
20000 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
20001 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
20002 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
20003 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
20004 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
20005 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
20008 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
20009 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
20010 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
20011 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
20013 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
20014 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
20015 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
20016 to stop doing it the old way.
20018 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
20020 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
20022 @cindex reporting bugs
20024 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
20025 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
20026 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
20028 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
20029 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
20030 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
20031 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
20036 @subsection Conformity
20038 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
20039 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
20046 There are no known breaches of this standard.
20050 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
20052 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
20053 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
20054 We do have some breaches to this one.
20060 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
20061 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
20062 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
20063 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
20064 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
20069 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
20070 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
20071 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
20072 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
20076 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
20077 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
20082 @subsection Emacsen
20088 Gnus should work on :
20096 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
20100 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
20101 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
20104 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
20105 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
20106 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
20110 @node Gnus Development
20111 @subsection Gnus Development
20113 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
20114 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
20115 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
20116 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
20117 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
20118 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
20119 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
20120 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
20122 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
20123 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
20124 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
20125 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
20126 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
20129 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
20130 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
20131 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
20132 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
20133 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
20135 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
20136 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
20137 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
20138 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
20139 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
20140 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
20141 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
20142 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
20143 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
20144 can't be assumed to do so.
20149 @subsection Contributors
20150 @cindex contributors
20152 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
20153 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
20154 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
20155 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
20156 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
20157 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
20158 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
20159 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
20160 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
20161 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
20163 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
20169 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
20172 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
20173 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
20174 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
20175 functionality and stuff.
20178 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
20179 well as numerous other things).
20182 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
20185 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
20188 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
20191 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
20194 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
20195 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
20198 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
20201 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
20202 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20205 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
20208 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
20211 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
20214 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
20217 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
20218 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
20221 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
20224 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
20227 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
20230 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
20234 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
20237 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
20240 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
20243 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
20244 well as autoconf support.
20248 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
20249 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
20251 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
20260 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
20264 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
20274 Alexei V. Barantsev,
20289 Massimo Campostrini,
20294 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
20295 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
20299 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
20302 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
20308 Michael Welsh Duggan,
20313 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
20317 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
20325 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
20327 Michelangelo Grigni,
20331 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
20333 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
20335 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
20342 François Felix Ingrand,
20343 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
20344 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
20346 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
20357 Peter Skov Knudsen,
20358 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
20360 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
20361 Thor Kristoffersen,
20364 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
20382 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
20383 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
20390 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
20395 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
20399 John McClary Prevost,
20405 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
20410 Christian von Roques,
20413 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
20420 Philippe Schnoebelen,
20422 Randal L. Schwartz,
20436 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
20441 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
20457 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
20462 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
20463 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
20464 (550kB and counting).
20466 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
20469 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
20470 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
20474 @subsection New Features
20475 @cindex new features
20478 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
20479 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
20480 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
20481 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
20482 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
20485 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
20486 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
20487 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
20490 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
20492 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
20497 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
20498 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
20501 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
20502 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
20505 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
20508 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
20509 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
20510 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
20513 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
20514 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
20515 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
20516 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20519 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
20520 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20523 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
20524 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
20525 (@pxref{The Active File}).
20528 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
20529 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
20532 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
20533 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
20534 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20537 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
20538 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
20539 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
20542 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
20543 the @file{.emacs} file.
20546 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
20547 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
20550 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
20551 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
20554 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
20555 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20558 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
20559 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
20562 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
20563 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20566 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
20569 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
20570 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
20573 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
20574 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
20577 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
20578 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
20581 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
20584 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
20585 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20588 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
20592 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
20596 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
20597 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
20600 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
20606 @node September Gnus
20607 @subsubsection September Gnus
20611 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
20615 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
20620 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
20621 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
20625 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
20626 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
20630 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
20634 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
20635 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
20638 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
20642 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20645 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
20648 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
20651 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
20655 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
20656 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
20659 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
20663 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
20667 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
20671 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
20675 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
20678 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
20679 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
20682 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
20686 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
20687 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
20690 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
20693 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
20694 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
20695 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20698 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
20702 The Gnus cache is much faster.
20705 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
20709 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
20710 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
20713 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
20714 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
20717 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
20718 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20721 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
20722 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
20723 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
20726 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
20727 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
20730 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
20733 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20736 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
20739 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
20742 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
20743 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
20746 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
20750 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
20753 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
20758 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
20761 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
20765 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20768 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
20772 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
20775 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
20778 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
20779 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20782 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
20783 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
20787 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
20788 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
20791 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
20795 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
20796 buffer to allow easier treatment.
20799 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
20802 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
20806 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
20810 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
20811 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
20814 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
20818 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
20819 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20822 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
20823 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20826 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
20830 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20833 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
20836 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
20842 @subsubsection Red Gnus
20844 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
20848 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
20855 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
20858 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
20859 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20862 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
20863 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
20867 Article washing status can be displayed in the
20868 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
20871 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
20874 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
20875 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
20878 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
20882 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
20883 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
20887 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
20888 Server Internals}).
20891 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
20895 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
20898 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
20899 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
20902 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
20903 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
20904 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
20907 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
20908 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20911 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
20912 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
20915 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
20919 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
20920 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20923 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
20924 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20927 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
20931 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
20934 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
20938 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
20939 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20942 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
20943 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20946 A new command for reading collections of documents
20947 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
20948 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
20951 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
20955 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
20956 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
20959 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
20960 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
20961 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
20964 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
20965 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
20969 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
20973 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
20977 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
20982 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
20986 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
20990 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
20991 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
20994 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
21000 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
21002 New features in Gnus 5.6:
21007 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
21008 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
21009 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
21012 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
21013 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
21014 group, which is created automatically.
21017 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
21021 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
21024 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
21025 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
21028 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
21032 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
21035 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
21036 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
21039 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
21042 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
21043 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
21046 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
21047 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
21050 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
21051 control over simplification.
21054 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
21057 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
21061 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
21064 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
21067 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
21068 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
21069 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
21072 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
21073 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
21076 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
21080 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
21081 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
21084 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
21085 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
21088 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
21092 A history of where mails have been split is available.
21095 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
21098 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
21099 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
21102 A new function for citing in Message has been
21103 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
21106 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
21109 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
21113 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
21114 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
21117 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
21118 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
21121 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
21124 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
21128 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
21129 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
21131 New features in Gnus 5.8:
21136 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
21137 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
21139 If you used procmail like in
21142 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
21143 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
21144 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
21145 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
21148 this now has changed to
21152 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
21156 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
21157 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
21160 Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
21161 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
21164 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
21165 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
21168 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
21169 called to position point.
21172 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
21173 summary buffers and NOV files.
21176 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
21177 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
21180 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
21181 subtly different manner.
21184 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
21185 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
21186 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
21189 Gnus can now read IMAP mail via @code{nnimap}.
21197 @section The Manual
21201 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21202 either @code{texi2dvi}
21204 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21205 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21207 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21209 The following conventions have been used:
21214 This is a @samp{string}
21217 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21220 This is a @file{file}
21223 This is a @code{symbol}
21227 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21231 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21234 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21237 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21240 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21241 ever get them confused.
21245 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21246 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21247 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21248 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21249 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21250 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21251 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21257 @node On Writing Manuals
21258 @section On Writing Manuals
21260 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21261 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21262 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21263 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21264 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21265 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21268 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21269 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21270 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21273 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21274 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21279 @section Terminology
21281 @cindex terminology
21286 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21287 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21288 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21289 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21290 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21294 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21295 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21296 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21297 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21301 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21305 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21310 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of back ends, both news and mail
21311 back ends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21312 is all done by the back ends.
21316 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
21317 default, way of getting news.
21321 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21322 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
21327 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21328 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21332 A message that has been posted as news.
21335 @cindex mail message
21336 A message that has been mailed.
21340 A mail message or news article
21344 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21349 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21354 A line from the head of an article.
21358 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21359 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21363 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
21364 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21365 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21366 normal @sc{head} format.
21370 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21371 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21372 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21373 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21374 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21375 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21377 @item killed groups
21378 @cindex killed groups
21379 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21380 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21382 @item zombie groups
21383 @cindex zombie groups
21384 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21387 @cindex active file
21388 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21389 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21390 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21393 @cindex bogus groups
21394 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21395 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21396 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21399 @cindex activating groups
21400 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21401 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21402 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21406 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21408 @item select method
21409 @cindex select method
21410 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
21413 @item virtual server
21414 @cindex virtual server
21415 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21416 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21417 whole is a virtual server.
21421 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21422 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21425 @item ephemeral groups
21426 @cindex ephemeral groups
21427 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21428 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21429 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21432 @cindex solid groups
21433 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21434 group buffer are solid groups.
21436 @item sparse articles
21437 @cindex sparse articles
21438 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21439 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21443 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21444 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21448 @cindex thread root
21449 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21450 articles in the thread.
21454 An article that has responses.
21458 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21462 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21463 specified by RFC 1153.
21469 @node Customization
21470 @section Customization
21471 @cindex general customization
21473 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21474 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21475 for some quite common situations.
21478 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21479 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21480 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21481 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21485 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21486 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21488 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21489 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21490 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21494 @item gnus-read-active-file
21495 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21496 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21497 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21498 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21499 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21501 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21502 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21503 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21504 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21508 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21509 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21511 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21512 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21513 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21517 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21518 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21519 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21520 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21521 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21523 @item gnus-visible-headers
21524 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21525 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21526 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21527 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21529 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21531 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21532 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21533 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21536 @item gnus-use-full-window
21537 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21538 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21539 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21540 want to read them anyway.
21542 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21543 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21546 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21547 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21548 lines, which might save some time.
21552 @node Little Disk Space
21553 @subsection Little Disk Space
21556 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21557 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21561 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21562 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21563 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21564 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21567 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21568 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21569 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21570 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21573 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21574 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21575 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21576 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21577 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21583 @subsection Slow Machine
21584 @cindex slow machine
21586 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21587 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21589 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21590 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21592 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21593 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21594 summary buffer faster.
21598 @node Troubleshooting
21599 @section Troubleshooting
21600 @cindex troubleshooting
21602 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21610 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21613 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21614 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21618 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21619 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21620 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21621 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21624 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21628 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21629 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21630 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21631 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21632 something like that.
21635 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21638 @cindex reporting bugs
21640 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21642 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21643 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21644 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21645 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21647 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21648 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21649 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21650 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21653 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21654 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21655 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21656 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21657 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21658 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21660 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21661 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21662 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21666 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
21667 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
21669 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21670 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21672 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21673 @cindex ding mailing list
21674 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21675 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21679 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21680 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21682 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21683 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21684 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21685 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21688 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21689 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21690 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21691 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21692 and general methods of operation.
21695 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21696 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21697 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21698 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21699 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21700 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21701 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21702 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21703 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21707 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21708 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21709 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21710 @cindex utility functions
21712 @cindex internal variables
21714 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21715 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21716 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21720 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21721 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21722 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21724 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21725 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21726 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21728 @item gnus-group-real-name
21729 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21730 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21733 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21734 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21735 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21736 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21738 @item gnus-get-info
21739 @findex gnus-get-info
21740 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21742 @item gnus-group-unread
21743 @findex gnus-group-unread
21744 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21748 @findex gnus-active
21749 The active entry for @var{group}.
21751 @item gnus-set-active
21752 @findex gnus-set-active
21753 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21755 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21756 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21757 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21760 @item gnus-continuum-version
21761 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21762 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21763 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21766 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21767 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21768 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21770 @item gnus-news-group-p
21771 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21772 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
21774 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21775 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21776 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21778 @item gnus-server-to-method
21779 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21780 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21782 @item gnus-server-equal
21783 @findex gnus-server-equal
21784 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21786 @item gnus-group-native-p
21787 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21788 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21790 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21791 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21792 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21794 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21795 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21796 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21798 @item group-group-find-parameter
21799 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21800 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21801 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21803 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21804 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21805 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21807 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21808 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21809 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21811 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21812 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21813 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
21814 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21817 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21821 @item gnus-read-method
21822 @findex gnus-read-method
21823 Prompts the user for a select method.
21828 @node Back End Interface
21829 @subsection Back End Interface
21831 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21832 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21833 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
21834 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21835 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21836 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21838 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
21839 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21840 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
21841 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21842 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21843 been opened, the function should fail.
21845 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21846 name. Take this example:
21850 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21851 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21854 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21855 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21857 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21858 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21859 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21861 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21862 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21863 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21865 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21866 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21867 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21868 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21869 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21870 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21873 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
21874 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
21875 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21876 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21879 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
21880 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
21881 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
21882 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
21883 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
21884 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
21885 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
21886 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
21887 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
21888 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
21890 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
21891 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
21892 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
21893 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
21894 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
21895 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
21896 of numbers as long as possible.
21898 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
21901 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21904 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21905 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21906 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21907 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
21908 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21909 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
21913 @node Required Back End Functions
21914 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
21918 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21920 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21921 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
21922 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
21923 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21925 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21926 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21927 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21928 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21930 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21931 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21932 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21933 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21934 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
21935 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21936 number, do maximum fetches.
21938 Here's an example HEAD:
21941 221 1056 Article retrieved.
21942 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
21943 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
21944 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
21945 Subject: Re: Something very droll
21946 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
21947 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
21949 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
21950 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
21951 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
21955 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
21956 these in the data buffer.
21958 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
21962 head = error / valid-head
21963 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
21964 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
21965 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
21966 header = <text> eol
21969 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
21970 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
21974 nov-buffer = *nov-line
21975 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
21976 field = <text except TAB>
21979 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
21983 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
21985 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
21986 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
21988 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
21989 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
21990 server. In fact, it should do so.
21992 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
21993 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
21996 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
21998 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
21999 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
22002 There should be no data returned.
22005 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
22007 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
22008 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
22009 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
22010 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
22012 There should be no data returned.
22015 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
22017 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
22018 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
22019 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
22020 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
22022 There should be no data returned.
22025 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
22027 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
22029 There should be no data returned.
22032 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
22034 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
22035 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
22036 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
22037 it would be nice if that were possible.
22039 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
22040 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
22041 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22042 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22043 into its article buffer.
22045 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22046 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22047 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22048 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22049 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22050 on successful article retrieval.
22053 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22055 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22056 making @var{group} the current group.
22058 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22061 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22064 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22067 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22068 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22069 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22070 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22071 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22072 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22073 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22074 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22077 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22078 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22079 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22083 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22085 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22086 a no-op on most back ends.
22088 There should be no data returned.
22091 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22093 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22096 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22099 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22100 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22103 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22104 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22107 active-file = *active-line
22108 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22110 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22113 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22114 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22115 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22118 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22120 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22121 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22122 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22123 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22124 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22125 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22127 There should be no result data from this function.
22132 @node Optional Back End Functions
22133 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
22137 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22139 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22140 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22141 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22143 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22144 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22145 former is in the same format as the data from
22146 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22147 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22150 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22154 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22156 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
22157 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
22158 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22159 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22160 should return the (altered) group info.
22162 There should be no result data from this function.
22165 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22167 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22168 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22169 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22170 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22171 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22172 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22173 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22174 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22176 There should be no result data from this function.
22179 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22181 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22182 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22183 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22184 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22185 propagate the mark information to the server.
22187 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22190 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22193 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
22194 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
22195 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
22196 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
22197 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
22198 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
22199 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
22200 possible, not limit itself to these.
22202 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22203 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22204 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22205 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22207 An example action list:
22210 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22211 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22212 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22215 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22216 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22218 There should be no result data from this function.
22220 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22222 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
22223 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22224 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22225 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
22226 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22228 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22229 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22230 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22233 There should be no result data from this function.
22236 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22238 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22239 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
22240 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
22241 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22242 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
22243 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22244 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22246 There should be no result data from this function.
22249 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22251 The result data from this function should be a description of
22255 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22257 description = <text>
22260 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22262 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22263 groups available on the server.
22266 description-buffer = *description-line
22270 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22272 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22273 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
22274 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
22275 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
22276 in the active buffer format.
22278 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
22279 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
22280 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
22281 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
22282 many groups, so nnml and the like are probably safe. But for back ends
22283 like nntp, where the groups have been created by the server, it is quite
22284 likely that there can be many groups.
22287 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22289 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22291 There should be no return data.
22294 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22296 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22297 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22298 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
22299 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22300 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22303 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22306 There should be no result data returned.
22309 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22312 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22313 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22315 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22316 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22317 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22318 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22319 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22320 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22322 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22323 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22326 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22327 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22329 There should be no data returned.
22332 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22334 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22335 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22336 this function in short order.
22338 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22339 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22341 There should be no data returned.
22344 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22346 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22347 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22349 There should be no data returned.
22352 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22354 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22355 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22356 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22358 There should be no data returned.
22361 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22363 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22364 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22366 There should be no data returned.
22371 @node Error Messaging
22372 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22374 @findex nnheader-report
22375 @findex nnheader-get-report
22376 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22377 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22378 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
22379 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22380 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22381 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22384 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22386 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22389 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22390 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22391 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
22392 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22394 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
22395 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
22396 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22399 @node Writing New Back Ends
22400 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
22402 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22403 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22404 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22405 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22406 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22409 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22410 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22411 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22413 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22414 package called @code{nnoo}.
22416 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
22417 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
22423 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22424 parameters. For instance:
22427 (nnoo-declare nndir
22431 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22432 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22435 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22436 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22437 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22439 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22440 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
22441 a function in those back ends.
22444 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22445 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22446 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22449 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22450 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22451 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22453 @item nnoo-define-basics
22454 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
22458 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22462 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22463 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22464 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
22466 @item nnoo-map-functions
22467 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
22468 functions from the parent back ends.
22471 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22472 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22473 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22476 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22477 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22478 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22479 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22482 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
22483 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22484 haven't already been defined.
22490 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22494 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22495 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22496 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22501 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
22504 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22505 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22509 (require 'nnheader)
22513 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22515 (nnoo-declare nndir
22518 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22519 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22520 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22522 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22523 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22526 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
22528 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22529 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22530 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22532 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22533 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22535 ;;; Interface functions.
22537 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22539 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22540 (setq nndir-directory
22541 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22543 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22544 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22545 (push `(nndir-current-group
22546 ,(file-name-nondirectory
22547 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22549 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22550 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22552 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22554 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22555 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22556 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22557 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22558 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22562 nnmh-status-message
22564 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22570 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22571 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22573 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22574 @findex gnus-declare-backend
22575 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
22576 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22577 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22579 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
22580 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22585 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22588 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
22590 The abilities can be:
22594 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22596 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
22598 This back end supports both mail and news.
22600 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
22603 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22604 articles and groups.
22606 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22607 true for almost all back ends.
22608 @item prompt-address
22609 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22610 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
22611 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22615 @node Mail-like Back Ends
22616 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
22618 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
22619 back ends is the heavy dependence by the mail back ends on common
22620 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22621 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22624 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22625 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22626 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22629 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22630 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22633 This function takes four parameters.
22637 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
22640 @item exit-function
22641 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22643 @item temp-directory
22644 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22647 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22648 performed for one group only.
22651 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
22652 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22653 find the article number assigned to this article.
22655 The function also uses the following variables:
22656 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22657 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
22658 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22659 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22663 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22664 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22668 @node Score File Syntax
22669 @subsection Score File Syntax
22671 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22672 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22673 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22675 Here's a typical score file:
22679 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22686 BNF definition of a score file:
22689 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22690 element = rule / atom
22691 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22692 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22693 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22694 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22696 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22697 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22698 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22699 date-header = "date"
22700 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22701 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22702 score = "nil" / <integer>
22703 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22704 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22705 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22706 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22707 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22708 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22709 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22710 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22711 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22712 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22713 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22714 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22715 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22716 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22717 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22718 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22719 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22720 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22721 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22722 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22723 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22724 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22725 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22726 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22727 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22728 eval = "eval" space <form>
22729 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22732 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22735 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22736 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22737 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22738 one looong line, then that's ok.
22740 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22741 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22745 @subsection Headers
22747 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22748 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22749 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22750 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22752 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22753 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22754 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22755 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22756 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22757 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22758 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22760 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22761 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22762 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22763 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22764 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22766 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22767 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22773 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22774 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22776 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22777 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22778 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22779 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22781 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22785 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22788 is transformed into
22791 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22794 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22795 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22798 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22801 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22802 is slightly tricky:
22805 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22811 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22814 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22820 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22827 and is equal to the previous range.
22829 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22830 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22831 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22835 range = simple-range / normal-range
22836 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22837 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22838 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22839 number *[ " " contents ]
22842 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22843 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22844 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22845 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22846 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22851 @subsection Group Info
22853 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22854 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22855 describes the group.
22857 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22858 second is a more complex one:
22861 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22863 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22864 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22866 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22869 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22870 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22871 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22872 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22873 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22874 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22875 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22876 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22877 this section is about.
22879 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22880 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22881 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22883 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22886 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22887 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22888 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22889 group = quote <string> quote
22890 ralevel = rank / level
22891 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22892 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22893 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22895 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22896 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22897 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22898 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22901 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22902 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22905 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22906 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22909 @item gnus-info-group
22910 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22911 @findex gnus-info-group
22912 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22913 Get/set the group name.
22915 @item gnus-info-rank
22916 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22917 @findex gnus-info-rank
22918 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22919 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22921 @item gnus-info-level
22922 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22923 @findex gnus-info-level
22924 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22925 Get/set the group level.
22927 @item gnus-info-score
22928 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22929 @findex gnus-info-score
22930 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22931 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22933 @item gnus-info-read
22934 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22935 @findex gnus-info-read
22936 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22937 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22939 @item gnus-info-marks
22940 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
22941 @findex gnus-info-marks
22942 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
22943 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
22945 @item gnus-info-method
22946 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
22947 @findex gnus-info-method
22948 @findex gnus-info-set-method
22949 Get/set the group select method.
22951 @item gnus-info-params
22952 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
22953 @findex gnus-info-params
22954 @findex gnus-info-set-params
22955 Get/set the group parameters.
22958 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
22959 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
22961 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
22962 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
22963 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
22964 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
22967 @node Extended Interactive
22968 @subsection Extended Interactive
22969 @cindex interactive
22970 @findex gnus-interactive
22972 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
22973 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
22974 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
22977 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
22978 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
22983 The best thing to do would have been to implement
22984 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
22985 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
22986 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
22987 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
22988 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
22989 @code{interactive}.
22991 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
22996 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
22997 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
23001 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
23002 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
23003 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
23006 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
23010 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
23014 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
23020 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
23021 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
23025 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
23026 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
23027 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
23029 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
23030 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
23031 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
23032 Gnus, that's very useful.
23034 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
23035 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
23036 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
23037 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
23038 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
23039 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
23040 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
23041 following function:
23044 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
23048 (,function ,@@args))
23052 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
23053 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
23054 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23057 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23058 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23059 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23061 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23062 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23063 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23066 @node Various File Formats
23067 @subsection Various File Formats
23070 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23071 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23075 @node Active File Format
23076 @subsubsection Active File Format
23078 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23079 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23082 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23085 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23086 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23087 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23088 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23089 no.general 1000 900 y
23092 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23095 active = *group-line
23096 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
23097 group = <non-white-space string>
23099 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23100 low-number = <positive integer>
23101 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23104 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23105 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23108 @node Newsgroups File Format
23109 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23111 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23112 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23113 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23116 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23117 Here's the definition:
23121 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23122 group = <non-white-space string>
23124 description = <string>
23129 @node Emacs for Heathens
23130 @section Emacs for Heathens
23132 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23133 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23134 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
23135 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23136 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23137 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23138 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23142 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23143 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23148 @subsection Keystrokes
23152 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23155 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23158 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23159 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23160 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23161 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23162 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23163 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23165 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23166 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23167 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23168 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23169 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23170 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23171 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23173 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23174 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
23175 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23176 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23177 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23178 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23179 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23181 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23182 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23183 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23184 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23185 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23191 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23193 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23194 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23195 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23196 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23198 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23199 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23200 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23201 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23202 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23203 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23204 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23207 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23208 write the following:
23211 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23214 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23215 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23216 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23219 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23220 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23221 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23222 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23223 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23225 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23226 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23227 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23231 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23235 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23238 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23239 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23242 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23245 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23246 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23249 @include gnus-faq.texi
23270 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
23271 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
23272 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
23273 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
23274 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref