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4 @settitle Quassia Gnus 0.17 Manual
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259 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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268 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
270 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
271 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
272 are preserved on all copies.
274 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
275 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
276 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
277 permission notice identical to this one.
279 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
280 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
289 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
291 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
293 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
294 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
295 are preserved on all copies.
298 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
299 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
300 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
301 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
304 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
305 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
306 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
307 permission notice identical to this one.
309 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
310 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
316 @title Quassia Gnus 0.17 Manual
318 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
321 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
322 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
324 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
325 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
326 are preserved on all copies.
328 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
329 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
330 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
331 permission notice identical to this one.
333 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
334 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
343 @top The Gnus Newsreader
347 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
348 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
349 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
352 This manual corresponds to Quassia Gnus 0.17.
363 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
364 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
366 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
367 being accused of plagiarism:
369 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
370 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
371 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
372 even read news with it!
374 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
375 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
376 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
377 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
378 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
385 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
386 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
387 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
388 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
389 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
390 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
391 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
392 * Various:: General purpose settings.
393 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
394 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
395 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
396 * Key Index:: Key Index.
400 @chapter Starting Gnus
405 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
406 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
409 @findex gnus-other-frame
410 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
411 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
412 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
414 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
415 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
416 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
418 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
419 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
422 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
423 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
424 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
425 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
426 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
427 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
428 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
429 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
430 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
431 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
432 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
436 @node Finding the News
437 @section Finding the News
440 @vindex gnus-select-method
442 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
443 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
444 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
445 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
448 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
449 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
452 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
455 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
458 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
461 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
462 certainly be much faster.
464 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
466 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
467 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
468 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
469 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
470 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
471 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
473 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
474 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
475 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
476 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
478 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
479 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
480 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
481 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
482 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
483 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
485 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
487 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
488 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
489 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
490 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
491 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
492 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
494 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
496 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
497 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
498 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
499 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
500 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
501 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
504 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
505 would typically set this variable to
508 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
513 @section The First Time
514 @cindex first time usage
516 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
517 be subscribed by default.
519 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
520 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
521 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
522 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
525 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
526 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
527 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
529 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
530 help you with most common problems.
532 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
533 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
537 @node The Server is Down
538 @section The Server is Down
539 @cindex server errors
541 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
542 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
543 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
545 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
546 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
547 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
548 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
549 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
550 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
551 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
553 @findex gnus-no-server
554 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
556 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
557 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
558 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
559 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
560 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
561 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
566 @section Slave Gnusae
569 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
570 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
571 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
572 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
574 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
577 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
578 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
579 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
580 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
581 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
582 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
583 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
585 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
586 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
587 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
588 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
589 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
590 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
591 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
592 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
594 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
595 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
598 @node Fetching a Group
599 @section Fetching a Group
600 @cindex fetching a group
602 @findex gnus-fetch-group
603 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
604 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
605 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
606 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
607 It takes the group name as a parameter.
615 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
616 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
617 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
618 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
619 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
620 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
621 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
622 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
623 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
626 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
627 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
628 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
632 @node Checking New Groups
633 @subsection Checking New Groups
635 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
636 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
637 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
638 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
639 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
640 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
641 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
642 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
643 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
644 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
646 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
647 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
648 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
649 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
650 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
651 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
652 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
653 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
654 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
655 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
656 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
658 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
659 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
660 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
661 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
662 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
663 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
666 @node Subscription Methods
667 @subsection Subscription Methods
669 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
670 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
671 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
673 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
674 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
676 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
680 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
681 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
682 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
683 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
684 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
686 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
687 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
688 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
689 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the grop buffer.
691 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
692 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
693 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
695 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
696 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
697 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
698 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
699 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
700 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
701 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
702 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
703 up. Or something like that.
705 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
706 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
707 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
708 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
709 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
711 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
712 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
717 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
718 A closely related variable is
719 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
720 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
721 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
722 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
725 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
726 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
727 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
728 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
731 @node Filtering New Groups
732 @subsection Filtering New Groups
734 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
735 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
736 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
739 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
742 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
743 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
744 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
745 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
746 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
747 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
748 subscribing these groups.
749 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
750 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
752 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
753 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
754 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
755 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
756 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
757 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
758 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
759 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
761 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
762 Yet another variable that meddles here is
763 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
764 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
765 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
766 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
767 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
768 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
769 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
770 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
772 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
773 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
776 @node Changing Servers
777 @section Changing Servers
778 @cindex changing servers
780 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
781 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
782 very flaky and you want to use another.
784 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
785 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
789 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
790 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
791 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
792 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
795 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
796 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
797 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
798 functions more than absolutely necessary.
800 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
801 @findex gnus-change-server
802 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
803 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
804 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
805 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
806 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
808 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
809 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
810 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
811 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
812 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
814 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
815 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
816 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
817 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
818 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
819 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
823 @section Startup Files
824 @cindex startup files
829 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
830 information is traditionally stored in this file.
832 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
833 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
834 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
835 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
836 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
837 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
838 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
840 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
841 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
842 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
843 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
844 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
845 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
847 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
848 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
849 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
850 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
851 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
852 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
854 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
855 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
856 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
857 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
858 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
859 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
860 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
861 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
862 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
863 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
864 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
865 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
867 @vindex gnus-startup-file
868 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
869 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
870 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
872 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
873 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
874 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
875 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
876 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
877 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
878 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
879 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
880 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
881 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
884 (defun turn-off-backup ()
885 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
887 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
888 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
891 @vindex gnus-init-file
892 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
893 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
894 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
895 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
896 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
897 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
898 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
899 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
900 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
909 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
910 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
911 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
912 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
913 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
916 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
917 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
920 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
921 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
922 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
924 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
925 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
926 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
927 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
928 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
929 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
932 @node The Active File
933 @section The Active File
935 @cindex ignored groups
937 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
938 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
939 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
941 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
942 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
943 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
944 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
945 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
946 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
947 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
950 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
951 @c if you set it to anything else.
953 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
955 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
956 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
957 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
959 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
960 you actually subscribe to.
962 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
963 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
964 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
965 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
967 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
968 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
969 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
970 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
971 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
972 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
974 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
975 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
976 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
977 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
978 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
979 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
981 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
982 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
984 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
985 secondary select methods.
988 @node Startup Variables
989 @section Startup Variables
994 @vindex gnus-load-hook
995 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
996 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
997 times you start Gnus.
999 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1000 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1001 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1003 @item gnus-startup-hook
1004 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1005 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1007 @item gnus-started-hook
1008 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1009 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1012 @item gnus-started-hook
1013 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1014 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1015 generating the group buffer.
1017 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1018 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1019 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1020 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1021 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1022 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1023 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1024 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1026 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1027 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1028 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1029 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1030 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1031 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1033 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1034 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1035 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1037 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1038 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1039 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1041 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1042 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1043 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1044 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1049 @node The Group Buffer
1050 @chapter The Group Buffer
1051 @cindex group buffer
1053 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1054 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1055 long as Gnus is active.
1059 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1060 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1061 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1062 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1063 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1064 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1065 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1066 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1072 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1073 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1074 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1075 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1076 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1077 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1078 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1079 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1080 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1081 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1082 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1083 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1084 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1085 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1086 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1087 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1088 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1092 @node Group Buffer Format
1093 @section Group Buffer Format
1096 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1097 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1098 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1102 @node Group Line Specification
1103 @subsection Group Line Specification
1104 @cindex group buffer format
1106 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1107 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1109 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1112 25: news.announce.newusers
1113 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1118 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1119 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1120 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1121 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1123 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1124 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1125 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1126 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1127 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1128 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1130 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1132 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1133 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1134 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1135 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1138 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1139 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1140 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1142 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1147 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1150 Whether the group is subscribed.
1153 Level of subscribedness.
1156 Number of unread articles.
1159 Number of dormant articles.
1162 Number of ticked articles.
1165 Number of read articles.
1168 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1169 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1172 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1175 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1184 Newsgroup description.
1187 @samp{m} if moderated.
1190 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1199 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1203 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1206 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1207 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1208 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1209 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1210 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1213 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1215 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1219 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1223 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1224 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1225 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1226 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1227 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1228 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1233 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1234 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1235 group, or a bogus native group.
1238 @node Group Modeline Specification
1239 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1240 @cindex group modeline
1242 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1243 The mode line can be changed by setting
1244 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1245 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1249 The native news server.
1251 The native select method.
1255 @node Group Highlighting
1256 @subsection Group Highlighting
1257 @cindex highlighting
1258 @cindex group highlighting
1260 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1261 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1262 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1263 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1264 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1266 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1270 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1271 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1272 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1273 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1274 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1276 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1277 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1278 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1279 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1280 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1281 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1283 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1284 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1285 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1287 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1289 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1291 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))))
1292 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1295 Also @pxref{Faces & Fonts}.
1297 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1304 The number of unread articles in the group.
1308 Whether the group is a mail group.
1310 The level of the group.
1312 The score of the group.
1314 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1316 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1317 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1319 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1320 topic being inserted.
1323 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1324 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1325 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1327 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1328 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1329 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1330 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1331 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1334 @node Group Maneuvering
1335 @section Group Maneuvering
1336 @cindex group movement
1338 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1339 expected, hopefully.
1345 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1346 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1347 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1353 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1354 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1355 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1359 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1360 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1364 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1365 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1369 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1370 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1371 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1375 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1376 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1377 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1380 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1386 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1387 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1388 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1393 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1394 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1395 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1399 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1400 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1401 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1404 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1405 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1406 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1407 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1411 @node Selecting a Group
1412 @section Selecting a Group
1413 @cindex group selection
1418 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1419 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1420 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1421 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1422 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1423 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1424 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1425 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1426 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1427 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1431 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1432 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1433 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1434 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1435 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1439 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1440 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1441 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1442 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1443 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1444 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1445 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1446 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1447 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1448 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1451 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1452 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1453 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1454 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1455 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1458 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1459 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1460 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1461 doing any processing of its contents
1462 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1463 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1464 manner will have no permanent effects.
1468 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1469 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1470 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1471 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1472 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1473 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1474 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1475 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1478 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1479 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1480 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1481 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1486 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1487 full summary buffer.
1490 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1493 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1497 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1498 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1499 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1503 @node Subscription Commands
1504 @section Subscription Commands
1505 @cindex subscription
1513 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1514 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1515 Toggle subscription to the current group
1516 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1522 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1523 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1524 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1525 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1531 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1532 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1533 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1539 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1540 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1543 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1544 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1545 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1546 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1547 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1553 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1554 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1558 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1559 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1562 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1563 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1564 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1565 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1566 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1567 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1568 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1569 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1570 @file{.newsrc} file.
1574 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1584 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1585 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1586 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1587 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1588 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1589 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1594 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1595 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1596 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1600 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1601 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1602 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1604 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1605 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1606 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1607 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1608 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1609 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1616 @section Group Levels
1620 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1621 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1622 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1623 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1624 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1626 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1632 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1633 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1634 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1635 prompted for a level.
1638 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1639 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1640 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1641 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1642 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1643 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1644 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1645 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1646 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1647 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1648 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1649 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1650 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1651 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1652 reasons of efficiency.
1654 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1655 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1657 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1658 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1659 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1661 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1662 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1663 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1664 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1665 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1666 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1667 relevant valid ranges.
1669 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1670 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1671 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1672 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1673 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1674 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1677 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1678 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1679 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1682 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1683 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1684 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1685 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1688 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1689 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1690 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1691 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1693 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1694 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1695 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1696 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1697 to 5. The default is 6.
1701 @section Group Score
1706 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1707 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1708 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1711 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1712 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1713 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1714 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1715 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1716 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1717 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1719 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1720 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1721 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1722 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1723 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1724 action after each summary exit, you can add
1725 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1726 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1727 slow things down somewhat.
1730 @node Marking Groups
1731 @section Marking Groups
1732 @cindex marking groups
1734 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1735 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1736 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1737 bidding on those groups.
1739 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1740 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1741 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1749 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1750 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1756 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1757 Remove the mark from the current group
1758 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1762 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1763 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1767 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1768 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1772 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1773 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1777 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1778 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1779 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1782 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1784 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1785 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1786 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1787 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1788 the command to be executed.
1791 @node Foreign Groups
1792 @section Foreign Groups
1793 @cindex foreign groups
1795 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1796 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1797 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1798 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1805 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1806 @cindex making groups
1807 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1808 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1809 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1813 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1814 @cindex renaming groups
1815 Rename the current group to something else
1816 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1817 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1823 @findex gnus-group-customize
1824 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1828 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1829 @cindex renaming groups
1830 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1831 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1835 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1836 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1837 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1841 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1842 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1843 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1847 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1849 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1850 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1855 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1856 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1860 @cindex (ding) archive
1861 @cindex archive group
1862 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1863 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1864 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1865 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1866 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1867 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1868 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1872 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1874 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1875 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1876 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1877 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1881 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1883 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1884 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1885 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1889 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1890 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1892 Make a group based on some file or other
1893 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1894 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1895 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1896 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1897 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1898 this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
1899 @xref{Document Groups}.
1903 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1908 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1909 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1910 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1911 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1912 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1913 @xref{Web Searches}.
1916 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1917 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1918 This function will delete the current group
1919 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1920 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1921 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1922 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1923 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1927 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1928 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1929 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1933 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1934 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1935 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1938 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1941 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1942 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1943 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1944 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1945 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1948 @node Group Parameters
1949 @section Group Parameters
1950 @cindex group parameters
1952 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1957 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1958 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1959 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1960 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1961 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1962 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1963 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1964 copies of your followups.
1966 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1967 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1968 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1969 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1970 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1971 list address instead.
1975 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1976 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1977 doing a @kbd{a} in that group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1978 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1979 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1981 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
1982 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
1983 sending the message.
1987 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
1988 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
1989 of whether it has any unread articles.
1991 @item broken-reply-to
1992 @cindex broken-reply-to
1993 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1994 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1995 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1996 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1997 broken behavior. So there!
2001 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2002 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2006 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, Gnus will treat
2007 all responses as if they were responses to news articles. This can be
2008 useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a news group.
2012 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
2013 @code{t}, newly composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
2014 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
2015 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
2016 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence
2017 over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later). @xref{Archived
2022 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2023 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2024 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2027 @cindex total-expire
2028 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2029 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2030 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2031 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2036 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2037 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2038 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2039 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2040 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2041 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2044 @cindex score file group parameter
2045 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2046 @file{file} into the current adaptive score file for the group in
2047 question. All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2050 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2051 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2052 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2053 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2056 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2057 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2058 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2059 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2062 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2063 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2067 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2070 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2075 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2076 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2077 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2080 @item @var{(variable form)}
2081 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2082 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2083 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2084 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2085 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2086 @code{eval}ed there.
2088 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2089 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2090 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2091 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2092 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2096 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
2098 @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
2100 Here's an example group parameter list:
2103 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2108 @node Listing Groups
2109 @section Listing Groups
2110 @cindex group listing
2112 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2120 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2121 List all groups that have unread articles
2122 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2123 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2124 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2125 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2132 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2133 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2134 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2135 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2136 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2137 unsubscribed groups).
2141 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2142 List all unread groups on a specific level
2143 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2144 with no unread articles.
2148 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2149 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2150 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2151 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2156 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2157 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2161 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2162 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2163 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2167 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2168 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2172 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2173 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2174 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2175 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2176 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2177 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2178 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2179 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2183 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2184 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2185 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2189 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2190 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2191 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2195 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2196 @cindex visible group parameter
2197 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2198 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2199 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2200 get the same effect.
2202 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2203 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2204 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2205 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2206 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2209 @node Sorting Groups
2210 @section Sorting Groups
2211 @cindex sorting groups
2213 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2214 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2215 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2216 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2217 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2218 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2223 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2224 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2225 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2227 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2228 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2229 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2231 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2232 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2233 Sort by group level.
2235 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2236 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2237 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2239 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2240 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2241 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2242 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2244 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2245 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2246 Sort by number of unread articles.
2248 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2249 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2250 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2255 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2256 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2260 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2261 some sorting criteria:
2265 @kindex G S a (Group)
2266 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2267 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2268 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2271 @kindex G S u (Group)
2272 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2273 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2274 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2277 @kindex G S l (Group)
2278 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2279 Sort the group buffer by group level
2280 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2283 @kindex G S v (Group)
2284 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2285 Sort the group buffer by group score
2286 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2289 @kindex G S r (Group)
2290 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2291 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2292 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2295 @kindex G S m (Group)
2296 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2297 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2298 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2302 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2304 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2308 @kindex G P a (Group)
2309 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2310 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2311 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2314 @kindex G P u (Group)
2315 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2316 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2317 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2320 @kindex G P l (Group)
2321 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2322 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2323 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2326 @kindex G P v (Group)
2327 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2328 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2329 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2332 @kindex G P r (Group)
2333 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2334 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2335 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2338 @kindex G P m (Group)
2339 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2340 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2341 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2347 @node Group Maintenance
2348 @section Group Maintenance
2349 @cindex bogus groups
2354 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2355 Find bogus groups and delete them
2356 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2360 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2361 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2362 If given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2366 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2367 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2368 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2369 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2372 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2373 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2374 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2375 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2380 @node Browse Foreign Server
2381 @section Browse Foreign Server
2382 @cindex foreign servers
2383 @cindex browsing servers
2388 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2389 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2390 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2391 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2394 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2395 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2396 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2397 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2399 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2404 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2405 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2409 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2410 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2413 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2414 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2415 Enter the current group and display the first article
2416 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2419 @kindex RET (Browse)
2420 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2421 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2425 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2426 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2427 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2433 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2434 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2438 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2439 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2440 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2445 @section Exiting Gnus
2446 @cindex exiting Gnus
2448 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2453 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2454 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2455 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2456 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2460 @findex gnus-group-exit
2461 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2462 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2466 @findex gnus-group-quit
2467 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2468 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2471 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2472 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2473 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2474 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2475 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2480 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2481 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2482 trying to customize meta-variables.
2487 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2488 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2489 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2495 @section Group Topics
2498 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2499 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2500 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2501 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2502 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2503 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2507 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2508 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2519 2: alt.religion.emacs
2522 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2524 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2525 13: comp.sources.unix
2528 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2530 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2531 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2532 is a toggling command.)
2534 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2535 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2536 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2537 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2540 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2541 the hook for the group mode:
2544 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2548 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2549 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2550 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2551 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2552 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2556 @node Topic Variables
2557 @subsection Topic Variables
2558 @cindex topic variables
2560 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2561 really neat, I think.
2563 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2564 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2565 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2578 Number of groups in the topic.
2580 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2582 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2585 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2586 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2587 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2590 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2591 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2593 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2594 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2595 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2598 @node Topic Commands
2599 @subsection Topic Commands
2600 @cindex topic commands
2602 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2603 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2604 definitions slightly.
2610 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2611 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2612 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2616 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2617 Move the current group to some other topic
2618 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2619 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2623 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2624 Copy the current group to some other topic
2625 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2626 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2630 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2631 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2632 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2633 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2637 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2638 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2639 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2643 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2644 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2645 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2649 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2650 Toggle hiding empty topics
2651 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2655 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2656 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2657 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2660 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2661 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2662 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2663 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2667 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2669 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2670 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2671 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2672 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2673 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2674 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2677 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2678 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2679 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2680 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2681 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2685 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2686 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2687 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2691 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2692 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2693 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2698 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2699 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2702 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2703 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2704 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2708 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2709 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2710 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2714 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2715 @cindex group parameters
2716 @cindex topic parameters
2718 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2719 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2725 @subsection Topic Sorting
2726 @cindex topic sorting
2728 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2734 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2735 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2736 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2737 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2740 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2741 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2742 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2743 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2746 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2747 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2748 Sort the current topic by group level
2749 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2752 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2753 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2754 Sort the current topic by group score
2755 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2758 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2759 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2760 Sort the current topic by group rank
2761 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2764 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2765 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2766 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2767 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2771 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2774 @node Topic Topology
2775 @subsection Topic Topology
2776 @cindex topic topology
2779 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2785 2: alt.religion.emacs
2788 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2790 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2791 13: comp.sources.unix
2794 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2795 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2796 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2801 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2802 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2806 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2807 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2808 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2809 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2810 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2811 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2813 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2814 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2815 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2818 @node Topic Parameters
2819 @subsection Topic Parameters
2820 @cindex topic parameters
2822 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2823 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2824 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2826 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2827 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2828 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2829 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2835 2: alt.religion.emacs
2839 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2841 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2842 13: comp.sources.unix
2846 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2847 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2848 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2849 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2850 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2851 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2853 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2854 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2855 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2856 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2857 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2859 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2860 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2861 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2862 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2863 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2864 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2865 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2866 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2869 @node Misc Group Stuff
2870 @section Misc Group Stuff
2873 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2874 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2875 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2876 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2883 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2884 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2885 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2889 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2890 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2891 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2895 @findex gnus-group-mail
2896 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2900 Variables for the group buffer:
2904 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2905 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2906 is called after the group buffer has been
2909 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2910 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2911 is called after the group buffer is
2912 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2915 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2916 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2917 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2918 whether they are empty or not.
2923 @node Scanning New Messages
2924 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2925 @cindex new messages
2926 @cindex scanning new news
2932 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2933 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
2934 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2935 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2936 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2937 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
2942 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2943 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2944 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
2945 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2946 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2947 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2948 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2950 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2951 @cindex activating groups
2953 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2954 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2959 @findex gnus-group-restart
2960 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
2961 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
2962 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
2966 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2967 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2969 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2970 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2974 @node Group Information
2975 @subsection Group Information
2976 @cindex group information
2977 @cindex information on groups
2984 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2985 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2988 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2989 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2990 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2991 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2992 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2993 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
2994 for fetching the file.
2996 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
2997 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3001 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3003 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3004 @cindex describing groups
3005 @cindex group description
3006 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3007 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3008 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3012 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3013 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3014 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3021 @findex gnus-version
3022 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3026 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3027 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3030 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3033 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3034 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3038 @node Group Timestamp
3039 @subsection Group Timestamp
3041 @cindex group timestamps
3043 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3044 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3045 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3048 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3051 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3053 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3054 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3057 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3058 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3061 This will result in lines looking like:
3064 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3065 0: custom 19961002T012713
3068 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3069 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3073 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3074 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3079 @subsection File Commands
3080 @cindex file commands
3086 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3087 @vindex gnus-init-file
3088 @cindex reading init file
3089 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3090 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3094 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3095 @cindex saving .newsrc
3096 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3097 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3098 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3101 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3102 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3103 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3108 @node The Summary Buffer
3109 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3110 @cindex summary buffer
3112 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3113 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3115 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3116 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3118 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3121 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3122 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3123 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3124 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3125 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3126 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3127 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3128 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3129 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3130 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3131 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3132 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3133 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3134 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3135 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3136 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3137 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3138 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3139 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3140 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3141 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3142 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3143 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3144 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3145 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3146 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3147 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3151 @node Summary Buffer Format
3152 @section Summary Buffer Format
3153 @cindex summary buffer format
3157 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3158 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3159 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3165 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3166 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3167 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3170 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3171 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3172 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3173 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3174 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3175 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3176 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3177 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3178 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3179 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3180 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3182 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3183 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3184 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3185 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3188 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3189 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3191 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3192 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3193 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3194 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3195 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3197 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3199 The following format specification characters are understood:
3207 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3208 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3209 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3211 Full @code{From} header.
3213 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3215 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3216 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3217 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3218 may be more thorough.
3220 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3223 Number of lines in the article.
3225 Number of characters in the article.
3227 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3229 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3230 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3232 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3233 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3235 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3236 for adopted articles.
3238 One space for each thread level.
3240 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3246 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3248 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3249 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3250 default level. If the difference between
3251 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3252 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3260 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3262 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3268 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3269 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3271 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3272 article has any children.
3278 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3279 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3280 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3281 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3282 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3283 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3286 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3287 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3288 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3289 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3290 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3291 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3293 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3294 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3296 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3299 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3300 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3302 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3303 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3304 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3305 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3307 Here are the elements you can play with:
3313 Unprefixed group name.
3315 Current article number.
3319 Number of unread articles in this group.
3321 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3324 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3325 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3326 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3327 and no unselected ones.
3329 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3330 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3332 Subject of the current article.
3334 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3336 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3338 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3340 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3342 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3344 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3348 @node Summary Highlighting
3349 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3353 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3354 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3355 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3356 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3357 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3359 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3360 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3361 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3362 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3364 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3365 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3366 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3367 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3369 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3370 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3371 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3372 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3373 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3374 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3376 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3377 ((> score default) . bold))
3379 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3380 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3384 @node Summary Maneuvering
3385 @section Summary Maneuvering
3386 @cindex summary movement
3388 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3389 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3391 None of these commands select articles.
3396 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3397 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3398 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3399 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3400 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3404 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3405 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3406 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3407 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3408 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3413 @kindex G j (Summary)
3414 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3415 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3416 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3419 @kindex G g (Summary)
3420 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3421 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3422 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3425 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3426 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3427 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3428 to the group buffer.
3430 Variables related to summary movement:
3434 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3435 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3436 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3437 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3438 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3439 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3440 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3441 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3442 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3443 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3444 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3445 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3446 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3447 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3449 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3450 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3451 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3452 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3453 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3454 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3455 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3457 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3458 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3459 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3460 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3461 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3463 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3464 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3465 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3466 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3467 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3468 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3469 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3470 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3476 @node Choosing Articles
3477 @section Choosing Articles
3478 @cindex selecting articles
3481 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3482 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3486 @node Choosing Commands
3487 @subsection Choosing Commands
3489 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3490 and they all select and display an article.
3494 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3495 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3496 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3497 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3502 @kindex G n (Summary)
3503 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3504 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3505 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3510 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3511 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3512 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3517 @kindex G N (Summary)
3518 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3519 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3524 @kindex G P (Summary)
3525 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3526 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3529 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3530 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3531 Go to the next article with the same subject
3532 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3535 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3536 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3537 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3538 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3542 @kindex G f (Summary)
3544 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3545 Go to the first unread article
3546 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3550 @kindex G b (Summary)
3552 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3553 Go to the article with the highest score
3554 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3559 @kindex G l (Summary)
3560 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3561 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3564 @kindex G o (Summary)
3565 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3567 @cindex article history
3568 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3569 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3570 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3571 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3572 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3573 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3577 @node Choosing Variables
3578 @subsection Choosing Variables
3580 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3583 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3584 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3585 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3586 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3587 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3588 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3590 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3591 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3592 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3593 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3595 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3596 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3597 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3598 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3599 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3600 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3601 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3602 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3603 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3604 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3605 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3606 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3607 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3608 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3613 @node Paging the Article
3614 @section Scrolling the Article
3615 @cindex article scrolling
3620 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3621 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3622 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3623 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3624 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3627 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3628 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3629 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3632 @kindex RET (Summary)
3633 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3634 Scroll the current article one line forward
3635 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3639 @kindex A g (Summary)
3641 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3642 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3643 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3644 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3645 the way it came from the server.
3650 @kindex A < (Summary)
3651 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3652 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3653 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3658 @kindex A > (Summary)
3659 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3660 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3664 @kindex A s (Summary)
3666 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3667 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3668 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3672 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3673 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3678 @node Reply Followup and Post
3679 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3682 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3683 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3687 @node Summary Mail Commands
3688 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3690 @cindex composing mail
3692 Commands for composing a mail message:
3698 @kindex S r (Summary)
3700 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3701 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3702 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3703 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3704 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3709 @kindex S R (Summary)
3710 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3711 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3712 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3713 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3714 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3717 @kindex S w (Summary)
3718 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3719 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3720 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3721 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3722 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3725 @kindex S W (Summary)
3726 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3727 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3728 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3729 the process/prefix convention.
3732 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3733 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3734 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3735 Forward the current article to some other person
3736 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3737 headers of the forwarded article.
3742 @kindex S m (Summary)
3743 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3744 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3745 Send a mail to some other person
3746 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3749 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3750 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3751 @cindex bouncing mail
3752 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3753 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3754 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3755 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3756 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3757 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3758 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3759 very well fail, though.
3762 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3763 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3764 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3765 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3766 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3767 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3768 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3769 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3770 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3771 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3773 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3774 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3775 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3776 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3777 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3779 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3780 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3783 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3784 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3785 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3786 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3787 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3790 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3791 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3792 @cindex crossposting
3793 @cindex excessive crossposting
3794 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3795 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3797 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3798 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3799 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3800 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3801 command understands the process/prefix convention
3802 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3807 @node Summary Post Commands
3808 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3810 @cindex composing news
3812 Commands for posting a news article:
3818 @kindex S p (Summary)
3819 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3820 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3821 Post an article to the current group
3822 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3827 @kindex S f (Summary)
3828 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3829 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3830 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3834 @kindex S F (Summary)
3836 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3837 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3838 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3839 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3840 process/prefix convention.
3843 @kindex S n (Summary)
3844 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3845 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3846 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3849 @kindex S n (Summary)
3850 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3851 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3852 message through mail and include the original message
3853 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3854 the process/prefix convention.
3857 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3858 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3859 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3860 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3861 headers of the forwarded article.
3864 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3865 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3867 @cindex making digests
3868 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3869 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3870 process/prefix convention.
3873 @kindex S u (Summary)
3874 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3875 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3876 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3877 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3881 @node Canceling and Superseding
3882 @section Canceling Articles
3883 @cindex canceling articles
3884 @cindex superseding articles
3886 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3887 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3889 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3891 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3893 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
3894 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3895 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3896 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3897 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3898 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3900 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3901 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3904 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when cancelling. If you
3905 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
3906 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
3908 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3909 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3910 your original article.
3912 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3914 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3915 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3916 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3919 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3920 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3921 have posted almost the same article twice.
3923 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3924 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3925 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3926 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
3927 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3928 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3929 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3930 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3931 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3932 canceled/superseded.
3934 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3937 @node Marking Articles
3938 @section Marking Articles
3939 @cindex article marking
3940 @cindex article ticking
3943 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3945 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3946 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3947 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3949 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3952 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3953 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3954 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3958 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3962 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3963 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3967 @node Unread Articles
3968 @subsection Unread Articles
3970 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3975 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3976 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3978 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3979 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3980 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3981 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3982 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3986 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3987 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3989 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3990 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
3991 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
3994 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3995 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
3997 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4002 @subsection Read Articles
4003 @cindex expirable mark
4005 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4010 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4011 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4012 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4015 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4016 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4019 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4020 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4021 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4024 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4025 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4028 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4029 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4032 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4033 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4036 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4037 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4040 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4041 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4044 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4045 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4048 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4049 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4053 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4054 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4055 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4059 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4060 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4062 One more special mark, though:
4066 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4067 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4069 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4070 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4071 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4072 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4078 @subsection Other Marks
4079 @cindex process mark
4082 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4088 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4089 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4090 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4091 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4092 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4095 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4096 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4097 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4098 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4101 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4102 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4103 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}
4106 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4107 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4108 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4109 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4112 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4113 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4114 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4115 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4116 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4119 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4120 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4121 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4122 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4123 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4124 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4128 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4129 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4130 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4132 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4133 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4134 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4138 @subsection Setting Marks
4139 @cindex setting marks
4141 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4146 @kindex M c (Summary)
4147 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4148 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4149 @cindex mark as unread
4150 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4151 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4157 @kindex M t (Summary)
4158 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4159 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4160 @xref{Article Caching}
4165 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4166 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4167 Mark the current article as dormant
4168 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}
4172 @kindex M d (Summary)
4174 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4175 Mark the current article as read
4176 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4180 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4181 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4182 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4187 @kindex M k (Summary)
4188 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4189 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4190 and then select the next unread article
4191 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4195 @kindex M K (Summary)
4196 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4197 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4198 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4199 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4202 @kindex M C (Summary)
4203 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4204 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4205 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4208 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4209 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4210 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4211 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4214 @kindex M H (Summary)
4215 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4216 Catchup the current group to point
4217 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4220 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4221 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4222 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4223 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4226 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4227 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4228 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4229 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4233 @kindex M e (Summary)
4235 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4236 Mark the current article as expirable
4237 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4240 @kindex M b (Summary)
4241 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4242 Set a bookmark in the current article
4243 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4246 @kindex M B (Summary)
4247 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4248 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4249 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4252 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4253 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4254 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4255 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4258 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4259 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4260 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4261 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4264 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4265 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4266 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4267 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4268 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4271 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4272 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4273 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4274 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4275 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4276 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4277 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4278 The default is @code{t}.
4281 @node Setting Process Marks
4282 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4283 @cindex setting process marks
4290 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4291 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4292 Mark the current article with the process mark
4293 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4294 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4298 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4299 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4300 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4301 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4304 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4305 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4306 Remove the process mark from all articles
4307 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4310 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4311 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4312 Invert the list of process marked articles
4313 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4316 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4317 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4318 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4321 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4322 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4323 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4326 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4327 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4328 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4329 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4332 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4333 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4334 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4335 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4338 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4339 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4340 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4341 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4344 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4345 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4346 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4349 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4350 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4351 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4352 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4355 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4356 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4357 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4360 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4361 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4362 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4363 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4366 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4367 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4368 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4369 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4372 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4373 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4374 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4375 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4378 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4379 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4380 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4381 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4390 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4391 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4392 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4395 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4396 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4397 additional articles.
4403 @kindex / / (Summary)
4404 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4405 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4406 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4409 @kindex / a (Summary)
4410 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4411 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4412 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4416 @kindex / u (Summary)
4418 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4419 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4420 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4421 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4422 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4425 @kindex / m (Summary)
4426 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4427 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4428 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4431 @kindex / t (Summary)
4432 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4433 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4434 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4435 articles younger than that number of days.
4438 @kindex / n (Summary)
4439 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4440 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4441 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4442 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4445 @kindex / w (Summary)
4446 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4447 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4448 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4452 @kindex / v (Summary)
4453 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4454 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4455 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4459 @kindex M S (Summary)
4460 @kindex / E (Summary)
4461 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4462 Display all expunged articles
4463 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4466 @kindex / D (Summary)
4467 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4468 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4471 @kindex / d (Summary)
4472 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4473 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4476 @kindex / T (Summary)
4477 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4478 Include all the articles in the current thread.
4481 @kindex / c (Summary)
4482 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4483 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4484 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4487 @kindex / C (Summary)
4488 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4489 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4490 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4491 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4499 @cindex article threading
4501 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4502 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4503 hierarchical fashion.
4505 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4506 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4507 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4508 or simply missing. Weird news propagration excarcerbates the problem,
4509 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4510 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4511 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4513 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4517 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4520 A tree-like article structure.
4523 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4526 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4527 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4528 summary buffer. We then typicall have many sub-threads that really
4529 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4530 called loose threads.
4532 @item thread gathering
4533 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4535 @item sparse threads
4536 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4537 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4543 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4544 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4548 @node Customizing Threading
4549 @subsection Customizing Threading
4550 @cindex customizing threading
4553 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4554 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4555 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4556 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4561 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4564 @cindex loose threads
4567 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4568 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4569 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4570 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4571 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4572 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4574 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4575 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4576 There are four possible values:
4580 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4581 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4582 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4583 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4584 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4589 @cindex adopting articles
4594 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4595 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4596 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4597 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4600 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4601 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4602 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4603 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4604 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4605 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4606 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4609 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4610 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4611 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4615 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4616 display them after one another.
4619 Don't gather loose threads.
4622 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4623 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4624 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4625 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4626 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4627 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4628 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4629 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4630 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4631 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4632 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4634 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4635 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4636 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4639 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4640 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4641 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4642 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4643 simplification is used.
4645 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4646 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4647 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4648 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4650 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4652 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4658 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4659 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4660 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4661 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4666 (mapconcat 'identity
4667 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4669 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4672 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4675 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4676 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4677 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4678 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4679 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4680 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4682 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4685 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4686 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4687 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4689 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4690 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4693 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4694 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4695 Remove excessive whitespace.
4698 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4701 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4702 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4703 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4704 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4705 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4706 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4707 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4708 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4710 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4711 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4712 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4713 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4714 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4715 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4716 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4717 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4718 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4722 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4723 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4724 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4725 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4727 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4728 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4729 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4732 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4736 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4737 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4743 @node Filling In Threads
4744 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4747 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4748 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4749 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4750 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
4751 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4752 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4753 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4754 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4755 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4756 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4757 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4758 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4760 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4761 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4762 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4764 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4765 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4766 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4767 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4768 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4769 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4770 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4771 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4772 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4773 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4774 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4775 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4776 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4777 @code{nil} by default.
4782 @node More Threading
4783 @subsubsection More Threading
4786 @item gnus-show-threads
4787 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4788 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4789 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4790 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4791 slower and more awkward.
4793 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4794 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4795 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4798 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4799 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4800 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4801 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4802 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4803 threads are expunged.
4805 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4806 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4807 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4810 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4811 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4812 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4813 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4814 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4817 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4818 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4819 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4825 @node Low-Level Threading
4826 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4830 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4831 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4832 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4833 @code{(gnus-decode-rfc1522)}, which means that QPized headers will be
4834 slightly decoded in a hackish way. This is likely to change in the
4835 future when Gnus becomes @sc{MIME}ified.
4837 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4838 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4839 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4840 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4841 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4842 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4843 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4844 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4845 meaningful. Here's one example:
4848 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4850 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4851 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4853 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4855 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4862 @node Thread Commands
4863 @subsection Thread Commands
4864 @cindex thread commands
4870 @kindex T k (Summary)
4871 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4872 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4873 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4874 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4875 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4880 @kindex T l (Summary)
4881 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4882 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4883 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4884 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4887 @kindex T i (Summary)
4888 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4889 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4890 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4893 @kindex T # (Summary)
4894 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4895 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4896 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4899 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4900 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4901 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4902 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4905 @kindex T T (Summary)
4906 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4907 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4910 @kindex T s (Summary)
4911 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4912 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4913 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4916 @kindex T h (Summary)
4917 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4918 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4921 @kindex T S (Summary)
4922 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4923 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4926 @kindex T H (Summary)
4927 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4928 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4931 @kindex T t (Summary)
4932 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4933 Re-thread the current article's thread
4934 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4935 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4938 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4939 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4940 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4941 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
4945 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4946 understand the numeric prefix.
4951 @kindex T n (Summary)
4952 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4953 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4956 @kindex T p (Summary)
4957 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4958 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4961 @kindex T d (Summary)
4962 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4963 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4966 @kindex T u (Summary)
4967 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4968 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4971 @kindex T o (Summary)
4972 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4973 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4976 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4977 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4978 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4979 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4980 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4981 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4982 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
4983 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4984 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4985 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4986 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4987 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
4994 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4995 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4996 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4997 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4998 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4999 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5000 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5001 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5002 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
5003 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5004 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5005 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5006 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5007 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5009 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5010 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5011 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
5012 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
5013 in the list. You should probably always include
5014 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5015 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5016 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5017 ascending article order.
5019 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
5020 number, you could do something like:
5023 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5024 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5025 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5026 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
5029 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5030 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5031 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5032 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5033 which the articles arrived.
5035 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5039 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5041 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t2 t1)))
5042 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5045 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5046 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5047 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5048 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5051 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5052 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5053 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5054 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5055 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5056 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5057 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5058 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5059 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5060 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5061 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5062 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5063 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5065 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5069 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5070 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5071 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5076 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5077 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5078 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5079 @cindex article pre-fetch
5082 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5083 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5084 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5085 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5086 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5088 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5089 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5091 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5092 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5093 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5094 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5095 connection is blocked.
5097 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5098 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5099 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5100 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
5102 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5103 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5104 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5105 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5108 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5111 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5112 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5113 happen automatically.
5115 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5116 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5117 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5118 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5119 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5120 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5121 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5123 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5124 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5125 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5126 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5127 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5128 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5129 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5130 data structure as the only parameter.
5132 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5135 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5136 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5137 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5138 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5141 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5144 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5145 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
5146 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5148 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5149 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5150 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5151 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5155 Remove articles when they are read.
5158 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5161 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5163 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5164 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5165 from the next group.
5168 @node Article Caching
5169 @section Article Caching
5170 @cindex article caching
5173 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5174 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5175 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5176 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5177 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5179 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5181 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5182 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5183 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5184 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5185 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5186 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5187 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5188 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5190 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5191 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5192 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5193 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5194 as dormant, and don't worry.
5196 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5198 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5199 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5200 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5201 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5202 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5203 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5204 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5205 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5206 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5207 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5209 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5210 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5211 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5212 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5213 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5214 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5215 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5216 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5217 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5218 not then be downloaded by this command.
5220 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5221 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
5222 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5223 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5224 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
5225 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
5226 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
5229 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5230 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5231 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5232 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5233 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5234 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
5235 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5236 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5237 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5241 @node Persistent Articles
5242 @section Persistent Articles
5243 @cindex persistent articles
5245 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5246 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5247 useful in my opinion.
5249 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5250 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5251 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5252 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5253 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5254 the expiry going on at the news server.
5256 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5257 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5258 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5264 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5265 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5268 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5269 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5270 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5271 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5275 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5277 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5278 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5279 interested in persistent articles:
5282 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5286 @node Article Backlog
5287 @section Article Backlog
5289 @cindex article backlog
5291 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5292 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5293 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
5294 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5295 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5296 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5297 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5298 increase memory usage some.
5300 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5301 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5302 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5303 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5304 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5305 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5306 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5308 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5311 @node Saving Articles
5312 @section Saving Articles
5313 @cindex saving articles
5315 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5316 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5317 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5318 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5319 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5321 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5322 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5323 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5325 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5326 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5327 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5328 deleted before saving.
5334 @kindex O o (Summary)
5336 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5337 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5338 Save the current article using the default article saver
5339 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5342 @kindex O m (Summary)
5343 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5344 Save the current article in mail format
5345 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5348 @kindex O r (Summary)
5349 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5350 Save the current article in rmail format
5351 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5354 @kindex O f (Summary)
5355 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5356 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5357 Save the current article in plain file format
5358 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5361 @kindex O F (Summary)
5362 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5363 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5364 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5367 @kindex O b (Summary)
5368 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5369 Save the current article body in plain file format
5370 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5373 @kindex O h (Summary)
5374 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5375 Save the current article in mh folder format
5376 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5379 @kindex O v (Summary)
5380 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5381 Save the current article in a VM folder
5382 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5385 @kindex O p (Summary)
5386 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5387 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5388 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5391 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5392 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5393 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5394 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5395 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5396 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5397 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5398 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5399 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5400 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5401 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5402 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5406 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5407 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5408 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5409 functions below, or you can create your own.
5413 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5414 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5415 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5416 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5417 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5418 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5419 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5421 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5422 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5423 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5424 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5425 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5426 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5428 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5429 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5430 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5431 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5432 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5433 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5434 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5436 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5437 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5438 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5439 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5440 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5442 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5443 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5444 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5445 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5446 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5449 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5450 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5451 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5452 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5453 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5455 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5456 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5457 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5458 reader to use this setting.
5461 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5462 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5463 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5464 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5467 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5468 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5469 available functions that generate names:
5473 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5474 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5475 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5477 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5478 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5479 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5481 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5482 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5483 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5485 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5486 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5487 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5490 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5491 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5492 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5493 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5494 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5498 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5499 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5500 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5501 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5504 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5505 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5506 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5507 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5508 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5509 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5510 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5511 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5512 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5514 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5515 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5516 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5517 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5519 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5520 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5521 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5524 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5525 lots of mail groups called things like
5526 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5527 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5528 following will do just that:
5531 (defun my-save-name (group)
5532 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5533 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5535 (setq gnus-split-methods
5536 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5541 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5542 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5543 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5544 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5545 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5546 all the files in the toplevel directory
5547 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5548 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5549 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5550 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5552 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5553 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5554 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5555 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5556 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5559 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5563 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5564 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5567 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5568 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5569 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5570 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5573 @node Decoding Articles
5574 @section Decoding Articles
5575 @cindex decoding articles
5577 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5578 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5581 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5582 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5583 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5584 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5585 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5586 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5590 @cindex article series
5591 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5592 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5593 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5594 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5595 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5597 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5598 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5599 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5601 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5602 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5603 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5605 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5606 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5607 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5610 @node Uuencoded Articles
5611 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5613 @cindex uuencoded articles
5618 @kindex X u (Summary)
5619 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5620 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5621 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5624 @kindex X U (Summary)
5625 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5626 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5627 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5630 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5631 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5632 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5635 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5636 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5637 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5638 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5642 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5643 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5644 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5645 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5646 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5648 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5649 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5650 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5651 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5654 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5655 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5656 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5657 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5658 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5659 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5663 @node Shell Archives
5664 @subsection Shell Archives
5666 @cindex shell archives
5667 @cindex shared articles
5669 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5670 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5671 some commands to deal with these:
5676 @kindex X s (Summary)
5677 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5678 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5681 @kindex X S (Summary)
5682 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5683 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5686 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5687 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5688 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5691 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5692 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5693 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5694 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5698 @node PostScript Files
5699 @subsection PostScript Files
5705 @kindex X p (Summary)
5706 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5707 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5710 @kindex X P (Summary)
5711 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5712 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5713 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5716 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5717 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5718 View the current PostScript series
5719 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5722 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5723 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5724 View and save the current PostScript series
5725 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5730 @subsection Other Files
5734 @kindex X o (Summary)
5735 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5736 Save the current series
5737 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5740 @kindex X b (Summary)
5741 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5742 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5743 doesn't really work yet.
5747 @node Decoding Variables
5748 @subsection Decoding Variables
5750 Adjective, not verb.
5753 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5754 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5755 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5759 @node Rule Variables
5760 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5761 @cindex rule variables
5763 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5764 variables are of the form
5767 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5774 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5775 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5777 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5778 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5781 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5782 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5785 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5786 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5787 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5788 user and default view rules.
5790 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5791 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5792 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5797 @node Other Decode Variables
5798 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5801 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5803 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5804 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5805 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5806 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5807 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5811 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5812 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5815 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5816 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5817 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5820 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5821 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5822 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5823 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5824 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5827 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5828 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5829 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5831 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5832 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5833 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5834 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5835 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5838 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5839 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5840 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5842 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5843 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5844 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5845 looking for files to display.
5847 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5848 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5849 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5852 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5853 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5854 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5857 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5858 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5859 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5862 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5863 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5864 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5867 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5868 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5869 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
5870 decoded articles as unread.
5872 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5873 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5874 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5875 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5877 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5878 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5880 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5881 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5882 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5883 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5885 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5886 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5887 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5888 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5889 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5890 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5891 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5892 simply dropped them.
5897 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5898 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5902 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5903 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5904 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5905 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5906 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5907 for you when you post the article.
5909 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5910 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5911 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5912 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5914 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5915 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5916 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5917 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
5918 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5919 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5920 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5922 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5923 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5924 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5925 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5926 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5927 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5928 Default is @code{t}.
5934 @subsection Viewing Files
5935 @cindex viewing files
5936 @cindex pseudo-articles
5938 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5939 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5940 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5941 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5942 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5943 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5944 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5946 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5947 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5948 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5949 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5951 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5952 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5953 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5955 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5956 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5957 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5958 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5959 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5961 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5962 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5963 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5964 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5965 a list of parameters to that command.
5967 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5968 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5969 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5971 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5972 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5973 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5976 @node Article Treatment
5977 @section Article Treatment
5979 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5980 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
5981 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5982 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5983 these articles easier.
5986 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5987 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look niced.
5988 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5989 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5990 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5991 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5992 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5996 @node Article Highlighting
5997 @subsection Article Highlighting
6000 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6001 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6006 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6007 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6008 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
6011 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6012 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6013 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6014 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6015 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6016 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6017 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6018 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6019 (@pxref{Faces & Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6020 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6021 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6024 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6025 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6026 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6028 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6031 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6033 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6034 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6035 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6037 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6038 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6039 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6041 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6042 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6043 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6045 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6046 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6047 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces & Fonts}).
6048 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6049 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6050 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6052 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6053 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6054 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6056 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6057 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6058 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6060 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6061 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6062 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6063 that it's a citation.
6065 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6066 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6067 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6069 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6070 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6071 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6073 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6074 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6075 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6076 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6082 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6083 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6084 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6085 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6086 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6087 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6088 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6089 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6095 @node Article Fontisizing
6096 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6098 @cindex article emphasis
6100 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6101 @kindex W e (Summary)
6102 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6103 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6104 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6105 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6107 @vindex gnus-article-emphasis
6108 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6109 @code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
6110 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6111 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6112 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6113 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6114 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6118 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6119 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6120 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6123 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6124 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6125 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6126 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6127 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6128 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6129 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6130 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6131 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6132 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6133 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6134 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6135 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6137 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6138 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6139 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6143 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6147 @node Article Hiding
6148 @subsection Article Hiding
6149 @cindex article hiding
6151 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6152 too much cruft in most articles.
6157 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6158 @findex gnus-article-hide
6159 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
6162 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6163 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6164 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6168 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6169 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6170 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6171 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6174 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6175 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6176 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6180 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6181 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6182 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6183 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6184 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6185 signature has been hidden.
6188 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6189 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6190 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6191 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6194 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6195 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6196 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6197 customizing the hiding:
6201 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6202 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6203 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6204 50), hide the cited text.
6206 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6207 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6208 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6211 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6212 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6213 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6214 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6215 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6220 Start point of the hidden text.
6222 End point of the hidden text.
6224 Length of the hidden text.
6227 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6228 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6229 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6234 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6235 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6236 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6237 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6238 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6239 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6243 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6244 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6245 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6247 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6248 citation customization.
6251 @node Article Washing
6252 @subsection Article Washing
6254 @cindex article washing
6256 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6257 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6259 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6260 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6266 @kindex W l (Summary)
6267 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6268 Remove page breaks from the current article
6269 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
6272 @kindex W r (Summary)
6273 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6274 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6275 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6276 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6277 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6278 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6280 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6281 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6282 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6283 is rumoured to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6286 @kindex W t (Summary)
6287 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6288 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6289 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6292 @kindex W v (Summary)
6293 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6294 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6295 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6298 @kindex W m (Summary)
6299 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6300 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
6301 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6304 @kindex W o (Summary)
6305 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6306 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6309 @kindex W d (Summary)
6310 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6311 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6314 @kindex W w (Summary)
6315 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6316 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6317 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6318 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6320 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6324 @kindex W c (Summary)
6325 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6326 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6327 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6330 @kindex W q (Summary)
6331 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
6332 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
6333 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
6334 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
6335 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
6339 @kindex W f (Summary)
6341 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6342 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6343 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6344 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6350 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6351 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6352 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6353 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6354 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6355 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6356 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6357 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6358 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6359 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6360 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6361 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6362 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6363 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6367 @kindex W b (Summary)
6368 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6369 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6370 @xref{Article Buttons}
6373 @kindex W B (Summary)
6374 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6375 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6376 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6379 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6380 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6381 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6382 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6385 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6386 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6387 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6388 lines with a single empty line.
6389 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6392 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6393 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6394 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6395 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6398 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6399 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6400 Do all the three commands above
6401 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6404 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6405 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6406 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6407 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6412 @node Article Buttons
6413 @subsection Article Buttons
6416 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6417 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6418 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6419 button on these references.
6421 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6422 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6423 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6428 @item gnus-button-alist
6429 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6430 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6433 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6439 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6440 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6441 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6444 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6445 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6446 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6449 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6450 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6451 avoid false matches.
6454 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6457 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6458 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6462 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6465 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6468 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6469 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6470 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6471 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6472 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6475 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6478 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6480 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6481 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6482 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6483 default values of the variables above.
6485 @item gnus-article-button-face
6486 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6487 Face used on buttons.
6489 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6490 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6491 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6497 @subsection Article Date
6499 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6500 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6501 when the article was sent.
6506 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6507 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6508 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6509 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6512 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6513 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6514 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6517 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6518 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6519 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6520 @findex format-time-string
6521 Display the date using a user-defined format
6522 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6523 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6524 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6525 for a list of possible format specs.
6528 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6529 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6530 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6531 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6532 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6533 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6534 updated continually, you can put
6537 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6540 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6541 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6545 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6546 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6547 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6548 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6549 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6550 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6551 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6556 @node Article Signature
6557 @subsection Article Signature
6559 @cindex article signature
6561 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6562 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6563 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6564 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6565 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6566 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6567 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6568 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6569 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6572 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6573 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6574 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6575 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6576 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6577 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6578 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6579 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6582 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6585 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6586 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6591 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6594 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6597 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6598 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6600 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6601 in question is not a signature.
6604 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6605 listed above. Here's an example:
6608 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6609 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6612 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6613 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6614 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6615 signature after all.
6618 @node Article Commands
6619 @section Article Commands
6626 @kindex A P (Summary)
6627 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6628 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6629 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6630 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6631 run just before printing the buffer.
6636 @node Summary Sorting
6637 @section Summary Sorting
6638 @cindex summary sorting
6640 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6641 can't really see why you'd want that.
6646 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6647 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6648 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6651 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6652 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6653 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6656 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6657 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6658 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6661 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6662 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6663 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6666 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6667 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6668 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6671 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6672 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6673 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6676 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6677 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6678 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6679 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6680 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6684 @node Finding the Parent
6685 @section Finding the Parent
6686 @cindex parent articles
6687 @cindex referring articles
6692 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6693 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6694 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6695 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6696 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6697 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6698 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6699 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6700 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6702 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6703 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6704 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6705 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6706 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6710 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6711 @kindex A R (Summary)
6712 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
6713 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6716 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
6717 @kindex A T (Summary)
6718 Display the full thread where the current article appears
6719 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
6720 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
6721 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
6722 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
6723 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
6724 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
6726 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
6727 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
6728 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
6729 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
6730 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
6731 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
6734 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6735 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6737 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6738 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6739 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6740 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6741 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6742 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6743 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6746 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6747 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6748 by giving this command a prefix.
6750 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6751 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6752 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6753 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6754 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6755 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6758 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6759 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6760 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6761 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6762 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6763 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6766 @node Alternative Approaches
6767 @section Alternative Approaches
6769 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6770 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6773 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6774 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6779 @subsection Pick and Read
6780 @cindex pick and read
6782 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
6783 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
6784 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
6785 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
6787 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6788 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6789 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6790 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6791 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6792 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
6794 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6799 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6800 Pick the article on the current line
6801 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6802 go to that article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
6803 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6806 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6807 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6808 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6809 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6813 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6814 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6818 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6819 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6823 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6824 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6828 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6829 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6833 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6834 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6838 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6839 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6843 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6844 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6848 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6849 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6853 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6854 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6858 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6859 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6863 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6864 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6865 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6866 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6867 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6868 will still be visible when you are reading.
6872 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6875 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6878 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6879 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6881 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6882 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6883 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6885 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6886 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
6887 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6888 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6889 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6890 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6891 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6895 @subsection Binary Groups
6896 @cindex binary groups
6898 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6899 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6900 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6901 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6902 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6903 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6904 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6907 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6908 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
6909 command, when you have turned on this mode
6910 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6912 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6913 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6917 @section Tree Display
6920 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6921 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6922 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6923 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6926 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6929 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6930 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6931 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6933 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6934 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6935 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6936 is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list of valid specs, @pxref{Summary
6939 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6940 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6941 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6942 default is @code{modeline}.
6944 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6945 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6946 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6947 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6948 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6949 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6950 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6956 The name of the poster.
6958 The @code{From} header.
6960 The number of the article.
6962 The opening bracket.
6964 The closing bracket.
6969 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6971 Variables related to the display are:
6974 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6975 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6976 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6977 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6978 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6979 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
6981 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6982 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6983 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6984 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
6988 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
6989 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
6990 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
6991 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
6992 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
6993 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
6994 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
6995 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
6996 other windows displayed next to it.
6998 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
6999 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7000 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7001 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7002 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7003 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7004 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7008 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7011 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7021 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7025 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7026 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7028 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7030 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7035 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7036 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7037 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7040 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7041 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7042 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7043 (gnus-add-configuration
7047 (summary 0.75 point)
7052 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7055 @node Mail Group Commands
7056 @section Mail Group Commands
7057 @cindex mail group commands
7059 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7060 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7062 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7063 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7068 @kindex B e (Summary)
7069 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7070 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7071 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7074 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7075 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7076 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7077 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7078 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7079 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7082 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7083 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7084 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7085 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7086 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7087 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7090 @kindex B m (Summary)
7092 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7093 Move the article from one mail group to another
7094 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7097 @kindex B c (Summary)
7099 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7100 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7101 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7102 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7105 @kindex B C (Summary)
7106 @cindex crosspost mail
7107 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7108 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7109 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7110 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7111 be properly updated.
7114 @kindex B i (Summary)
7115 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7116 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7117 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7118 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7121 @kindex B r (Summary)
7122 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7123 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7124 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7125 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7126 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7130 @kindex B w (Summary)
7132 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7133 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7134 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7135 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7136 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7137 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7140 @kindex B q (Summary)
7141 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7142 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7143 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7144 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7147 @kindex B p (Summary)
7148 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7149 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7150 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7151 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7152 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7153 article from your news server (or rather, from
7154 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7155 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7156 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7157 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7158 just not have arrived yet.
7162 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7163 @cindex moving articles
7164 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
7165 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7166 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7167 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7168 suggestions you find reasonable.
7171 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7172 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7173 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7174 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7178 @node Various Summary Stuff
7179 @section Various Summary Stuff
7182 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7183 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7184 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7185 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7189 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7190 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7191 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7193 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7194 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7195 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7196 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7197 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7198 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7201 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7202 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7203 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7204 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7205 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7207 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7208 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7209 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7210 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7211 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7212 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7213 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
7214 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7215 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7216 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7221 @node Summary Group Information
7222 @subsection Summary Group Information
7227 @kindex H f (Summary)
7228 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7229 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7230 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7231 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7232 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7233 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7234 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7235 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7236 be used for fetching the file.
7239 @kindex H d (Summary)
7240 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7241 Give a brief description of the current group
7242 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7243 rereading the description from the server.
7246 @kindex H h (Summary)
7247 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7248 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7249 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7252 @kindex H i (Summary)
7253 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7254 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7258 @node Searching for Articles
7259 @subsection Searching for Articles
7264 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7265 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7266 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7267 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7270 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7271 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7272 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7273 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7277 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7278 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7279 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7280 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7284 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7285 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7286 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7287 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7290 @node Summary Generation Commands
7291 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7296 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7297 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7298 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7301 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7302 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7303 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7304 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7309 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7310 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7315 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7316 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7317 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7318 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7319 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7320 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7321 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7322 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7323 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7327 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7328 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7329 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7330 several documents into one biiig group
7331 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7332 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7333 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7334 command understands the process/prefix convention
7335 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7338 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7339 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7340 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7341 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7342 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7343 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7347 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7348 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7349 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7354 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7355 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7356 @cindex summary exit
7357 @cindex exiting groups
7359 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7360 group and return you to the group buffer.
7366 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7368 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7369 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7370 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7371 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7372 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7373 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7374 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7375 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7376 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7377 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7378 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7382 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7384 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7385 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7386 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7390 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7392 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7393 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7394 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7395 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7398 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7399 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7400 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7401 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7404 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7405 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7406 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7407 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7410 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7411 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7412 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7413 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7414 all articles, both read and unread.
7418 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7419 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7420 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7421 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7422 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7423 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7424 articles, both read and unread.
7427 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7428 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7429 Exit the group and go to the next group
7430 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7433 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7434 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7435 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7436 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7439 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7440 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7441 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7442 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7443 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7444 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7447 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7448 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7451 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7452 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7453 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7454 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7455 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7456 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7457 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7458 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7459 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7460 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7461 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7462 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7464 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7466 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7467 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7468 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7469 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7470 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7471 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7472 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7473 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7474 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7477 @node Crosspost Handling
7478 @section Crosspost Handling
7482 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7483 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7484 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7485 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7486 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7487 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7490 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7491 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7492 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7493 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7494 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7496 @cindex cross-posting
7499 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7500 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7501 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7502 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7503 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7504 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7505 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7506 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7507 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7508 the cross reference mechanism.
7510 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7511 @cindex overview.fmt
7512 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7513 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7514 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7515 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7516 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7517 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7520 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7521 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7522 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7527 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7530 @node Duplicate Suppression
7531 @section Duplicate Suppression
7533 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7534 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7535 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7536 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
7541 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7542 is evil and not very common.
7545 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7546 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7549 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7550 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7553 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7556 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7557 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7559 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7560 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7561 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7562 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7563 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7564 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7565 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7568 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7569 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7570 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7571 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7572 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7576 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7577 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7578 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7580 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7581 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7582 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7583 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7584 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
7585 session are suppressed.
7587 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7588 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7589 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7590 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7592 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7593 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7594 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7595 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7598 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7599 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7600 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7601 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7602 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7603 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7604 to you to figure out, I think.
7607 @node The Article Buffer
7608 @chapter The Article Buffer
7609 @cindex article buffer
7611 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7612 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7613 tell Gnus otherwise.
7616 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7617 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7618 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7619 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7620 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7624 @node Hiding Headers
7625 @section Hiding Headers
7626 @cindex hiding headers
7627 @cindex deleting headers
7629 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7630 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7632 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7633 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7634 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7635 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7636 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7637 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7638 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7639 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7640 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7642 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7646 @item gnus-visible-headers
7647 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7648 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7649 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7650 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7652 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7653 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7656 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7659 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7662 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7663 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7664 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7665 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7666 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7667 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7669 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7670 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7673 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7676 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7679 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7680 variable will have no effect.
7684 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7685 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7686 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7687 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7688 the headers are to be displayed.
7690 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7691 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7694 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7697 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7698 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
7700 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7701 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7702 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7703 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7704 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7705 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7706 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7707 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7708 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7710 These conditions are:
7713 Remove all empty headers.
7715 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7718 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7719 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7721 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7724 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7727 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
7729 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
7732 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7735 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7736 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7739 This is also the default value for this variable.
7743 @section Using @sc{mime}
7746 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7747 while people stand around yawning.
7749 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7750 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7752 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7753 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7754 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7756 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7757 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7758 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7759 @findex metamail-buffer
7760 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7761 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7762 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7763 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7764 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7765 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7766 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7767 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7769 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7770 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7771 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7772 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7773 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7774 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7775 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7776 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7777 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7779 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7782 @node Customizing Articles
7783 @section Customizing Articles
7784 @cindex article customization
7786 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7787 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7788 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7789 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7791 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7792 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7793 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7794 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7795 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7796 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7797 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7798 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7799 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7801 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7802 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7803 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7804 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7805 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7808 @node Article Keymap
7809 @section Article Keymap
7811 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7812 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7813 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7814 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7817 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7822 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7823 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7824 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7827 @kindex DEL (Article)
7828 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7829 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7832 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7833 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7834 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7835 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7836 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7839 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7840 @findex gnus-article-mail
7841 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7842 given a prefix, include the mail.
7846 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7847 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7848 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7852 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7853 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7854 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7857 @kindex TAB (Article)
7858 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7859 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
7860 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7863 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7864 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7865 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
7871 @section Misc Article
7875 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7876 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7877 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7878 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7881 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7882 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7883 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7884 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7885 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7886 the contents of the article buffer.
7888 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7889 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7890 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7891 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7892 hiding headers, and the like.
7894 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7895 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7896 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7898 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7899 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7900 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7901 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7903 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7904 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7905 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7906 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7907 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7911 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7912 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7916 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7918 @item gnus-break-pages
7919 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7920 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7921 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7922 paging will not be done.
7924 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7925 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7926 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7931 @node Composing Messages
7932 @chapter Composing Messages
7933 @cindex composing messages
7936 @cindex sending mail
7941 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7942 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7943 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7944 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7945 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7946 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7947 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7950 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7951 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7952 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7953 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7954 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7955 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7956 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7959 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7960 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
7966 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
7969 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
7970 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
7971 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
7972 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
7974 @item gnus-add-to-list
7975 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
7976 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
7977 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
7985 Variables for composing news articles:
7988 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7989 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7990 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
7991 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
7992 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
7993 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
7994 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
7995 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
7996 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
7999 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8000 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8001 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8002 file. It is 1000 by default.
8007 @node Posting Server
8008 @section Posting Server
8010 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8011 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8013 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8015 @vindex gnus-post-method
8017 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
8018 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8019 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8020 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8021 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8024 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8027 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8028 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8029 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8030 the ``current'' server for posting.
8032 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8033 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8035 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8036 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8041 @section Mail and Post
8043 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8047 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8048 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8049 @cindex mailing lists
8051 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8052 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8053 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8054 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8055 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8056 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8057 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8058 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8059 still a pain, though.
8063 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8064 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8065 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8068 @findex ispell-message
8070 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8074 @node Archived Messages
8075 @section Archived Messages
8076 @cindex archived messages
8077 @cindex sent messages
8079 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8080 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8081 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8082 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8085 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8086 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
8087 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8091 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8092 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8093 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8094 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8097 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8098 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8099 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8100 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8103 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8104 '(nnfolder "archive"
8105 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8106 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8107 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8110 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8112 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8113 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8114 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8116 This variable can be used to do the following:
8120 Messages will be saved in that group.
8121 @item a list of strings
8122 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8123 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8124 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8126 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8131 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8133 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8136 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8138 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8141 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8143 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8144 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8145 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8146 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8151 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8152 '((if (message-news-p)
8157 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8158 messages in one file per month:
8161 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8162 '((if (message-news-p)
8164 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8165 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8168 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8169 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8171 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8172 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8173 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8174 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8175 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8176 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8177 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8178 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8179 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8180 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8182 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8183 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8184 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8185 this will disable archiving.
8188 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8189 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8190 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8191 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8192 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8195 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8196 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8197 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8200 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8201 but the latter is the preferred method.
8205 @c @node Posting Styles
8206 @c @section Posting Styles
8207 @c @cindex posting styles
8210 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
8212 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8213 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8214 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8217 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8218 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8219 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8220 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8221 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8226 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
8227 @c (organization . "What me?"))
8229 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
8230 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8231 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
8234 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8235 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8236 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8237 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8238 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8239 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8240 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8241 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8243 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8244 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8245 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8246 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8247 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8248 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8251 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8252 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8253 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
8254 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8255 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8258 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8259 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8260 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8262 @c So here's a new example:
8265 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
8267 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
8268 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
8269 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8270 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
8272 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8273 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8274 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
8275 @c (posting-from-work-p
8276 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
8277 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
8278 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
8280 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
8287 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8288 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8289 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8290 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8291 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8293 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8294 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8295 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8296 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8297 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8301 @vindex nndraft-directory
8302 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8303 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8304 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8305 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8306 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8307 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8309 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8310 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8313 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8314 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8315 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8316 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8317 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8318 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8319 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8320 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8321 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8322 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8323 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8324 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8325 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8326 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8328 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8329 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8330 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8332 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8334 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8335 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8336 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8338 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8341 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8342 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8343 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8344 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8345 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8346 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8347 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8350 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8351 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8352 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8355 @node Rejected Articles
8356 @section Rejected Articles
8357 @cindex rejected articles
8359 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8360 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8361 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8362 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8364 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
8365 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8366 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8367 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
8368 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8370 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8371 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8372 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8375 @node Select Methods
8376 @chapter Select Methods
8377 @cindex foreign groups
8378 @cindex select methods
8380 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8381 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8382 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8383 personal mail group.
8385 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8386 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8387 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8388 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8389 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8390 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8392 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8393 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8395 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8398 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8399 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8400 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8401 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8402 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8404 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8407 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8408 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8409 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8410 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8411 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8412 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8416 @node The Server Buffer
8417 @section The Server Buffer
8419 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8420 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8421 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8422 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8423 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8424 backend represents a virtual server.
8426 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8427 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8428 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8429 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8431 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8432 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8433 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8434 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8435 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8436 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8437 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8439 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8440 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8443 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8444 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8445 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8446 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8447 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8448 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8449 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8452 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8453 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8456 @node Server Buffer Format
8457 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8458 @cindex server buffer format
8460 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8461 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8462 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8463 variable, with some simple extensions:
8468 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8471 The name of this server.
8474 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8477 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8480 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8481 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8482 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
8493 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8496 @node Server Commands
8497 @subsection Server Commands
8498 @cindex server commands
8504 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8505 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8509 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8510 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8513 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8514 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8515 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8519 @findex gnus-server-exit
8520 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8524 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8525 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8529 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8530 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8534 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8535 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8539 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8540 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8544 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8545 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8546 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8551 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8552 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8553 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8554 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8559 @node Example Methods
8560 @subsection Example Methods
8562 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8565 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8568 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8574 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8575 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8578 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8579 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8581 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8582 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8586 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8589 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8590 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8592 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8593 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8594 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8598 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8601 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8604 Here's the method for a public spool:
8608 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8609 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8612 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8613 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8614 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8615 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8616 should probably look something like this:
8620 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8621 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8622 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8623 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8624 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8629 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8630 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8632 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8633 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8635 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8636 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8637 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8639 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8641 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8642 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8643 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8644 will contain the following:
8654 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8655 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8656 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8659 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8660 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8661 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8664 @node Server Variables
8665 @subsection Server Variables
8667 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8668 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8669 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8670 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8671 won't change the "derived" variables.
8673 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8674 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8675 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8676 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8677 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8678 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8679 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8680 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8681 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8685 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8686 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8687 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8691 @node Servers and Methods
8692 @subsection Servers and Methods
8694 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8695 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8696 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8697 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8701 @node Unavailable Servers
8702 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8704 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8705 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8706 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8707 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8708 actually the case or not.
8710 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8711 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
8712 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8713 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
8714 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
8715 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
8716 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
8717 it will regard that server as ``down''.
8719 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8720 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8722 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8723 with the following commands:
8729 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8730 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8731 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8735 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8736 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8737 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8741 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8742 Mark the current server as unreachable
8743 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8746 @kindex M-o (Server)
8747 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8748 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8749 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8752 @kindex M-c (Server)
8753 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8754 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8755 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8759 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8760 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
8761 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8767 @section Getting News
8768 @cindex reading news
8769 @cindex news backends
8771 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8772 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8773 or it can read from a local spool.
8776 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8777 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8782 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8785 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8786 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8787 server as the, uhm, address.
8789 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8790 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8791 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8792 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8794 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8795 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8796 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8798 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8803 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8804 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8805 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8807 @cindex authentification
8808 @cindex nntp authentification
8809 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8810 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8811 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
8812 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
8813 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
8814 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
8815 present in this hook.
8817 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8818 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8819 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8820 server. Available functions include:
8823 @item nntp-send-authinfo
8824 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8825 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8826 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
8828 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8829 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8830 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
8832 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8833 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8834 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8835 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
8838 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8839 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8840 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8841 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8842 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8845 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8849 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8851 The default value is
8854 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8855 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8858 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8859 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8861 @item nntp-maximum-request
8862 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8863 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8864 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8865 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8866 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8867 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8868 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8870 @item nntp-connection-timeout
8871 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8872 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8873 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
8874 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
8875 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
8876 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
8877 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
8878 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
8879 no timeouts are done.
8881 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
8882 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
8883 @c @cindex PPP connections
8884 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
8885 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
8886 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
8887 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
8888 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
8889 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
8890 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
8891 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
8892 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
8893 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
8895 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
8896 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8897 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8898 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8901 @item nntp-server-hook
8902 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8903 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8906 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8907 @findex nntp-open-telnet
8908 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8909 @item nntp-open-connection-function
8910 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
8911 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Three pre-made
8912 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8913 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8914 two are @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an @samp{rlogin} on the
8915 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
8916 available there, and @code{nntp-open-telnet}, which does a @samp{telnet}
8917 to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet} to get to the
8920 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
8924 @item nntp-rlogin-program
8925 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
8926 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
8927 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
8929 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8930 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8931 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8933 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8934 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8935 User name on the remote system.
8939 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
8942 @item nntp-telnet-command
8943 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
8944 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
8946 @item nntp-telnet-switches
8947 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
8948 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
8950 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
8951 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
8952 User name for log in on the remote system.
8954 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
8955 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
8956 Password to use when logging in.
8958 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
8959 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
8960 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
8965 @item nntp-end-of-line
8966 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
8967 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
8968 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
8969 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
8971 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8972 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8973 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
8977 @vindex nntp-address
8978 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
8980 @item nntp-port-number
8981 @vindex nntp-port-number
8982 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
8985 @item nntp-buggy-select
8986 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
8987 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
8989 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
8990 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
8991 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
8992 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
8995 @item nntp-xover-commands
8996 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
8999 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9000 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9004 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9005 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9006 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9007 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9008 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9009 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9010 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9011 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9012 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9013 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9014 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9016 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9017 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9018 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9020 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9021 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9022 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9023 server closes connection.
9029 @subsection News Spool
9033 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9034 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9035 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9038 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9039 anything else) as the address.
9041 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9042 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9043 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9044 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9048 @item nnspool-inews-program
9049 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9050 Program used to post an article.
9052 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9053 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9054 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9056 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9057 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9058 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9059 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9061 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9062 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9063 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9064 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9066 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9067 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9068 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9070 @item nnspool-active-file
9071 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9072 The path to the active file.
9074 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9075 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9076 The path to the group descriptions file.
9078 @item nnspool-history-file
9079 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9080 The path to the news history file.
9082 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9083 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9084 The path to the active date file.
9086 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9087 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9088 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9091 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9092 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9094 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9095 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9096 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9102 @section Getting Mail
9103 @cindex reading mail
9106 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9110 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9111 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9112 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9113 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9114 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9115 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9116 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9117 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9118 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9119 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9120 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9124 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9125 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9127 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9128 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9129 and things will happen automatically.
9131 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9132 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9135 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9136 '((nnml "private")))
9139 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9140 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9141 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9142 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9143 like any other group.
9145 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9148 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9149 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9150 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9154 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9155 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9156 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9159 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9160 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9161 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9164 @node Splitting Mail
9165 @subsection Splitting Mail
9166 @cindex splitting mail
9167 @cindex mail splitting
9169 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9170 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9171 to be split into groups.
9174 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9175 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9176 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9180 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9181 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9182 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9183 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9184 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9185 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9186 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9189 ("list.\\1" "From:.*\\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9192 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
9193 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
9196 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9197 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9198 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9199 mail belongs in that group.
9201 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9202 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9203 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9204 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9205 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9206 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9208 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9209 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9210 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9211 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9212 thinks should carry this mail message.
9214 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9215 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9216 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9217 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9219 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9220 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9221 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9222 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9223 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9225 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9228 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9229 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9230 links. If that's the case for you, set
9231 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9232 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9234 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9235 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9236 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9237 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9239 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9240 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9241 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9242 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9243 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9244 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9245 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9246 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9250 @node Mail Backend Variables
9251 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9253 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9257 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9258 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9259 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9260 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9262 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9263 @item nnmail-spool-file
9267 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9268 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9269 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9270 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9271 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9272 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9273 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9274 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9275 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9276 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9277 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9278 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9279 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9280 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9281 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9283 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9285 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9286 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9289 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9290 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9291 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9292 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9293 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9294 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9296 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9297 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9298 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9299 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9300 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9301 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9302 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9305 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9306 @item nnmail-crash-box
9307 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9308 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9309 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9312 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9313 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9314 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
9315 used for, well, anything, really.
9317 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9318 @item nnmail-split-hook
9319 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
9320 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9321 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9322 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9323 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9324 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9325 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
9326 is one likely function to add to this hook.
9328 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9329 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9330 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9331 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9332 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9333 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9334 starting to handle the new mail) and
9335 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9336 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9337 default file modes the new mail files get:
9340 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9341 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9343 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9344 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9347 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9348 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9349 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9350 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9351 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9352 it will be used instead.
9354 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9355 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9356 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9357 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9359 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9360 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9363 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9364 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9365 @cindex incoming mail files
9366 @cindex deleting incoming files
9367 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9368 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9371 @c This is @code{nil} by
9372 @c default for reasons of security.
9374 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9375 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9376 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9377 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9378 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9381 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9383 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9384 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9385 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9386 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9387 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9388 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9389 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9391 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9392 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9394 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9396 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9397 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9398 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9399 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9400 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9405 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9406 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9407 @cindex mail splitting
9408 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9410 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9411 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9412 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9413 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9414 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9415 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9417 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9420 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9421 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9422 ;; from real errors.
9423 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9425 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9426 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9427 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9428 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9429 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9430 ;; Other mailing lists...
9431 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9432 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9434 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9435 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9439 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9440 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9441 the five possible split syntaxes:
9446 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
9449 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9450 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9451 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9454 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9455 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9456 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9457 be stored in one or more groups.
9460 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9461 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9464 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9468 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9469 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9470 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9475 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9476 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9477 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9478 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9479 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9481 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9482 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9483 are expanded as specified by the variable
9484 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9485 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9488 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9489 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9490 when all this splitting is performed.
9492 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9493 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9494 substitions in the group names), you can say things like:
9497 (any "debian-\\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9500 @node Mail and Procmail
9501 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9506 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9507 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9508 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9509 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9510 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9512 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9513 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9516 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9517 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9518 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9519 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9520 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9521 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9523 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9526 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9528 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9529 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9531 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9532 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9533 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9534 to include all your mail groups.
9536 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9537 method will be created automatically.
9539 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9540 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9541 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9542 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9543 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9544 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9545 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9546 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9548 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9549 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9550 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9551 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9552 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9554 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9555 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9556 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9557 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9558 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9559 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9561 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9562 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9563 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9564 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9565 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9568 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9569 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9570 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9571 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9572 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9576 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9577 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9579 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9580 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9581 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9584 Doing so can be quite easy.
9586 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9587 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9588 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9589 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9590 your @code{nnml} groups.
9596 Go to the group buffer.
9599 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9600 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9603 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9606 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9607 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9610 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9611 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9614 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9615 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9616 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9617 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9618 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9620 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9621 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9622 using the new mail backend.
9626 @subsection Expiring Mail
9627 @cindex article expiry
9629 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9630 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9631 different approach to mail reading.
9633 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9634 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9635 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9636 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9637 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9638 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9641 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9642 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9643 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9644 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9645 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9646 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9647 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9648 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9650 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9651 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9652 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9653 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9654 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9655 column in the summary buffer.
9657 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
9658 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
9659 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
9660 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
9663 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
9665 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
9666 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
9667 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
9670 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
9671 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
9672 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
9673 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
9674 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
9676 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
9677 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
9680 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9681 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
9684 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
9685 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
9687 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
9688 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
9689 don't really mix very well.
9691 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
9692 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
9693 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
9694 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
9697 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
9698 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
9699 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
9700 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
9703 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9705 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9707 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
9709 ((string= group "mail.junk")
9711 ((string= group "important")
9717 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
9718 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
9720 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
9721 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
9722 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
9725 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
9726 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9728 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9729 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
9730 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
9731 easier for procmail users.
9733 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
9734 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
9735 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
9736 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
9737 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
9738 caution. Even more dangerous is the
9739 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
9740 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
9741 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
9742 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
9743 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
9744 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
9745 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
9748 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
9752 @subsection Washing Mail
9753 @cindex mail washing
9754 @cindex list server brain damage
9755 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9757 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9758 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9759 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
9760 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
9761 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
9762 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
9764 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
9765 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
9766 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
9769 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
9770 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
9771 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
9772 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
9775 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9776 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9777 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
9778 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
9781 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9782 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9783 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
9784 Emacs running on MS machines.
9788 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9789 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9790 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
9791 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
9794 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9795 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9796 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
9797 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
9799 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9800 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9801 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
9802 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
9803 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
9804 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
9805 also be a list of regexp.
9807 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
9808 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
9811 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
9812 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
9815 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
9816 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
9817 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
9821 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9822 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9823 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
9827 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
9828 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
9829 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
9836 @subsection Duplicates
9838 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
9839 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
9840 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
9841 @cindex duplicate mails
9842 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
9843 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
9844 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
9845 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
9846 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
9847 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
9848 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
9849 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
9850 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
9851 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
9852 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
9853 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
9854 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
9856 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
9857 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
9858 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
9859 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
9861 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
9864 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
9865 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
9869 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
9870 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
9871 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
9872 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
9873 (any mail "mail.misc")
9880 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9881 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
9886 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
9887 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
9888 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
9889 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
9890 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
9893 @node Not Reading Mail
9894 @subsection Not Reading Mail
9896 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
9897 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
9898 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
9900 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
9901 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
9903 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9904 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9905 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9906 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9907 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9908 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
9909 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
9910 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
9911 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
9912 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
9913 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
9915 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
9916 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
9920 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
9921 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
9923 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
9924 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
9925 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
9928 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
9929 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
9930 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
9931 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
9932 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
9937 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
9939 @cindex unix mail box
9941 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9942 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9943 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
9944 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
9945 which group it belongs in.
9947 Virtual server settings:
9950 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
9951 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9952 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
9954 @item nnmbox-active-file
9955 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9956 The name of the active file for the mail box.
9958 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
9959 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9960 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
9966 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
9970 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9971 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9972 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
9973 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
9974 article to say which group it belongs in.
9976 Virtual server settings:
9979 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
9980 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9981 The name of the rmail mbox file.
9983 @item nnbabyl-active-file
9984 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9985 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
9987 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9988 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9989 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
9994 @subsubsection Mail Spool
9996 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
9998 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
9999 format. It should be used with some caution.
10001 @vindex nnml-directory
10002 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10003 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10004 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10005 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10007 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10010 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10011 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10012 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10013 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10014 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10015 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10016 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10017 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10019 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10020 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10021 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10022 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10024 Virtual server settings:
10027 @item nnml-directory
10028 @vindex nnml-directory
10029 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10031 @item nnml-active-file
10032 @vindex nnml-active-file
10033 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10035 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10036 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10037 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10040 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10041 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10042 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10044 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10045 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10046 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10048 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10049 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10050 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10052 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10053 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10054 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10058 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10059 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10060 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10061 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10062 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10063 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10064 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10069 @subsubsection MH Spool
10071 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10073 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10074 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10075 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10076 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10078 Virtual server settings:
10081 @item nnmh-directory
10082 @vindex nnmh-directory
10083 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10085 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10086 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10087 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10090 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10091 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10092 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10093 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10094 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10095 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10096 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10101 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10103 @cindex mbox folders
10104 @cindex mail folders
10106 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10107 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10108 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10111 Virtual server settings:
10114 @item nnfolder-directory
10115 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10116 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10118 @item nnfolder-active-file
10119 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10120 The name of the active file.
10122 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10123 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10124 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10126 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10127 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10128 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10131 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10132 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10133 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10134 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10135 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10136 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10139 @node Other Sources
10140 @section Other Sources
10142 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10143 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10147 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10148 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10149 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10150 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10151 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10152 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10156 @node Directory Groups
10157 @subsection Directory Groups
10159 @cindex directory groups
10161 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10162 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10165 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10166 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10167 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10168 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10170 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10171 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10172 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10173 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10174 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10176 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10178 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10179 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10180 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10181 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10184 @node Anything Groups
10185 @subsection Anything Groups
10188 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10189 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10190 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10193 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10194 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10195 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10196 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10197 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10198 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10199 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10200 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10201 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10202 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10205 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10206 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10207 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10208 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10210 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10211 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10212 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10213 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10215 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10216 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10217 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10218 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10219 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10220 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10221 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10222 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10227 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10228 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10229 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10230 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10232 @item nneething-exclude-files
10233 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10234 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10235 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10237 @item nneething-map-file
10238 @vindex nneething-map-file
10239 Name of the map files.
10243 @node Document Groups
10244 @subsection Document Groups
10246 @cindex documentation group
10249 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10250 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10257 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10262 The standard Unix mbox file.
10264 @cindex MMDF mail box
10266 The MMDF mail box format.
10269 Several news articles appended into a file.
10272 @cindex rnews batch files
10273 The rnews batch transport format.
10274 @cindex forwarded messages
10277 Forwarded articles.
10281 @cindex MIME digest
10282 @cindex 1153 digest
10283 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10284 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10285 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10287 @item standard-digest
10288 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10291 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10294 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10295 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10296 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10299 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10300 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10301 group. And that's it.
10303 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10304 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10305 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10306 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10307 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10308 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10309 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10310 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10311 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10312 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10314 Virtual server variables:
10317 @item nndoc-article-type
10318 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10319 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10320 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10321 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-digest}, @code{standard-digest},
10322 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or @code{guess}.
10324 @item nndoc-post-type
10325 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10326 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10327 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10332 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10336 @node Document Server Internals
10337 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10339 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10340 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10341 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10342 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10344 First, here's an example document type definition:
10348 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10349 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10352 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10353 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10354 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10355 types can be defined with very few settings:
10358 @item first-article
10359 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10360 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10363 @item article-begin
10364 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10365 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10367 @item head-begin-function
10368 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10371 @item nndoc-head-begin
10372 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10375 @item nndoc-head-end
10376 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10377 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10379 @item body-begin-function
10380 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10384 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10387 @item body-end-function
10388 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10392 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10395 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10396 regexp will be totally ignored.
10400 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10401 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10402 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10403 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10404 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10407 @item prepare-body-function
10408 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10409 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10410 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10412 @item article-transform-function
10413 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10414 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10415 body of the article.
10417 @item generate-head-function
10418 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10419 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10420 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10421 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10425 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10430 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10431 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10432 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10433 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10434 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10435 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10436 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10437 (subtype digest guess))
10440 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10441 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10442 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10443 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10444 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10446 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10447 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10448 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10449 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10450 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
10451 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10452 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10453 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10454 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10455 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10463 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10464 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10465 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10467 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10468 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10469 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10472 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10473 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10474 that interested in doing things properly.
10476 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10477 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10480 First some terminology:
10485 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10486 get news and/or mail from.
10489 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10490 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10493 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10497 @item message packets
10498 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10499 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10500 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10502 @item response packets
10503 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10504 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10505 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10515 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10516 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10517 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10518 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10521 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10524 You put the packet in your home directory.
10527 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10528 the native or secondary server.
10531 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10532 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10535 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10539 You transfer this packet to the server.
10542 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10545 You then repeat until you die.
10549 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10550 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10553 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10554 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10555 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10559 @node SOUP Commands
10560 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10562 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10566 @kindex G s b (Group)
10567 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10568 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10569 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10570 process/prefix convention.
10573 @kindex G s w (Group)
10574 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10575 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10578 @kindex G s s (Group)
10579 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10580 Send all replies from the replies packet
10581 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10584 @kindex G s p (Group)
10585 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10586 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10589 @kindex G s r (Group)
10590 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10591 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10594 @kindex O s (Summary)
10595 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10596 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10597 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10598 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10603 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10608 @item gnus-soup-directory
10609 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10610 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10611 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10613 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10614 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10615 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10616 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10618 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10619 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10620 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10621 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10623 @item gnus-soup-packer
10624 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10625 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10626 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10628 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10629 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10630 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10631 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10633 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10634 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10635 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10637 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10638 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10639 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
10640 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
10646 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
10649 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
10650 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
10651 you can read them at leisure.
10653 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
10657 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
10658 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
10659 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
10660 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
10662 @item nnsoup-directory
10663 @vindex nnsoup-directory
10664 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
10665 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
10667 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
10668 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
10669 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
10670 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
10672 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
10673 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
10674 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
10675 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
10676 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
10678 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
10679 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
10680 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
10681 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
10683 @item nnsoup-active-file
10684 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
10685 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
10686 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
10687 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
10688 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
10690 @item nnsoup-packer
10691 @vindex nnsoup-packer
10692 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
10693 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
10695 @item nnsoup-unpacker
10696 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
10697 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
10698 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10700 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
10701 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
10702 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
10705 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
10706 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
10707 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
10710 @item nnsoup-always-save
10711 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
10712 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
10718 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
10720 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
10721 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
10722 more for that to happen.
10724 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
10725 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
10726 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
10729 In specific, this is what it does:
10732 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
10733 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
10736 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
10737 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
10738 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
10742 @subsection Web Searches
10746 @cindex InReference
10747 @cindex Usenet searches
10748 @cindex searching the Usenet
10750 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
10751 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
10752 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
10753 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
10754 searches without having to use a browser.
10756 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
10757 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
10758 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
10759 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
10760 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
10762 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
10763 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
10764 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
10765 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
10766 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
10767 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
10768 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
10769 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
10770 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
10771 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
10774 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
10775 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
10776 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
10777 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
10778 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
10779 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
10781 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
10782 to use @code{nnweb}.
10784 Virtual server variables:
10789 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
10790 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
10794 @vindex nnweb-search
10795 The search string to feed to the search engine.
10797 @item nnweb-max-hits
10798 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
10799 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
10802 @item nnweb-type-definition
10803 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
10804 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
10805 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
10810 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
10814 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
10817 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
10820 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
10824 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
10831 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
10832 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
10833 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
10836 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
10837 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
10838 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
10840 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
10846 @item nngateway-address
10847 @vindex nngateway-address
10848 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
10850 @item nngateway-header-transformation
10851 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
10852 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
10853 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
10854 transformation should be called, and defaults to
10855 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
10856 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
10859 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
10860 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
10861 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
10864 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
10867 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
10870 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
10875 So, to use this, simply say something like:
10878 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
10882 @node Combined Groups
10883 @section Combined Groups
10885 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
10889 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
10890 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
10894 @node Virtual Groups
10895 @subsection Virtual Groups
10897 @cindex virtual groups
10899 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
10902 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
10903 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
10904 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
10906 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
10907 regexp to match component groups.
10909 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
10910 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
10911 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
10912 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
10913 the virtual group.)
10915 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
10916 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
10919 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
10922 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
10923 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
10925 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
10926 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
10927 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
10928 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
10931 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
10934 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
10935 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
10936 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
10937 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
10938 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
10940 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
10941 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
10942 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
10944 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
10945 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
10946 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
10947 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
10948 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
10949 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
10950 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
10951 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
10952 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
10953 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
10954 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
10957 @node Kibozed Groups
10958 @subsection Kibozed Groups
10962 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
10963 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
10964 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
10965 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
10967 @kindex G k (Group)
10968 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
10971 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
10972 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
10973 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
10974 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
10976 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
10977 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
10978 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
10980 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
10981 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
10982 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
10983 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
10984 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
10985 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
10986 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
10987 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
10989 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
10990 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
10991 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
10992 Stranger things have happened.
10994 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
10995 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
10997 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
10998 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
10999 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11000 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11001 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11002 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11004 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11005 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11008 @node Gnus Unplugged
11009 @section Gnus Unplugged
11014 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11016 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11017 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11018 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11019 read news. Believe it or not.
11021 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11022 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11023 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11024 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11025 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11027 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11028 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11029 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11030 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11031 reading news on a machine.
11033 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11037 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11038 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11042 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11043 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11050 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11052 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11055 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11056 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11057 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11058 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11059 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11060 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11065 @subsection Agent Basics
11067 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11069 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11070 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11071 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11072 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11074 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11075 connected to the net continously.
11077 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11078 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11080 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11085 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11086 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11087 already fetched while in this mode.
11090 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11091 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11092 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11095 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11096 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11097 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11098 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11101 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11102 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11103 then you read the news offline.
11106 And then you go to step 2.
11109 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11115 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11116 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11117 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11118 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11119 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11120 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11123 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}
11130 @node Agent Categories
11131 @subsection Agent Categories
11133 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11134 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11135 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11136 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11137 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11138 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11139 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11141 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11142 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11143 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11146 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11147 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11148 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11152 @node Category Syntax
11153 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11155 A category consists of two things.
11159 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11160 are eligible for downloading; and
11163 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11164 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11165 score} is wholly unrelated to normal scores.)
11168 A predicate consists of predicates with logical operators sprinkled in
11171 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11173 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11174 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11180 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11181 short (for some value of ``short'').
11183 Here's a more complex predicate:
11192 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11193 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11196 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11197 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11198 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11200 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11201 you want to do, you can write your own.
11205 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11206 lines; default 100.
11209 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11210 lines; default 200.
11213 True iff the article has a download score less than
11214 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11217 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11218 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11221 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11222 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11223 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11232 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11233 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11234 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11237 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11238 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11239 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11240 following headers can be scored on: @code{From}, @code{Subject},
11241 @code{Date}, @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars}, @code{Message-ID},
11242 and @code{References}.
11245 @node The Category Buffer
11246 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11248 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11249 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11250 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11252 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11256 @kindex q (Category)
11257 @findex gnus-category-exit
11258 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11261 @kindex k (Category)
11262 @findex gnus-category-kill
11263 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11266 @kindex c (Category)
11267 @findex gnus-category-copy
11268 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11271 @kindex a (Category)
11272 @findex gnus-category-add
11273 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11276 @kindex p (Category)
11277 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11278 Edit the predicate of the current category
11279 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11282 @kindex g (Category)
11283 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11284 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11285 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11288 @kindex s (Category)
11289 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11290 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11291 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11294 @kindex l (Category)
11295 @findex gnus-category-list
11296 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11300 @node Category Variables
11301 @subsubsection Category Variables
11304 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11305 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11306 Hook run in category buffers.
11308 @item gnus-category-line-format
11309 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11310 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11311 Variables}). Legal elements are:
11315 The name of the category.
11318 The number of groups in the category.
11321 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11322 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11323 Format of the category mode line.
11325 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11326 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11327 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11329 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11330 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11331 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11333 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11334 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11335 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11338 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11339 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11340 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11346 @node Agent Commands
11347 @subsection Agent Commands
11349 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11350 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11351 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11355 * Group Agent Commands::
11356 * Summary Agent Commands::
11357 * Server Agent Commands::
11360 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
11361 following incantation:
11363 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11365 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11370 @node Group Agent Commands
11371 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
11375 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
11376 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
11377 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
11378 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
11381 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
11382 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
11383 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
11386 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
11387 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
11388 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
11389 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
11392 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
11393 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
11394 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
11395 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}
11398 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
11399 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
11400 Add the current group to an Agent category
11401 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
11406 @node Summary Agent Commands
11407 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
11411 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
11412 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
11413 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
11416 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
11417 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
11418 Remove the downloading mark from the article
11419 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
11422 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
11423 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
11424 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
11427 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
11428 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
11429 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
11434 @node Server Agent Commands
11435 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
11439 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
11440 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
11441 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
11442 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
11445 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
11446 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
11447 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
11448 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
11453 @node Outgoing Messages
11454 @subsection Outgoing Messages
11456 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
11457 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
11458 after posting, and edit them at will.
11460 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
11461 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
11462 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
11463 messages in the draft group.
11467 @node Agent Variables
11468 @subsection Agent Variables
11471 @item gnus-agent-directory
11472 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
11473 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
11474 @file{~/News/agent/}.
11476 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11477 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11478 Hook run when connecting to the network.
11480 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11481 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11482 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
11487 @node Example Setup
11488 @subsection Example Setup
11490 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
11491 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
11492 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
11495 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
11496 ;;; from your ISP's server.
11497 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
11499 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
11500 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
11501 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
11502 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
11504 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
11505 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11507 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
11511 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
11512 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
11515 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
11516 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
11517 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
11518 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
11519 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
11522 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
11523 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
11524 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
11525 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
11526 back all the killed groups.)
11528 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
11529 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
11530 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
11537 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
11538 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
11539 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
11542 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
11543 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
11544 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
11545 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
11546 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
11548 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
11549 before generating the summary buffer.
11551 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
11552 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
11553 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
11555 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
11556 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
11557 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
11558 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
11561 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
11562 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
11563 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
11564 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
11565 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
11566 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
11567 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
11568 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
11569 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
11570 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
11571 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
11572 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
11573 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
11574 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
11575 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
11576 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
11580 @node Summary Score Commands
11581 @section Summary Score Commands
11582 @cindex score commands
11584 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
11585 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
11586 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
11587 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
11588 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
11590 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
11591 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
11592 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
11593 score file the current one.
11595 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
11600 @kindex V s (Summary)
11601 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
11602 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
11605 @kindex V S (Summary)
11606 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
11607 Display the score of the current article
11608 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
11611 @kindex V t (Summary)
11612 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
11613 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
11614 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
11617 @kindex V R (Summary)
11618 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
11619 Run the current summary through the scoring process
11620 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
11621 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
11622 effect you're having.
11625 @kindex V a (Summary)
11626 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
11627 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
11628 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
11631 @kindex V c (Summary)
11632 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
11633 Make a different score file the current
11634 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
11637 @kindex V e (Summary)
11638 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
11639 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
11640 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
11644 @kindex V f (Summary)
11645 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
11646 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
11647 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
11650 @kindex V F (Summary)
11651 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11652 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
11653 after editing score files.
11656 @kindex V C (Summary)
11657 @findex gnus-score-customize
11658 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
11659 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
11663 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
11668 @kindex V m (Summary)
11669 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
11670 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
11671 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
11674 @kindex V x (Summary)
11675 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
11676 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
11677 expunge all articles below this score
11678 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
11681 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
11682 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
11685 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
11686 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
11690 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
11691 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
11693 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
11694 keys are available:
11698 Score on the author name.
11701 Score on the subject line.
11704 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
11707 Score on thread---the References line.
11713 Score on the number of lines.
11716 Score on the Message-ID.
11719 Score on followups.
11729 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
11730 what headers you are scoring on.
11742 Substring matching.
11745 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
11774 Greater than number.
11779 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
11780 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
11781 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
11785 Temporary score entry.
11788 Permanent score entry.
11791 Immediately scoring.
11796 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
11797 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
11798 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
11799 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
11801 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
11802 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
11803 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
11804 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
11805 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
11807 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
11808 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
11809 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
11810 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
11811 current score file.
11813 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
11814 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
11815 pretend they are keymaps or not.
11818 @node Group Score Commands
11819 @section Group Score Commands
11820 @cindex group score commands
11822 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
11827 @kindex W f (Group)
11828 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11829 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
11830 all the time. This command will flush the cache
11831 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
11835 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
11837 @findex gnus-batch-score
11838 @cindex batch scoring
11840 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l gnus -f gnus-batch-score
11844 @node Score Variables
11845 @section Score Variables
11846 @cindex score variables
11850 @item gnus-use-scoring
11851 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
11852 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
11853 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
11855 @item gnus-kill-killed
11856 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
11857 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
11858 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
11859 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
11860 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
11861 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
11862 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
11864 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
11865 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
11866 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
11867 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
11868 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
11870 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
11871 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
11872 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
11873 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
11875 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
11876 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
11877 @cindex score cache
11878 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
11879 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
11880 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
11881 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
11882 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
11883 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
11886 @item gnus-save-score
11887 @vindex gnus-save-score
11888 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
11889 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
11890 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
11892 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
11893 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
11894 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
11895 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
11896 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
11897 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
11898 manually entered data.
11900 @item gnus-summary-default-score
11901 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
11902 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
11904 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
11905 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
11906 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
11907 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
11908 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
11909 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
11911 @item gnus-score-over-mark
11912 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
11913 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
11914 default. Default is @samp{+}.
11916 @item gnus-score-below-mark
11917 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
11918 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
11919 default. Default is @samp{-}.
11921 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
11922 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
11923 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
11924 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
11926 Predefined functions available are:
11929 @item gnus-score-find-single
11930 @findex gnus-score-find-single
11931 Only apply the group's own score file.
11933 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
11934 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
11935 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
11936 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
11937 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
11938 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
11939 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
11940 then a regexp match is done.
11942 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
11943 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
11945 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
11946 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
11947 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
11948 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
11950 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
11951 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
11952 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
11953 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
11954 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
11957 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
11958 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
11959 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
11960 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
11961 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
11962 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
11965 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
11966 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
11967 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
11968 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
11969 are expired. It's 7 by default.
11971 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
11972 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
11973 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
11974 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
11975 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
11976 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
11977 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
11980 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
11981 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
11982 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
11987 @node Score File Format
11988 @section Score File Format
11989 @cindex score file format
11991 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
11992 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
11993 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
11995 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
11999 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12001 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12003 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12005 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12010 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12014 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12015 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12016 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12017 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12021 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12022 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12024 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12025 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12026 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12028 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12033 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12034 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12035 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12036 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12037 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12038 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12039 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12040 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12041 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12042 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12043 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12044 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12045 to articles that matches these score entries.
12047 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12048 score entry has one to four elements.
12052 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12053 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12057 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12058 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12059 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12060 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12061 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12062 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12065 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12066 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12067 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12068 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12069 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12072 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12073 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12074 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12075 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12078 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12079 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12080 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12081 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12082 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12083 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12084 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12085 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12086 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12087 instead, if you feel like.
12090 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12091 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
12092 careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
12093 @code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
12094 lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
12095 the articles with few lines.
12098 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12099 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12100 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12101 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12102 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12103 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12104 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12108 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12109 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12110 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12111 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12112 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12113 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12114 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12115 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12118 @item Head, Body, All
12119 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12123 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12124 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12125 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12126 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12127 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12128 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12129 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12133 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12134 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
12135 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12136 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12137 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12138 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12139 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12140 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12141 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12142 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12146 @cindex Score File Atoms
12148 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12149 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12152 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12153 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12155 @item mark-and-expunge
12156 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12157 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12160 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12161 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12162 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12163 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12164 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12167 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12168 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12171 @item exclude-files
12172 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12173 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12177 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12178 ignored when handling global score files.
12181 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12182 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
12185 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12186 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12187 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12188 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12190 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12194 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12197 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12198 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12199 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12200 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12201 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12203 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12204 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12205 ordinary scoring rules.
12208 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12209 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12210 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12211 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12212 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12213 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12214 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12215 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12216 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12217 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12218 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12222 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12223 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12224 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12225 file for a number of groups.
12228 @cindex local variables
12229 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12230 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12231 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12232 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12233 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12237 @node Score File Editing
12238 @section Score File Editing
12240 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12241 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12242 with a mode for that.
12244 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12245 additional commands:
12250 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12251 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12252 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12253 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12256 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12257 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12258 Insert the current date in numerical format
12259 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12260 you were wondering.
12263 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
12264 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
12265 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
12266 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
12267 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
12272 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
12274 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
12275 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
12277 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
12278 e} to begin editing score files.
12281 @node Adaptive Scoring
12282 @section Adaptive Scoring
12283 @cindex adaptive scoring
12285 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
12286 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
12287 stupidity, to be precise.
12289 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
12290 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
12291 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
12292 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
12293 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12294 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
12295 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
12296 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
12297 variable to @code{(word line)}.
12299 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12300 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
12301 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
12302 might look something like this:
12305 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12306 '((gnus-unread-mark)
12307 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
12308 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
12309 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
12310 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
12311 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
12312 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
12313 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
12314 (gnus-ancient-mark)
12315 (gnus-low-score-mark)
12316 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
12319 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
12320 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
12321 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
12322 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
12323 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
12324 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
12327 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
12328 will be applied to each article.
12330 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
12331 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
12332 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
12333 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
12335 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
12336 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
12337 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
12338 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
12340 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
12341 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
12342 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
12343 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
12345 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
12346 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
12347 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
12348 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
12349 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
12350 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
12352 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
12353 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
12354 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
12355 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
12356 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
12357 aspirins afterwards.)
12359 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
12360 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
12361 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
12363 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
12364 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
12365 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
12367 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
12368 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
12369 let you use different rules in different groups.
12371 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
12372 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
12373 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
12376 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
12377 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
12378 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
12379 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
12380 the length of the match is less than
12381 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
12382 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
12385 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12386 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
12387 headers. If you adapt on words, the
12388 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
12389 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
12392 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12393 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
12394 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
12395 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
12396 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
12399 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
12400 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
12401 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
12402 score with 30 points.
12404 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
12405 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
12406 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
12407 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
12408 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
12410 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
12411 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
12412 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
12413 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
12415 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
12416 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
12417 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
12419 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
12420 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
12421 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
12422 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
12425 @node Home Score File
12426 @section Home Score File
12428 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
12429 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
12430 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
12431 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
12433 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
12434 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
12435 could perhaps use the same home score file.
12437 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
12438 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
12443 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
12447 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
12448 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
12452 A list. The elements in this list can be:
12456 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
12457 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
12460 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
12461 the home score file.
12464 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
12467 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
12472 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
12475 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12476 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
12479 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
12480 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
12483 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12484 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
12487 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
12489 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
12490 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
12491 their own home score files:
12494 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12495 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
12496 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
12497 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
12498 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
12501 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
12502 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
12503 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
12504 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
12505 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
12507 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
12508 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
12509 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
12510 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
12511 precedence over this variable.
12514 @node Followups To Yourself
12515 @section Followups To Yourself
12517 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
12518 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
12519 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
12520 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
12521 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
12522 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
12526 @item gnus-score-followup-article
12527 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
12528 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
12531 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
12532 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
12533 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
12537 @vindex message-sent-hook
12538 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
12539 @code{message-sent-hook}.
12541 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
12542 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
12546 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12547 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12550 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
12551 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
12556 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
12560 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
12561 is system-dependent.
12565 @section Scoring Tips
12566 @cindex scoring tips
12572 @cindex scoring crossposts
12573 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
12574 the @code{Xref} header.
12576 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
12579 @item Multiple crossposts
12580 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
12581 more than, say, 3 groups:
12583 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
12586 @item Matching on the body
12587 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
12588 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
12589 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
12590 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
12591 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
12592 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
12593 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
12596 @item Marking as read
12597 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
12598 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
12599 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
12603 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
12605 @item Negated character classes
12606 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
12607 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
12608 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
12612 @node Reverse Scoring
12613 @section Reverse Scoring
12614 @cindex reverse scoring
12616 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
12617 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
12618 like this in your score file:
12622 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
12627 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
12628 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
12631 @node Global Score Files
12632 @section Global Score Files
12633 @cindex global score files
12635 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
12636 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
12637 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
12639 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
12640 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
12641 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
12643 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
12644 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
12645 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
12646 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
12647 files are applicable to which group.
12649 Say you want to use the score file
12650 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
12651 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
12654 (setq gnus-global-score-files
12655 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
12656 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
12659 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
12660 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
12661 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
12662 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
12663 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
12665 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
12666 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
12668 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
12669 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
12670 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
12671 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
12672 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
12673 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
12675 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
12681 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
12683 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
12685 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
12687 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
12688 lowered out of existence.
12690 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
12691 articles completely.
12694 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
12695 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
12696 old articles for a long time.
12699 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
12700 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
12701 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
12702 holding our breath yet?
12706 @section Kill Files
12709 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
12710 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
12711 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
12713 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
12714 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
12715 files into score files.
12717 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
12718 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
12719 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
12720 that isn't a very good idea.
12722 Normal kill files look like this:
12725 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12726 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
12730 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
12731 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
12733 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
12734 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
12737 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
12742 @kindex M-k (Summary)
12743 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
12744 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
12747 @kindex M-K (Summary)
12748 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
12749 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
12752 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
12757 @kindex M-k (Group)
12758 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
12759 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
12762 @kindex M-K (Group)
12763 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
12764 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
12767 Kill file variables:
12770 @item gnus-kill-file-name
12771 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
12772 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
12773 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
12774 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
12775 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
12776 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
12778 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
12779 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
12780 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
12781 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
12784 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
12785 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
12786 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
12787 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
12788 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
12789 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
12790 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
12791 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
12792 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
12794 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
12795 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
12796 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
12801 @node Converting Kill Files
12802 @section Converting Kill Files
12804 @cindex converting kill files
12806 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
12807 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
12808 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
12811 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
12812 You can fetch it from
12813 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
12815 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
12816 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
12817 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
12825 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
12826 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
12827 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
12829 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
12830 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
12831 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
12832 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
12833 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
12834 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
12835 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
12836 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
12840 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
12841 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
12842 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
12843 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
12847 @node Using GroupLens
12848 @subsection Using GroupLens
12850 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
12852 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
12853 better bit in town at the moment.
12855 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
12859 @item gnus-use-grouplens
12860 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
12861 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
12862 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
12864 @item grouplens-pseudonym
12865 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
12866 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
12867 with the Better Bit Bureau.
12869 @item grouplens-newsgroups
12870 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
12871 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
12875 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
12876 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
12877 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
12878 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
12879 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
12880 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
12883 @node Rating Articles
12884 @subsection Rating Articles
12886 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
12887 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
12888 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
12889 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
12892 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
12897 @kindex r (GroupLens)
12898 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
12899 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
12902 @kindex k (GroupLens)
12903 @findex grouplens-score-thread
12904 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
12905 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
12906 threads in rec.humor.
12910 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
12911 the score of the article you're reading.
12916 @kindex n (GroupLens)
12917 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
12918 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
12921 @kindex , (GroupLens)
12922 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
12923 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
12927 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
12928 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
12931 @node Displaying Predictions
12932 @subsection Displaying Predictions
12934 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
12935 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
12936 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
12937 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
12938 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
12940 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
12941 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
12942 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
12943 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
12944 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
12945 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
12946 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
12947 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
12948 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
12949 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
12950 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
12951 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
12952 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
12954 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
12955 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
12956 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
12957 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
12959 The following are valid values for that variable.
12962 @item prediction-spot
12963 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
12966 @item confidence-interval
12967 A numeric confidence interval.
12969 @item prediction-bar
12970 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
12972 @item confidence-bar
12973 Numerical confidence.
12975 @item confidence-spot
12976 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
12978 @item prediction-num
12979 Plain-old numeric value.
12981 @item confidence-plus-minus
12982 Prediction +/- confidence.
12987 @node GroupLens Variables
12988 @subsection GroupLens Variables
12992 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
12993 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
12994 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
12995 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
12998 @item grouplens-bbb-host
12999 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13002 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13003 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13005 @item grouplens-score-offset
13006 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13007 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13010 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13011 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13012 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13017 @node Advanced Scoring
13018 @section Advanced Scoring
13020 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13021 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13022 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13023 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13024 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13026 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13030 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13031 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13032 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13036 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13037 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13039 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13040 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13041 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13042 non-@code{nil} value.
13044 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13045 operator, and various match operators.
13052 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13053 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13054 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13059 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13060 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13061 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13066 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13067 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13071 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13072 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13073 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13074 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13075 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13076 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13077 the ancestry you want to go.
13079 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13080 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13081 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13082 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13083 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13086 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13087 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13089 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13090 when he's talking about Gnus:
13094 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13095 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13101 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13105 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13112 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13113 really don't want to read what he's written:
13117 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13118 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13122 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13123 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13124 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13131 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13132 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13133 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13134 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13138 The possibilities are endless.
13141 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13142 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13144 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13145 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13146 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13147 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13148 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13149 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13150 @samp{subject}) first.
13152 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13153 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
13164 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
13165 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13171 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13178 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13179 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13184 @section Score Decays
13185 @cindex score decays
13188 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13189 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13190 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13191 use them in any sensible way.
13193 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13194 @findex gnus-decay-score
13195 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
13196 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13197 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13198 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13199 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13200 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
13201 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13202 definition of that function:
13205 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13206 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant' and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13209 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13211 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13213 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13216 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13217 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13218 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13219 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13223 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13226 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13229 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13233 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13234 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13235 the new score, which should be an integer.
13237 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
13238 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
13245 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
13246 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
13247 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
13248 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
13249 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
13250 * Faces & Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
13251 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
13252 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
13253 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
13254 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
13255 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
13256 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
13257 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
13258 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
13259 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
13260 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
13261 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolited commercial email.
13262 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
13266 @node Process/Prefix
13267 @section Process/Prefix
13268 @cindex process/prefix convention
13270 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
13271 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
13273 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
13274 command to be performed on.
13278 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
13279 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
13280 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
13281 with the current one.
13283 @vindex transient-mark-mode
13284 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
13285 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
13287 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
13288 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
13291 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
13292 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
13294 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
13297 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
13298 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
13299 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
13300 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13302 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
13303 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
13304 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
13305 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
13306 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
13307 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
13308 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
13309 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
13313 @section Interactive
13314 @cindex interaction
13318 @item gnus-novice-user
13319 @vindex gnus-novice-user
13320 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
13321 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
13322 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
13323 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
13326 @item gnus-expert-user
13327 @vindex gnus-expert-user
13328 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
13329 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
13330 matter how strange.
13332 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
13333 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
13334 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
13335 is @code{t} by default.
13337 @item gnus-interactive-exit
13338 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
13339 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
13344 @node Symbolic Prefixes
13345 @section Symbolic Prefixes
13346 @cindex symbolic prefixes
13348 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
13349 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four charaters forward, and
13350 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
13351 rule of 900 to the current article.
13353 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
13354 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
13355 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
13356 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
13357 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
13358 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
13359 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
13361 @kindex M-i (Summary)
13362 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
13363 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
13364 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
13365 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
13366 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
13367 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
13368 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
13369 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
13371 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
13372 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
13373 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
13375 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
13379 @node Formatting Variables
13380 @section Formatting Variables
13381 @cindex formatting variables
13383 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
13384 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
13385 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
13386 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
13389 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
13390 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
13391 lots of percentages everywhere.
13394 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
13395 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
13396 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
13397 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
13400 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
13401 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
13402 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
13403 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
13404 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
13405 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
13406 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
13407 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
13409 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
13410 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
13412 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
13413 @findex gnus-update-format
13414 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
13415 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
13416 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
13417 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
13421 @node Formatting Basics
13422 @subsection Formatting Basics
13424 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
13425 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
13426 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
13428 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
13429 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
13430 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
13431 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
13432 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
13435 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
13436 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
13437 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
13438 less than 4 characters wide.
13441 @node Advanced Formatting
13442 @subsection Advanced Formatting
13444 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
13445 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
13446 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
13447 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
13449 These are the valid modifiers:
13454 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
13458 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
13463 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
13466 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
13471 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
13474 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
13477 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
13480 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
13484 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
13485 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
13486 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
13487 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
13488 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
13489 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
13490 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
13492 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
13493 last operation, padding.
13495 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
13496 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
13497 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
13498 @xref{Compilation}.
13501 @node User-Defined Specs
13502 @subsection User-Defined Specs
13504 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
13505 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
13506 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
13507 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
13508 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
13509 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
13510 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
13511 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
13512 should protect against that.
13514 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
13515 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
13516 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
13517 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
13521 @node Formatting Fonts
13522 @subsection Formatting Fonts
13524 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
13525 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
13526 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
13527 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
13530 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
13531 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
13532 default. If you say @samp{%1[}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
13533 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
13534 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
13535 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
13537 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
13540 ;; Create three face types.
13541 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
13542 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
13544 ;; We want the article count to be in
13545 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
13546 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
13547 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
13549 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
13550 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
13552 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
13553 (setq gnus-group-line-format
13554 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
13557 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
13558 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
13560 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
13561 mode-line variables.
13564 @node Windows Configuration
13565 @section Windows Configuration
13566 @cindex windows configuration
13568 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
13570 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
13571 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
13572 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
13573 @code{t} by default.
13575 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
13576 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
13577 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
13580 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
13581 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
13582 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13586 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
13587 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
13588 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
13589 possible names is listed below.
13591 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
13592 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
13595 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13599 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
13600 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
13601 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
13602 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
13603 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
13604 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
13605 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
13606 size spec per split.
13608 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
13611 Here's a more complicated example:
13614 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
13615 (summary 0.25 point)
13616 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
13620 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
13621 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
13622 occupy, not a percentage.
13624 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
13625 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
13626 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
13627 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
13628 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
13631 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
13634 (article (horizontal 1.0
13639 (summary 0.25 point)
13644 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
13645 @code{horizontal} thingie?
13647 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
13648 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
13649 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
13650 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
13651 the screen is to be given to this strip.
13653 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
13654 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
13655 lines from the splits.
13657 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
13661 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
13662 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
13663 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
13664 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
13665 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
13666 size = number | frame-params
13667 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
13670 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
13671 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
13672 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
13673 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
13675 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
13676 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
13677 @cindex window height
13678 @cindex window width
13679 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
13680 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
13681 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
13682 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
13683 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
13684 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
13686 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
13687 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
13688 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
13689 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
13691 @findex gnus-configure-frame
13692 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
13693 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
13694 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
13695 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
13696 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
13697 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
13698 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
13699 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
13700 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
13701 configuration list.
13704 (gnus-configure-frame
13708 (article 0.3 point))
13716 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
13717 @code{frame} split:
13720 (gnus-configure-frame
13723 (summary 0.25 point)
13725 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
13726 (user-position . t)
13727 (left . -1) (top . 1))
13732 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
13733 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
13734 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
13735 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
13736 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
13737 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
13738 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
13739 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
13742 Here's a list of all possible keys for
13743 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
13745 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
13746 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
13747 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
13748 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
13749 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
13750 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
13752 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
13753 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
13754 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
13758 (message (horizontal 1.0
13759 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
13761 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
13766 @findex gnus-add-configuration
13767 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
13768 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
13769 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
13770 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
13773 (gnus-add-configuration
13774 '(article (vertical 1.0
13776 (summary .25 point)
13780 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
13781 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
13782 Gnus has been loaded.
13784 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
13785 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
13786 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
13787 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
13788 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
13791 @node Faces & Fonts
13792 @section Faces & Fonts
13797 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
13798 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
13799 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
13804 @section Compilation
13805 @cindex compilation
13806 @cindex byte-compilation
13808 @findex gnus-compile
13810 Remember all those line format specification variables?
13811 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
13812 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
13813 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
13814 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
13815 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
13818 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
13819 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
13820 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
13821 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
13822 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
13823 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
13824 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
13828 @section Mode Lines
13831 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
13832 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
13833 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
13834 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
13835 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
13836 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
13837 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
13840 @cindex display-time
13842 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
13843 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
13844 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
13845 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
13846 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
13847 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
13848 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
13849 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
13852 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
13854 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
13855 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
13857 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
13858 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
13859 (length display-time-string)))))
13862 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
13863 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
13864 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
13865 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
13866 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
13869 @node Highlighting and Menus
13870 @section Highlighting and Menus
13872 @cindex highlighting
13875 @vindex gnus-visual
13876 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
13877 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
13878 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
13881 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
13882 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
13885 @item group-highlight
13886 Do highlights in the group buffer.
13887 @item summary-highlight
13888 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
13889 @item article-highlight
13890 Do highlights in the article buffer.
13892 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
13894 Create menus in the group buffer.
13896 Create menus in the summary buffers.
13898 Create menus in the article buffer.
13900 Create menus in the browse buffer.
13902 Create menus in the server buffer.
13904 Create menus in the score buffers.
13906 Create menus in all buffers.
13909 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
13910 buffers, you could say something like:
13913 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
13916 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
13919 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
13922 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
13923 in all Gnus buffers.
13925 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
13928 @item gnus-mouse-face
13929 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
13930 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
13931 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
13935 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
13939 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
13940 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
13941 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
13943 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
13944 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
13945 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
13947 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
13948 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
13949 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
13951 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
13952 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
13953 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
13955 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
13956 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
13957 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
13959 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
13960 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
13961 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
13972 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
13973 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
13974 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
13975 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
13976 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
13980 @vindex gnus-carpal
13981 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
13982 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
13983 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
13988 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
13989 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
13990 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
13992 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
13993 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
13994 Face used on buttons.
13996 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
13997 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
13998 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14000 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14001 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14002 Buttons in the group buffer.
14004 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14005 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14006 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14008 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14009 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14010 Buttons in the server buffer.
14012 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14013 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14014 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14017 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14018 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14019 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14027 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14028 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14029 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14030 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14031 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14033 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14034 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14035 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14037 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14038 been idle for thirty minutes:
14041 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14044 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14048 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14051 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14052 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14053 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14055 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14056 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14057 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14058 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14060 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14061 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14062 @var{idle} minutes.
14064 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14065 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14068 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14069 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14070 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14072 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14073 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14074 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14075 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14077 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14078 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14079 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14081 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14082 your @file{.gnus} file:
14084 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14086 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14089 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14090 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14091 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14092 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14093 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14094 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14095 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14096 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14097 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14098 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14099 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14101 @findex gnus-demon-init
14102 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14103 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14104 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14105 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14106 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14108 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
14109 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14110 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14119 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14120 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
14122 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
14123 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
14124 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
14125 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
14128 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
14129 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
14130 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
14131 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
14133 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
14134 this will make spam disappear.
14136 There are some variables to customize, of course:
14139 @item gnus-use-nocem
14140 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
14141 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
14144 @item gnus-nocem-groups
14145 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
14146 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
14147 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
14148 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
14150 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
14151 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
14152 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
14153 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
14154 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
14155 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
14156 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
14158 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
14161 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
14162 @cindex Chris Lewis
14163 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
14164 usenet abuse than anybody else.
14167 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
14168 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
14169 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
14171 @item jem@@xpat.com;
14173 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
14176 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
14177 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
14178 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
14181 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
14182 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
14183 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
14184 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
14185 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
14186 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
14187 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
14188 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
14189 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
14190 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
14192 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
14193 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
14196 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
14199 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
14200 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
14203 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
14206 The specs are applied left-to-right.
14209 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
14210 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
14212 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
14213 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
14214 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
14215 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
14217 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
14218 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
14221 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
14223 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
14231 This might be dangerous, though.
14233 @item gnus-nocem-directory
14234 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
14235 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
14236 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
14238 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14239 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14240 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
14241 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
14242 might then see old spam.
14246 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
14247 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
14248 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
14249 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
14256 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
14257 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
14258 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
14260 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
14261 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
14262 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
14263 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
14264 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
14265 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
14266 @code{undo} function.
14268 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
14269 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
14270 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
14271 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
14272 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
14273 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
14274 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
14275 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
14276 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
14277 never be totally undoable.
14279 @findex gnus-undo-mode
14280 @vindex gnus-use-undo
14282 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
14283 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
14284 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
14285 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
14290 @section Moderation
14293 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
14294 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
14295 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
14298 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
14302 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
14305 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
14307 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
14312 You split your incoming mail by matching on
14313 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
14314 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
14317 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
14318 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
14321 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
14322 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
14326 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
14329 (setq gnus-moderated-list
14330 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
14334 @node XEmacs Enhancements
14335 @section XEmacs Enhancements
14338 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
14342 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
14343 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
14344 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
14345 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
14358 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
14359 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
14360 over your shoulder as you read news.
14363 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
14364 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
14365 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
14366 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
14367 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
14372 @subsubsection Picon Basics
14374 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
14383 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
14384 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
14385 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
14386 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
14387 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
14388 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
14389 @code{GIF} formats.
14392 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
14393 your Web browser at
14394 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
14396 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14397 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
14398 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14401 @node Picon Requirements
14402 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
14404 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
14405 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
14408 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
14410 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14411 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
14412 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
14413 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
14417 @subsubsection Easy Picons
14419 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
14420 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
14423 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
14424 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14425 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
14426 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
14431 @subsubsection Hard Picons
14439 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
14440 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
14441 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
14442 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
14443 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
14447 @item gnus-picons-display-where
14448 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14449 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
14450 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
14451 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
14452 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
14453 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
14454 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
14456 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14457 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14458 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
14463 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
14464 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
14466 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
14467 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
14468 displayed at the right time.
14470 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
14471 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14473 @item gnus-article-display-picons
14474 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14475 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
14476 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
14477 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14479 @item gnus-group-display-picons
14480 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14481 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
14482 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
14483 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
14484 is set to @code{article}.
14486 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
14487 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14488 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
14489 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14493 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
14494 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
14497 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14501 @node Picon Configuration
14502 @subsubsection Picon Configuration
14510 The following variables offer further control over how things are
14511 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
14512 don't need to worry about.
14515 @item gnus-picons-database
14516 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14517 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
14518 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
14519 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
14521 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
14522 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
14523 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
14526 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
14527 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
14528 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
14529 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
14531 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
14532 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
14533 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14534 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
14535 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
14537 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14538 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14539 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
14540 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
14541 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
14542 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
14544 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14545 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14546 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
14547 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
14555 @item gnus-picons-buffer
14556 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
14557 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
14558 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
14563 @subsection Smileys
14568 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
14573 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
14574 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
14576 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
14577 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14580 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
14583 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
14584 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
14585 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
14586 text and maps that to file names.
14588 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
14589 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
14590 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
14591 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
14592 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
14593 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
14595 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
14596 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
14598 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
14599 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
14600 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
14602 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
14603 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
14607 @item smiley-data-directory
14608 @vindex smiley-data-directory
14609 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
14611 @item smiley-flesh-color
14612 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
14613 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
14615 @item smiley-features-color
14616 @vindex smiley-features-color
14617 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14619 @item smiley-tongue-color
14620 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
14621 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
14623 @item smiley-circle-color
14624 @vindex smiley-circle-color
14625 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14627 @item smiley-mouse-face
14628 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
14629 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
14635 @subsection Toolbar
14645 @item gnus-use-toolbar
14646 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
14647 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
14648 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
14649 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
14651 @item gnus-group-toolbar
14652 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
14653 The toolbar in the group buffer.
14655 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
14656 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
14657 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
14659 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14660 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14661 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
14667 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
14670 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14671 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14672 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
14673 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
14674 unusual directory structure.
14676 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14677 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14678 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
14679 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
14681 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
14682 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
14683 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
14684 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
14685 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
14686 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
14688 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
14689 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
14690 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
14704 @node Fuzzy Matching
14705 @section Fuzzy Matching
14706 @cindex fuzzy matching
14708 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
14709 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
14711 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
14712 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
14713 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
14715 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
14716 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
14717 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
14718 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
14719 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
14722 @node Thwarting Email Spam
14723 @section Thwarting Email Spam
14727 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
14729 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
14730 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
14731 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
14732 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
14733 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
14734 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
14735 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
14736 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
14739 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
14740 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
14741 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
14742 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
14743 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrouos hair on your toes!'')
14744 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
14748 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
14749 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
14751 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
14752 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
14753 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
14754 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
14755 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
14756 part of the mail address.)
14759 (setq message-default-news-headers
14760 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
14763 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14764 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
14769 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
14770 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
14771 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
14777 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
14778 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
14779 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
14780 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
14782 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
14783 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
14784 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
14785 twarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
14786 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
14787 your fancy split rule in this way:
14792 (to "larsi" "misc")
14796 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
14797 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
14798 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
14799 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
14800 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
14802 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
14803 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, availiable FOR FREE
14804 at @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
14805 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
14806 cosmic balance somewhat.
14808 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
14809 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
14810 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
14811 to non-existant domains is yucky, in my opinion.
14814 @node Various Various
14815 @section Various Various
14821 @item gnus-home-directory
14822 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
14823 defaults to @file{~/}.
14825 @item gnus-directory
14826 @vindex gnus-directory
14827 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
14828 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
14829 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
14831 @item gnus-default-directory
14832 @vindex gnus-default-directory
14833 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
14834 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
14835 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
14836 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14837 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
14838 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
14841 @vindex gnus-verbose
14842 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
14843 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
14844 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
14845 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
14846 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
14848 @item gnus-verbose-backends
14849 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
14850 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
14851 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
14853 @item nnheader-max-head-length
14854 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
14855 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
14856 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
14857 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
14858 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
14859 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
14860 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
14861 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
14862 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
14864 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
14865 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
14866 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
14867 read when doing the operation described above.
14869 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14870 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14872 @cindex invalid characters in file names
14873 @cindex characters in file names
14874 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
14875 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
14876 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
14879 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14883 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
14884 Windows (phooey) systems.
14886 @item gnus-hidden-properties
14887 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
14888 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
14889 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
14890 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
14892 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
14893 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
14894 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
14895 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
14896 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
14898 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
14899 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
14900 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
14909 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
14910 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
14912 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
14914 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
14920 Not because of victories @*
14923 but for the common sunshine,@*
14925 the largess of the spring.
14929 but for the day's work done@*
14930 as well as I was able;@*
14931 not for a seat upon the dais@*
14932 but at the common table.@*
14937 @chapter Appendices
14940 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
14941 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
14942 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
14943 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
14944 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
14945 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
14946 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
14954 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
14955 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
14957 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
14958 can point your (feh!) web browser to
14959 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
14960 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
14961 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
14963 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
14964 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
14965 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
14966 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
14967 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
14968 appropriate name, don't you think?)
14970 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
14971 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
14972 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
14973 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
14975 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
14976 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
14977 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
14979 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
14980 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
14982 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
14983 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4''.
14985 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
14986 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
14987 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
14988 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
14989 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
14993 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
14994 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
14995 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
14996 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
14997 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
14998 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
14999 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15006 What's the point of Gnus?
15008 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15009 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15010 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15011 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15012 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15013 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15014 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15015 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15016 keep track of millions of people who post?
15018 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15019 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15020 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15021 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15022 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15023 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15024 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15025 every one of you to explore and invent.
15027 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15028 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
15031 @node Compatibility
15032 @subsection Compatibility
15034 @cindex compatibility
15035 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
15036 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
15037 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
15042 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
15046 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
15049 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
15052 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
15053 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
15054 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
15055 important variables have their values copied into their global
15056 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
15057 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
15059 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
15060 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
15061 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
15062 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
15063 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
15067 @cindex highlighting
15068 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
15069 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
15070 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
15071 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
15072 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
15073 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
15076 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
15077 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
15078 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
15079 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
15081 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
15082 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
15083 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
15084 to stop doing it the old way.
15086 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
15088 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
15090 @cindex reporting bugs
15092 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
15093 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
15094 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
15098 @subsection Conformity
15100 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
15101 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
15108 There are no known breaches of this standard.
15112 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
15114 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
15115 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
15116 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
15117 the next inspection.
15119 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
15120 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
15121 We do have some breaches to this one.
15126 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
15127 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
15130 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
15131 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
15132 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
15133 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
15134 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
15139 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
15140 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
15145 @subsection Emacsen
15151 Gnus should work on :
15156 Emacs 19.32 and up.
15159 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
15162 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
15166 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
15167 reliably, at least.
15169 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
15170 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
15171 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
15176 @subsection Contributors
15177 @cindex contributors
15179 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
15180 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
15181 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
15182 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
15183 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
15184 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
15185 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
15186 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
15187 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
15188 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
15190 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
15196 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
15199 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
15200 well as numerous other things).
15203 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
15206 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
15209 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
15210 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
15213 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
15216 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
15217 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15220 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
15223 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
15226 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
15229 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
15232 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
15233 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
15236 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
15239 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
15242 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
15245 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
15249 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
15252 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
15255 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
15258 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
15262 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
15263 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
15265 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
15274 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
15278 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
15296 Massimo Campostrini,
15301 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
15306 Michael Welsh Duggan,
15308 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
15312 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
15317 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
15319 Michelangelo Grigni,
15322 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
15324 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
15328 François Felix Ingrand,
15329 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
15331 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
15338 Peter Skov Knudsen,
15339 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
15340 Thor Kristoffersen,
15342 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
15356 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
15357 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
15363 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
15368 John McClary Prevost,
15370 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
15378 Philippe Schnoebelen,
15379 Randal L. Schwartz,
15405 Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
15407 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
15408 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
15409 (550kB and counting).
15411 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
15414 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
15415 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
15419 @subsection New Features
15420 @cindex new features
15423 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
15424 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
15425 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
15428 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
15429 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
15430 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
15434 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
15436 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
15441 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
15442 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
15445 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
15446 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
15449 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
15452 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
15453 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
15454 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15457 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
15458 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
15459 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
15460 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15463 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
15464 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15467 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
15468 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
15469 (@pxref{The Active File}).
15472 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
15473 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
15476 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
15477 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
15478 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15481 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
15482 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
15483 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
15486 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
15487 the @file{.emacs} file.
15490 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
15491 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15494 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
15495 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
15498 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
15499 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15502 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
15503 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
15506 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
15507 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15510 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
15513 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
15514 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
15517 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
15518 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
15521 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
15522 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
15525 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
15528 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
15529 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15532 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
15536 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
15540 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
15541 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
15544 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
15550 @node September Gnus
15551 @subsubsection September Gnus
15555 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
15559 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
15564 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
15565 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
15569 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
15570 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
15574 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
15578 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
15579 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
15582 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
15586 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15589 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
15592 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
15595 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
15599 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
15600 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
15603 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
15607 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
15611 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
15615 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
15619 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
15622 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
15623 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
15626 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
15630 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
15631 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
15634 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
15637 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
15638 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
15639 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15642 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
15646 The Gnus cache is much faster.
15649 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
15653 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
15654 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15657 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
15658 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
15661 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
15662 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15665 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
15666 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
15667 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
15670 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
15671 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
15674 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
15677 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
15680 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15681 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
15685 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
15688 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
15691 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
15692 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
15695 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
15699 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
15702 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
15707 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
15710 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
15714 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15717 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
15721 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
15724 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
15727 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
15728 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15731 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
15732 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
15736 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
15737 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
15740 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
15744 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
15745 buffer to allow easier treatment.
15748 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
15751 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
15755 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
15759 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
15760 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
15763 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
15767 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
15768 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
15771 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
15772 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
15775 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
15779 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
15782 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15783 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
15787 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
15790 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
15796 @subsubsection Red Gnus
15798 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
15802 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
15809 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
15812 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
15813 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15816 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
15817 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
15821 Article washing status can be displayed in the
15822 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
15825 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
15828 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
15829 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
15832 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
15836 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
15837 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
15841 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
15842 Server Internals}).
15845 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
15849 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
15852 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
15853 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
15856 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
15857 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
15858 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
15861 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
15862 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
15865 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
15866 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
15869 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
15873 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
15874 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
15877 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
15878 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15881 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
15885 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
15888 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
15892 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
15893 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
15896 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
15897 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
15900 A new command for reading collections of documents
15901 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
15902 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
15905 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
15909 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
15910 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
15913 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
15914 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
15915 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
15918 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
15919 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
15923 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
15927 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
15931 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
15936 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
15940 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
15944 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
15945 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
15948 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
15951 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
15957 @node Newest Features
15958 @subsection Newest Features
15961 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
15964 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
15968 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
15970 Really do unbinhexing.
15973 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
15974 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
15976 @file{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/rgnus/todo>} is where the actual
15977 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
15978 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
15984 @section The Manual
15988 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
15989 either @code{texi2dvi}
15991 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
15992 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
15994 to get what you hold in your hands now.
15996 The following conventions have been used:
16001 This is a @samp{string}
16004 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
16007 This is a @file{file}
16010 This is a @code{symbol}
16014 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
16018 (setq flargnoze "yes")
16021 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
16024 (setq flumphel 'yes)
16027 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
16028 ever get them confused.
16032 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
16033 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
16034 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
16035 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
16036 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
16037 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
16038 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
16046 @section Terminology
16048 @cindex terminology
16053 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
16054 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
16055 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
16056 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
16057 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
16061 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
16062 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
16063 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
16064 not posting, and replying is not following up.
16068 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
16072 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
16077 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
16078 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
16079 is all done by the backends.
16083 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
16084 default, way of getting news.
16088 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
16089 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
16094 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
16095 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
16099 A message that has been posted as news.
16102 @cindex mail message
16103 A message that has been mailed.
16107 A mail message or news article
16111 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
16116 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
16121 A line from the head of an article.
16125 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
16126 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
16130 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
16131 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
16132 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
16133 normal @sc{head} format.
16137 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
16138 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
16139 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
16140 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
16141 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
16142 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
16144 @item killed groups
16145 @cindex killed groups
16146 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
16147 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
16149 @item zombie groups
16150 @cindex zombie groups
16151 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
16154 @cindex active file
16155 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
16156 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
16157 is rather large, as you might surmise.
16160 @cindex bogus groups
16161 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
16162 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
16163 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
16166 @cindex activating groups
16167 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
16168 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
16169 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
16173 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
16175 @item select method
16176 @cindex select method
16177 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
16180 @item virtual server
16181 @cindex virtual server
16182 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
16183 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
16184 whole is a virtual server.
16188 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
16189 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
16192 @item ephemeral groups
16193 @cindex ephemeral groups
16194 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
16195 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
16196 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
16199 @cindex solid groups
16200 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
16201 group buffer are solid groups.
16203 @item sparse articles
16204 @cindex sparse articles
16205 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
16206 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
16210 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
16211 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
16215 @cindex thread root
16216 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
16217 articles in the thread.
16221 An article that has responses.
16225 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
16229 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
16230 specified by RFC1153.
16236 @node Customization
16237 @section Customization
16238 @cindex general customization
16240 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
16241 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
16242 for some quite common situations.
16245 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
16246 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
16247 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
16248 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
16252 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
16253 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
16255 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
16256 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
16257 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
16261 @item gnus-read-active-file
16262 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
16263 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
16264 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
16265 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
16266 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
16268 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
16269 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
16270 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
16271 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
16275 @node Slow Terminal Connection
16276 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
16278 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
16279 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
16280 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
16284 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
16285 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
16286 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
16287 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
16288 horizontal and vertical recentering.
16290 @item gnus-visible-headers
16291 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
16292 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
16293 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
16294 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
16296 @item gnus-article-display-hook
16297 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
16299 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
16300 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
16301 gnus-article-hide-citation))
16304 @item gnus-use-full-window
16305 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
16306 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
16307 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
16308 want to read them anyway.
16310 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
16311 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
16314 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
16315 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
16316 lines, which might save some time.
16320 @node Little Disk Space
16321 @subsection Little Disk Space
16324 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
16325 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
16329 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
16330 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
16331 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
16332 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
16335 @item gnus-save-killed-list
16336 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
16337 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
16338 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
16339 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
16345 @subsection Slow Machine
16346 @cindex slow machine
16348 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
16349 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
16351 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
16352 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
16354 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
16355 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
16356 summary buffer faster.
16358 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
16359 processing a bit faster.
16363 @node Troubleshooting
16364 @section Troubleshooting
16365 @cindex troubleshooting
16367 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
16375 Make sure your computer is switched on.
16378 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
16379 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
16383 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
16384 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
16385 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
16386 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
16389 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
16393 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
16394 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
16395 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
16396 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
16397 something like that.
16400 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
16403 @cindex reporting bugs
16405 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
16407 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
16408 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
16409 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
16410 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
16412 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
16413 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
16414 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
16415 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
16418 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
16419 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
16420 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
16421 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
16422 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
16423 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
16425 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
16426 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
16427 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
16430 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
16431 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
16433 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
16434 @cindex ding mailing list
16435 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
16436 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
16440 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
16441 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
16443 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
16444 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
16445 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
16446 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
16449 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
16450 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
16451 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
16452 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
16453 and general methods of operation.
16456 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
16457 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
16458 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
16459 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
16460 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
16461 * Group Info:: The group info format.
16462 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
16463 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
16464 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
16468 @node Gnus Utility Functions
16469 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
16470 @cindex Gnus utility functions
16471 @cindex utility functions
16473 @cindex internal variables
16475 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
16476 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
16477 Below is a list of the most common ones.
16481 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
16482 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
16483 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
16485 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
16486 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
16487 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
16489 @item gnus-group-real-name
16490 @findex gnus-group-real-name
16491 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
16494 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
16495 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
16496 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
16497 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
16499 @item gnus-get-info
16500 @findex gnus-get-info
16501 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
16503 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
16504 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
16505 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
16508 @item gnus-continuum-version
16509 @findex gnus-continuum-version
16510 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
16511 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
16514 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
16515 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
16516 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
16518 @item gnus-news-group-p
16519 @findex gnus-news-group-p
16520 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
16522 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
16523 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
16524 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
16526 @item gnus-server-to-method
16527 @findex gnus-server-to-method
16528 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
16530 @item gnus-server-equal
16531 @findex gnus-server-equal
16532 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
16534 @item gnus-group-native-p
16535 @findex gnus-group-native-p
16536 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
16538 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
16539 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
16540 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
16542 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
16543 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
16544 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
16546 @item group-group-find-parameter
16547 @findex group-group-find-parameter
16548 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
16549 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
16551 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
16552 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
16553 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
16555 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
16556 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
16557 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
16559 @item gnus-check-backend-function
16560 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
16561 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
16562 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
16565 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
16569 @item gnus-read-method
16570 @findex gnus-read-method
16571 Prompts the user for a select method.
16576 @node Backend Interface
16577 @subsection Backend Interface
16579 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
16580 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
16581 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
16582 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
16583 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
16584 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
16586 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
16587 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
16588 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
16589 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
16590 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
16591 been opened, the function should fail.
16593 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
16594 name. Take this example:
16598 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
16599 (nntp-port-number 4324))
16602 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
16603 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
16605 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
16606 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
16607 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
16609 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
16610 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
16611 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
16613 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
16614 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
16615 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
16616 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
16617 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
16618 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
16621 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
16622 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
16623 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
16624 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
16627 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
16630 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
16633 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
16634 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
16635 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
16636 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
16637 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
16638 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
16642 @node Required Backend Functions
16643 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
16647 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
16649 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
16650 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
16651 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
16652 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
16654 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
16655 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
16656 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
16657 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
16659 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
16660 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
16661 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
16662 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
16663 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
16664 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
16665 number, do maximum fetches.
16667 Here's an example HEAD:
16670 221 1056 Article retrieved.
16671 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
16672 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
16673 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
16674 Subject: Re: Something very droll
16675 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
16676 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
16678 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
16679 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
16680 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
16684 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
16685 these in the data buffer.
16687 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
16691 head = error / valid-head
16692 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
16693 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
16694 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
16695 header = <text> eol
16698 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
16699 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
16703 nov-buffer = *nov-line
16704 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
16705 field = <text except TAB>
16708 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
16712 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
16714 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
16715 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
16717 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
16718 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
16719 server. In fact, it should do so.
16721 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
16722 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
16725 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
16727 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
16728 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
16731 There should be no data returned.
16734 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
16736 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
16737 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
16738 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
16739 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
16741 There should be no data returned.
16744 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
16746 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
16747 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
16748 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
16749 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
16751 There should be no data returned.
16754 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
16756 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
16758 There should be no data returned.
16761 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
16763 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
16764 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
16765 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
16766 it would be nice if that were possible.
16768 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
16769 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
16770 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
16771 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
16772 into its article buffer.
16774 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
16775 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
16776 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
16777 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
16778 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
16779 on successful article retrieval.
16782 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
16784 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
16785 making @var{group} the current group.
16787 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
16790 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
16793 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
16796 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
16797 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
16798 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
16799 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
16800 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
16801 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
16802 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
16803 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
16806 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
16807 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
16808 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
16812 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
16814 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
16815 a no-op on most backends.
16817 There should be no data returned.
16820 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
16822 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
16825 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
16828 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
16829 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
16832 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
16833 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
16836 active-file = *active-line
16837 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
16839 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
16842 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
16843 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
16844 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
16847 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
16849 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
16850 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
16851 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
16852 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
16853 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
16854 clear if the posting could not be completed.
16856 There should be no result data from this function.
16861 @node Optional Backend Functions
16862 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
16866 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
16868 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
16869 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
16870 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
16872 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
16873 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
16874 former is in the same format as the data from
16875 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
16876 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
16879 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
16883 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
16885 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
16886 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
16887 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
16888 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
16889 should return the (altered) group info.
16891 There should be no result data from this function.
16894 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
16896 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
16897 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
16898 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
16899 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
16900 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
16901 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
16902 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
16903 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
16905 There should be no result data from this function.
16908 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
16910 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
16911 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
16912 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
16913 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
16914 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
16916 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
16917 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
16918 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
16921 There should be no result data from this function.
16924 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
16926 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
16927 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
16928 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
16929 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
16930 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
16931 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
16932 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
16934 There should be no result data from this function.
16937 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
16939 The result data from this function should be a description of
16943 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
16945 description = <text>
16948 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
16950 The result data from this function should be the description of all
16951 groups available on the server.
16954 description-buffer = *description-line
16958 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
16960 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
16961 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
16962 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
16965 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
16967 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
16969 There should be no return data.
16972 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
16974 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
16975 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
16976 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
16977 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
16978 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
16981 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
16984 There should be no result data returned.
16987 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
16990 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
16991 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
16993 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
16994 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
16995 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
16996 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
16997 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
16998 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
17000 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
17001 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
17004 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
17005 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
17007 There should be no data returned.
17010 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
17012 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
17013 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
17014 this function in short order.
17016 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
17017 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
17019 There should be no data returned.
17022 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
17024 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
17025 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
17027 There should be no data returned.
17030 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
17032 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
17033 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
17034 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
17036 There should be no data returned.
17039 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
17041 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
17042 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
17044 There should be no data returned.
17049 @node Error Messaging
17050 @subsubsection Error Messaging
17052 @findex nnheader-report
17053 @findex nnheader-get-report
17054 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
17055 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
17056 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
17057 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
17058 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
17059 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
17062 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
17064 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
17067 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
17068 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
17069 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
17070 takes one argument---the server symbol.
17072 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
17073 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
17074 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
17077 @node Writing New Backends
17078 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
17080 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
17081 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
17082 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
17083 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
17084 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
17087 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
17088 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
17089 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
17091 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
17092 package called @code{nnoo}.
17094 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
17095 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
17101 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
17102 parameters. For instance:
17105 (nnoo-declare nndir
17109 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
17110 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
17113 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
17114 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
17115 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
17117 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
17118 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
17119 a function in those backends.
17122 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
17123 "Where nndir will look for groups."
17124 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
17127 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
17128 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
17129 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
17131 @item nnoo-define-basics
17132 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
17136 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
17140 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
17141 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
17142 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
17144 @item nnoo-map-functions
17145 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
17146 functions from the parent backends.
17149 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
17150 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
17151 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
17154 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
17155 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
17156 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
17157 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
17160 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
17161 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
17162 haven't already been defined.
17168 nnmh-request-newgroups)
17172 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
17173 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
17174 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
17179 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
17182 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
17183 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
17187 (require 'nnheader)
17191 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
17193 (nnoo-declare nndir
17196 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
17197 "Where nndir will look for groups."
17198 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
17200 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
17201 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
17204 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
17205 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
17206 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
17208 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
17209 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
17211 ;;; Interface functions.
17213 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
17215 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
17216 (setq nndir-directory
17217 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
17219 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
17220 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
17221 (push `(nndir-current-group
17222 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
17224 (push `(nndir-top-directory
17225 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
17227 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
17229 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
17230 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
17231 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
17232 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
17233 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
17237 nnmh-status-message
17239 nnmh-request-newgroups))
17245 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
17246 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
17248 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
17249 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
17250 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
17251 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
17253 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
17254 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
17259 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
17262 The abilities can be:
17266 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
17268 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
17270 This backend supports both mail and news.
17272 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
17275 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
17276 articles and groups.
17278 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
17279 true for almost all backends.
17280 @item prompt-address
17281 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
17282 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
17283 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
17287 @node Mail-like Backends
17288 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
17290 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
17291 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
17292 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
17293 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
17296 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
17297 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
17298 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
17301 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
17302 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
17305 This function takes four parameters.
17309 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
17312 @item exit-function
17313 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
17315 @item temp-directory
17316 Where the temporary files should be stored.
17319 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
17320 performed for one group only.
17323 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
17324 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
17325 find the article number assigned to this article.
17327 The function also uses the following variables:
17328 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
17329 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
17330 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
17331 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
17335 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
17336 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
17340 @node Score File Syntax
17341 @subsection Score File Syntax
17343 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
17344 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
17345 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
17347 Here's a typical score file:
17351 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
17358 BNF definition of a score file:
17361 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
17362 element = rule / atom
17363 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
17364 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
17365 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
17366 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
17368 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
17369 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
17370 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
17371 date-header = "date"
17372 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
17373 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
17374 score = "nil" / <integer>
17375 date = "nil" / <natural number>
17376 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
17377 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
17378 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
17379 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
17380 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
17381 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
17382 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
17383 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
17384 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
17385 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
17386 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
17387 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
17388 exclude-files / read-only / touched
17389 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
17390 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
17391 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
17392 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
17393 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
17394 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
17395 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
17396 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
17397 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
17398 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
17399 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
17400 eval = "eval" space <form>
17401 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
17404 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
17407 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
17408 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
17409 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
17410 one looong line, then that's ok.
17412 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
17413 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
17417 @subsection Headers
17419 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
17420 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
17421 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
17422 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
17424 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
17425 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
17426 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
17427 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
17428 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
17429 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
17430 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
17432 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
17433 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
17434 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
17435 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
17436 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
17438 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
17445 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
17446 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
17448 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
17449 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
17450 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
17451 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
17453 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
17457 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
17460 is transformed into
17463 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
17466 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
17467 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
17470 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
17473 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
17474 is slightly tricky:
17477 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
17483 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
17486 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
17492 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
17499 and is equal to the previous range.
17501 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
17502 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
17503 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
17507 range = simple-range / normal-range
17508 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
17509 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
17510 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
17511 number *[ " " contents ]
17514 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
17515 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
17516 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
17517 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
17518 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
17523 @subsection Group Info
17525 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
17526 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
17527 describes the group.
17529 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
17530 second is a more complex one:
17533 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
17535 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
17536 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
17538 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@gnus.org")))
17541 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
17542 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
17543 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
17544 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
17545 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
17546 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
17547 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
17548 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
17549 this section is about.
17551 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
17552 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
17553 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
17555 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
17558 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
17559 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
17560 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
17561 group = quote <string> quote
17562 ralevel = rank / level
17563 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
17564 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
17565 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
17567 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
17568 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
17569 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
17570 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
17573 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
17574 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
17577 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
17578 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
17581 @item gnus-info-group
17582 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
17583 @findex gnus-info-group
17584 @findex gnus-info-set-group
17585 Get/set the group name.
17587 @item gnus-info-rank
17588 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
17589 @findex gnus-info-rank
17590 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
17591 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
17593 @item gnus-info-level
17594 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
17595 @findex gnus-info-level
17596 @findex gnus-info-set-level
17597 Get/set the group level.
17599 @item gnus-info-score
17600 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
17601 @findex gnus-info-score
17602 @findex gnus-info-set-score
17603 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
17605 @item gnus-info-read
17606 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
17607 @findex gnus-info-read
17608 @findex gnus-info-set-read
17609 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
17611 @item gnus-info-marks
17612 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
17613 @findex gnus-info-marks
17614 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
17615 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
17617 @item gnus-info-method
17618 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
17619 @findex gnus-info-method
17620 @findex gnus-info-set-method
17621 Get/set the group select method.
17623 @item gnus-info-params
17624 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
17625 @findex gnus-info-params
17626 @findex gnus-info-set-params
17627 Get/set the group parameters.
17630 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
17631 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
17633 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
17634 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
17635 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
17636 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
17639 @node Extended Interactive
17640 @subsection Extended Interactive
17641 @cindex interactive
17642 @findex gnus-interactive
17644 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
17645 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
17646 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
17649 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
17650 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
17655 The best thing to do would have been to implement
17656 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
17657 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
17658 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
17659 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
17660 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
17661 @code{interactive}.
17663 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
17668 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
17669 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
17673 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
17674 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
17675 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
17678 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
17682 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
17686 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
17692 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
17693 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
17697 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
17698 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
17699 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
17701 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
17702 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
17703 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
17704 Gnus, that's very useful.
17706 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
17707 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
17708 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
17709 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
17710 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
17711 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
17712 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
17713 following function:
17716 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
17720 (,function ,@@args))
17724 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
17725 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
17726 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
17729 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
17730 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
17731 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
17733 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
17734 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
17735 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
17738 @node Various File Formats
17739 @subsection Various File Formats
17742 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
17743 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
17747 @node Active File Format
17748 @subsubsection Active File Format
17750 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
17751 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
17754 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
17757 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
17758 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
17759 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
17760 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
17761 no.general 1000 900 y
17764 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
17767 active = *group-line
17768 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
17769 group = <non-white-space string>
17771 high-number = <non-negative integer>
17772 low-number = <positive integer>
17773 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
17776 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
17777 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
17780 @node Newsgroups File Format
17781 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
17783 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
17784 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
17785 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
17788 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
17789 Here's the definition:
17793 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
17794 group = <non-white-space string>
17796 description = <string>
17801 @node Emacs for Heathens
17802 @section Emacs for Heathens
17804 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
17805 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
17806 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
17807 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
17808 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
17809 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
17810 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
17814 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
17815 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
17820 @subsection Keystrokes
17824 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
17827 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
17830 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
17831 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
17832 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
17833 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
17834 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
17835 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
17837 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
17838 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
17839 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
17840 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
17841 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
17842 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
17843 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
17845 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
17846 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
17847 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
17848 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
17849 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
17850 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
17851 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
17853 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
17854 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
17855 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
17856 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
17857 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
17863 @subsection Emacs Lisp
17865 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
17866 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
17867 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
17868 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
17870 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
17871 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
17872 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
17873 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
17874 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
17875 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
17876 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
17879 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
17880 write the following:
17883 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
17886 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
17887 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
17888 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
17891 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
17892 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
17893 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
17894 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
17895 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
17897 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
17898 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
17899 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
17903 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
17907 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
17910 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
17911 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
17914 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
17917 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
17918 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
17921 @include gnus-faq.texi