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10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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266 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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275 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
278 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
279 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
280 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
281 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
282 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
283 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
284 License'' in the Emacs manual.
286 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
287 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
288 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
290 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
291 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
292 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
293 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
301 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
303 Copyright (C) 1995,96,97,98,99,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
305 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
306 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
307 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
308 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
309 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
310 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
311 License'' in the Emacs manual.
313 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
314 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
315 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
317 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
318 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
319 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
320 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
328 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
331 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
332 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
334 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
335 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
336 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
337 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
338 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
339 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
340 License'' in the Emacs manual.
342 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
343 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
344 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
346 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
347 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
348 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
349 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
358 @top The Gnus Newsreader
362 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
363 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
364 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
367 This manual corresponds to Gnus 5.8.7.
378 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
379 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
381 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
382 being accused of plagiarism:
384 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
385 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
386 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
387 can even read news with it!
389 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
390 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
391 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
392 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
393 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
399 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
400 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
401 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
402 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
403 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
404 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
405 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
406 * Various:: General purpose settings.
407 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
408 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
409 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
410 * Key Index:: Key Index.
413 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
417 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
418 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
419 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
420 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
421 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
422 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
423 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
424 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
425 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
426 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
427 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
431 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
432 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
433 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
437 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
438 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
439 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
440 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
441 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
442 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
443 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
444 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
445 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
446 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
447 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
448 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
449 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
450 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
451 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
452 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
453 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
457 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
458 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
459 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
463 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
464 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
465 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
466 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
467 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
471 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
472 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
473 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
474 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
478 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
479 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
480 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
481 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
482 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
483 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
484 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
485 * Threading:: How threads are made.
486 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
487 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
488 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
489 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
490 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
491 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
492 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
493 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
494 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
495 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
496 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
497 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
498 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
499 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
500 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
501 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
502 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
503 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
504 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
505 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
507 Summary Buffer Format
509 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
510 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
511 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
512 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
516 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
517 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
519 Reply, Followup and Post
521 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
522 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
523 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
524 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
528 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
529 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
530 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
531 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
532 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
533 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
537 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
538 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
540 Customizing Threading
542 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
543 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
544 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
545 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
549 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
550 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
551 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
552 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
553 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
554 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
558 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
559 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
560 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
564 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
565 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
566 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
567 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
568 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
569 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
570 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
571 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
573 Alternative Approaches
575 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
576 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
578 Various Summary Stuff
580 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
581 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
582 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
583 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
587 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
588 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
589 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
590 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
591 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
595 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
596 * Post:: Posting and following up.
597 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
598 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
599 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
600 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
601 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
602 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
606 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
607 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
608 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
609 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
610 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
611 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
612 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
616 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
617 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
618 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
619 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
620 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
621 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
622 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
626 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
627 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
631 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
632 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
633 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
634 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
635 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
636 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
637 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
638 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
639 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
640 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
641 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
642 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
643 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
647 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
648 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
649 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
651 Choosing a Mail Backend
653 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
654 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
655 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
656 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
657 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
658 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
662 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
663 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
664 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
665 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
669 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
670 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
671 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
672 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
673 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
674 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
678 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
682 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
683 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
684 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
688 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
689 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
690 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
694 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
695 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
699 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
700 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
701 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
702 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
703 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
704 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
705 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
706 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
707 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
708 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
712 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
713 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
714 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
718 * Group Agent Commands::
719 * Summary Agent Commands::
720 * Server Agent Commands::
724 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
725 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
726 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
727 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
728 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
729 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
730 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
731 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
732 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
733 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
734 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
735 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
736 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
737 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
738 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
739 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
743 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
744 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
745 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
746 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
750 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
751 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
752 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
756 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
757 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
758 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
759 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
760 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
761 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
762 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
763 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
764 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
765 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
766 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
767 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
768 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
769 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
770 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
771 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
772 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
773 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
777 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
778 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
779 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
780 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
781 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
785 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
786 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
787 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
788 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
792 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
793 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
794 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
795 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
796 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
800 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
801 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
802 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
803 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
804 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
805 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
806 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
807 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
811 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
812 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
813 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
814 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
815 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
816 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
817 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
818 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
819 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
820 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
824 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
825 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
826 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
827 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
831 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
832 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
833 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
834 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
838 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
839 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
840 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
841 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
842 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
843 * Group Info:: The group info format.
844 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
845 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
846 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
850 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
851 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
852 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
853 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
854 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
855 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
859 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
860 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
864 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
865 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
871 @chapter Starting Gnus
876 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
877 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
880 @findex gnus-other-frame
881 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
882 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
883 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
885 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
886 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
887 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
889 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
890 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
893 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
894 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
895 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
896 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
897 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
898 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
899 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
900 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
901 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
902 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
903 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
907 @node Finding the News
908 @section Finding the News
911 @vindex gnus-select-method
913 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
914 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
915 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
916 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
919 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
920 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
923 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
926 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
929 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
932 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
933 certainly be much faster.
935 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
937 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
938 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
939 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
940 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
941 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
942 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
944 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
945 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
946 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
947 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
949 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
950 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
951 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
952 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
953 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
954 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
955 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
956 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
957 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
960 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
962 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
963 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
964 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
965 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
966 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
967 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
969 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
971 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
972 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
973 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
974 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
975 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
976 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
979 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
980 would typically set this variable to
983 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
988 @section The First Time
989 @cindex first time usage
991 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
992 be subscribed by default.
994 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
995 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
996 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
997 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1000 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1001 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1002 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1004 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1005 help you with most common problems.
1007 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1008 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1012 @node The Server is Down
1013 @section The Server is Down
1014 @cindex server errors
1016 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1017 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1018 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1020 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1021 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1022 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1023 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1024 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1025 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1026 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1028 @findex gnus-no-server
1029 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1031 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1032 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1033 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1034 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1035 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1036 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1041 @section Slave Gnusae
1044 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1045 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1046 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1047 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1049 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1050 @code{.newsrc} file.
1052 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1053 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1054 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1055 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1056 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1057 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1058 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1060 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1061 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1062 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1063 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1064 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1065 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1066 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1067 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1069 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1070 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1073 @node Fetching a Group
1074 @section Fetching a Group
1075 @cindex fetching a group
1077 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1078 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1079 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1080 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1081 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1082 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1088 @cindex subscription
1090 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1091 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1092 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1093 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1094 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1095 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1096 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1097 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
1098 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1101 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1102 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1103 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1107 @node Checking New Groups
1108 @subsection Checking New Groups
1110 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1111 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1112 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1113 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1114 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1115 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1116 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1117 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1118 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1119 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1121 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1122 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1123 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1124 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1125 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1126 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1127 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1128 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1129 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1130 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1131 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1133 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1134 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1135 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1136 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1137 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1138 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1141 @node Subscription Methods
1142 @subsection Subscription Methods
1144 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1145 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1146 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1148 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1149 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1151 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1155 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1156 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1157 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1158 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1159 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1161 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1162 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1163 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1164 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1166 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1167 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1168 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1170 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1171 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1172 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1173 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1174 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1175 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1176 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1177 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1178 up. Or something like that.
1180 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1181 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1182 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1183 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1184 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1186 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1187 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1188 Kill all new groups.
1190 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1191 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1192 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1193 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1194 topic parameter that looks like
1200 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1203 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1208 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1209 A closely related variable is
1210 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1211 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1212 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1213 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1216 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1217 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1218 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1219 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1222 @node Filtering New Groups
1223 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1225 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1226 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1227 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1230 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1233 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1234 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1235 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1236 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1237 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1238 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1239 subscribing these groups.
1240 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1241 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1243 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1244 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1245 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1246 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1247 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1248 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1249 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1250 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1252 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1253 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1254 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1255 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1256 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1257 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1258 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1259 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1260 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1261 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1263 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1264 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1267 @node Changing Servers
1268 @section Changing Servers
1269 @cindex changing servers
1271 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1272 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1273 very flaky and you want to use another.
1275 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1276 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1280 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1281 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1282 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1283 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1286 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1287 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1288 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1289 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1291 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1292 @findex gnus-change-server
1293 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1294 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1295 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1296 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1297 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1299 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1300 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1301 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1302 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1303 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1305 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1306 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1307 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1308 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1309 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1310 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1312 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1313 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1314 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1318 @section Startup Files
1319 @cindex startup files
1324 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1325 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1327 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1328 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1329 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1330 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1331 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1332 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1333 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1335 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1336 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1337 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1338 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1339 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1340 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1342 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1343 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1344 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1345 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1346 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1347 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1348 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1349 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1350 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1351 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1353 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1354 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1355 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1356 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1357 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1358 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1359 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1360 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1361 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1362 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1363 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1364 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1366 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1367 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1368 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1369 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1371 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1372 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1373 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1374 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1375 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1376 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1377 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1378 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1379 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1380 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1383 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1384 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1386 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1387 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1390 @vindex gnus-init-file
1391 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1392 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1393 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1394 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1395 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1396 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1397 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1398 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1399 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1405 @cindex dribble file
1408 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1409 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1410 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1411 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1412 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1415 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1416 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1419 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1420 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1421 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1423 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1424 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1425 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1426 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1427 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1428 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1430 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1431 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1432 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1435 @node The Active File
1436 @section The Active File
1438 @cindex ignored groups
1440 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1441 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1442 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1444 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1445 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1446 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1447 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1448 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1449 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1450 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1453 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1454 @c if you set it to anything else.
1456 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1458 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1459 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1460 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1462 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1463 you actually subscribe to.
1465 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1466 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1467 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1468 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1470 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1471 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1472 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1473 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1474 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1475 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1477 Some news servers (Leafnode and old versions of INN, for instance) do
1478 not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these servers, @code{nil}
1479 is probably the most efficient value for this variable.
1481 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1482 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1483 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1484 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1485 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1486 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1488 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1489 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1491 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1492 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1494 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1495 secondary select methods.
1498 @node Startup Variables
1499 @section Startup Variables
1503 @item gnus-load-hook
1504 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1505 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1506 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1507 times you start Gnus.
1509 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1510 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1511 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1513 @item gnus-startup-hook
1514 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1515 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1517 @item gnus-started-hook
1518 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1519 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1522 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1523 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1524 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1525 generating the group buffer.
1527 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1528 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1529 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1530 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1531 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1532 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1533 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1534 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1536 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1537 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1538 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1539 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1540 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1541 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1543 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1544 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1545 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1547 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1548 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1549 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1551 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1552 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1553 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1554 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1559 @node The Group Buffer
1560 @chapter The Group Buffer
1561 @cindex group buffer
1563 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1564 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1565 long as Gnus is active.
1569 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1570 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1571 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1572 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1573 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1574 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1575 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1576 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1582 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1583 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1584 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1585 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1586 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1587 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1588 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1589 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1590 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1591 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1592 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1593 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1594 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1595 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1596 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1597 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1598 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1602 @node Group Buffer Format
1603 @section Group Buffer Format
1606 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1607 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1608 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1612 @node Group Line Specification
1613 @subsection Group Line Specification
1614 @cindex group buffer format
1616 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1617 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1619 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1622 25: news.announce.newusers
1623 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1628 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1629 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1630 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1631 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1633 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1634 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1635 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1636 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1637 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1638 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1640 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1642 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1643 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1644 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1645 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1648 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1649 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1650 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1652 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1657 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1660 Whether the group is subscribed.
1663 Level of subscribedness.
1666 Number of unread articles.
1669 Number of dormant articles.
1672 Number of ticked articles.
1675 Number of read articles.
1678 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1679 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1682 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1685 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1694 Newsgroup description.
1697 @samp{m} if moderated.
1700 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1709 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1713 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1716 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1717 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1718 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1719 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1720 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1723 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1725 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1729 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1733 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1734 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1735 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1736 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1737 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1738 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1743 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1744 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1745 group, or a bogus native group.
1748 @node Group Modeline Specification
1749 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1750 @cindex group modeline
1752 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1753 The mode line can be changed by setting
1754 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1755 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1759 The native news server.
1761 The native select method.
1765 @node Group Highlighting
1766 @subsection Group Highlighting
1767 @cindex highlighting
1768 @cindex group highlighting
1770 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1771 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1772 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1773 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1774 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1776 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1780 (cond (window-system
1781 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1782 (defface my-group-face-1
1783 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1784 (defface my-group-face-2
1785 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1786 (defface my-group-face-3
1787 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1788 (defface my-group-face-4
1789 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1790 (defface my-group-face-5
1791 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1793 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1794 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1795 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1796 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1797 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1798 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1801 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1803 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1810 The number of unread articles in the group.
1814 Whether the group is a mail group.
1816 The level of the group.
1818 The score of the group.
1820 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1822 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1823 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1825 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1826 topic being inserted.
1829 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1830 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1831 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1833 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1834 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1835 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1836 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1837 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1840 @node Group Maneuvering
1841 @section Group Maneuvering
1842 @cindex group movement
1844 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1845 expected, hopefully.
1851 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1852 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1853 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1859 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1860 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1861 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1865 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1866 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1870 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1871 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1875 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1876 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1877 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1881 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1882 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1883 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1886 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1892 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1893 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1894 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1899 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1900 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1901 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1905 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1906 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1907 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1910 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1911 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1912 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1913 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1917 @node Selecting a Group
1918 @section Selecting a Group
1919 @cindex group selection
1924 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1925 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1926 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1927 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1928 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1929 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1930 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1931 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1932 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1933 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1937 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1938 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1939 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1940 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1941 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1945 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1946 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1947 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1948 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1949 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1950 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1951 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1952 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1953 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1954 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1957 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1958 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1959 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1960 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1961 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1964 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1965 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1966 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1967 doing any processing of its contents
1968 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1969 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1970 manner will have no permanent effects.
1974 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1975 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1976 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1977 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1978 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1979 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1980 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1981 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1984 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1985 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1986 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1987 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1992 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1993 full summary buffer.
1996 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1999 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2004 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2005 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2006 Useful functions include:
2009 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2010 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2011 don't select the article.
2013 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2014 Select the first unread article.
2016 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2017 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2021 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2022 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2023 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2027 @node Subscription Commands
2028 @section Subscription Commands
2029 @cindex subscription
2037 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2038 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2039 Toggle subscription to the current group
2040 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2046 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2047 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2048 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2049 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2055 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2056 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2057 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2063 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2064 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2067 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2068 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2069 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2070 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2071 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2077 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2078 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2082 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2083 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2086 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2087 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2088 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2089 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2090 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2091 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2092 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2093 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2094 @file{.newsrc} file.
2098 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2108 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2109 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2110 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2111 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2112 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2113 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2118 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2119 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2120 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2124 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2125 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2126 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2128 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2129 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2130 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2131 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2132 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2133 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2140 @section Group Levels
2144 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2145 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2146 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2147 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2148 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2150 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2156 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2157 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2158 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2159 prompted for a level.
2162 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2163 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2164 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2165 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2166 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2167 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2168 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2169 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2170 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2171 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2172 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2173 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2174 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2175 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2176 reasons of efficiency.
2178 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2179 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2181 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2182 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2183 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2184 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2185 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2186 groups are hidden, in a way.
2188 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2189 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2190 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2191 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2192 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2193 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2195 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2196 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2197 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2198 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2199 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2200 list of killed groups.)
2202 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2203 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2204 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2206 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2207 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2208 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2209 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2210 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2211 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2212 relevant valid ranges.
2214 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2215 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2216 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2217 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2218 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2219 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2222 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2223 one with the best level.
2225 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2226 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2227 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2230 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2231 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2232 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2233 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2236 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2237 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2238 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2239 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2241 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2242 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2243 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2244 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2245 to 5. The default is 6.
2249 @section Group Score
2254 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2255 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2256 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2259 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2260 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2261 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2262 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2263 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2264 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2265 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2266 least significant part.))
2268 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2269 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2270 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2271 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2272 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2273 action after each summary exit, you can add
2274 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2275 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2276 slow things down somewhat.
2279 @node Marking Groups
2280 @section Marking Groups
2281 @cindex marking groups
2283 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2284 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2285 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2286 bidding on those groups.
2288 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2289 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2290 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2298 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2299 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2305 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2306 Remove the mark from the current group
2307 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2311 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2312 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2316 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2317 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2321 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2322 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2326 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2327 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2328 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2331 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2333 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2334 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2335 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2336 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2337 the command to be executed.
2340 @node Foreign Groups
2341 @section Foreign Groups
2342 @cindex foreign groups
2344 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2345 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2346 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2347 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2354 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2355 @cindex making groups
2356 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2357 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2358 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2362 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2363 @cindex renaming groups
2364 Rename the current group to something else
2365 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2366 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2372 @findex gnus-group-customize
2373 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2377 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2378 @cindex renaming groups
2379 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2380 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2384 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2385 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2386 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2390 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2391 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2392 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2396 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2398 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2399 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2404 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2405 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2409 @cindex (ding) archive
2410 @cindex archive group
2411 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2412 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2413 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2414 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2415 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2416 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2417 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2421 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2423 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2424 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2425 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2426 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2430 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2432 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2433 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2434 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2438 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2439 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2441 Make a group based on some file or other
2442 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2443 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2444 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2445 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2446 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2447 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2448 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2452 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2453 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2454 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2455 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2459 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2464 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2465 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2466 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2467 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2468 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2469 @xref{Web Searches}.
2471 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2472 to a particular group by using a match string like
2473 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2476 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2477 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2478 This function will delete the current group
2479 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2480 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2481 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2482 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2483 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2487 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2488 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2489 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2493 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2494 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2495 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2498 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2501 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2502 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2503 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2504 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2505 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2506 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2510 @node Group Parameters
2511 @section Group Parameters
2512 @cindex group parameters
2514 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2515 Here's an example group parameter list:
2518 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2522 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2523 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2524 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2525 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2527 The following group parameters can be used:
2532 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2535 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2538 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2539 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2540 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2541 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2542 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2544 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2545 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2546 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2547 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2548 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2549 list address instead.
2553 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2556 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2559 It is totally ignored
2560 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2561 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2563 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2564 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2565 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2566 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2567 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2569 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2570 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2571 sending the message.
2575 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2576 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2577 of whether it has any unread articles.
2579 @item broken-reply-to
2580 @cindex broken-reply-to
2581 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2582 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2583 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2584 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2585 broken behavior. So there!
2589 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2590 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2594 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2595 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2596 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2601 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2602 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2603 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2604 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2605 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2606 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2607 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2611 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2612 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2613 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2616 @cindex total-expire
2617 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2618 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2619 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2620 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2625 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2626 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2627 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2628 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2629 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2630 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2633 @cindex score file group parameter
2634 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2635 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2636 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2639 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2640 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2641 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2642 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2645 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2646 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2647 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2648 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2651 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2652 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2656 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2659 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2664 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2665 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2666 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2670 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2671 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2672 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2674 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2675 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2676 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2677 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2678 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2679 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2680 @code{eval}ed there.
2682 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2683 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2684 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2685 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2686 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2689 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2690 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2691 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2692 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2693 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2695 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2696 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2697 like this in the group parameters:
2702 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2707 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2708 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2712 @node Listing Groups
2713 @section Listing Groups
2714 @cindex group listing
2716 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2724 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2725 List all groups that have unread articles
2726 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2727 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2728 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2729 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2736 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2737 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2738 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2739 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2740 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2741 unsubscribed groups).
2745 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2746 List all unread groups on a specific level
2747 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2748 with no unread articles.
2752 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2753 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2754 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2755 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2760 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2761 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2765 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2766 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2767 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2771 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2772 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2776 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2777 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2778 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2779 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2780 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2781 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2782 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2783 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2787 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2788 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2789 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2793 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2794 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2795 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2799 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2800 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2804 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2805 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2809 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2810 @cindex visible group parameter
2811 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2812 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2813 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2814 get the same effect.
2816 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2817 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2818 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2819 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2820 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2823 @node Sorting Groups
2824 @section Sorting Groups
2825 @cindex sorting groups
2827 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2828 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2829 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2830 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2831 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2832 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2837 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2838 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2839 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2841 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2842 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2843 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2845 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2846 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2847 Sort by group level.
2849 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2850 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2851 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2853 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2854 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2855 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2856 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2858 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2859 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2860 Sort by number of unread articles.
2862 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2863 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2864 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2869 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2870 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2874 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2875 some sorting criteria:
2879 @kindex G S a (Group)
2880 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2881 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2882 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2885 @kindex G S u (Group)
2886 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2887 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2888 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2891 @kindex G S l (Group)
2892 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2893 Sort the group buffer by group level
2894 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2897 @kindex G S v (Group)
2898 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2899 Sort the group buffer by group score
2900 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2903 @kindex G S r (Group)
2904 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2905 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2906 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2909 @kindex G S m (Group)
2910 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2911 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2912 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2916 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2917 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2919 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2920 commands will sort in reverse order.
2922 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2926 @kindex G P a (Group)
2927 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2928 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2929 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2932 @kindex G P u (Group)
2933 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2934 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2935 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2938 @kindex G P l (Group)
2939 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2940 Sort the groups by group level
2941 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2944 @kindex G P v (Group)
2945 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2946 Sort the groups by group score
2947 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2950 @kindex G P r (Group)
2951 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2952 Sort the groups by group rank
2953 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2956 @kindex G P m (Group)
2957 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2958 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2959 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2965 @node Group Maintenance
2966 @section Group Maintenance
2967 @cindex bogus groups
2972 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2973 Find bogus groups and delete them
2974 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2978 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2979 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2980 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2981 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2982 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2986 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2987 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2988 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2989 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2992 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2993 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2994 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2995 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3000 @node Browse Foreign Server
3001 @section Browse Foreign Server
3002 @cindex foreign servers
3003 @cindex browsing servers
3008 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3009 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3010 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3011 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3014 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3015 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3016 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3017 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3019 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3024 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3025 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3029 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3030 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3033 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3034 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3035 Enter the current group and display the first article
3036 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3039 @kindex RET (Browse)
3040 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3041 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3045 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3046 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3047 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3053 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3054 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3058 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3059 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3060 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3065 @section Exiting Gnus
3066 @cindex exiting Gnus
3068 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3073 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3074 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3075 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3076 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3080 @findex gnus-group-exit
3081 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3082 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3086 @findex gnus-group-quit
3087 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3088 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3091 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3092 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3093 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3094 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3095 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3100 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3101 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3102 trying to customize meta-variables.
3107 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3108 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3109 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3115 @section Group Topics
3118 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3119 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3120 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3121 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3122 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3123 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3127 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3128 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3139 2: alt.religion.emacs
3142 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3144 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3145 13: comp.sources.unix
3148 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3150 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3151 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3152 is a toggling command.)
3154 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3155 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
3156 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3157 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3160 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3161 the hook for the group mode:
3164 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3168 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3169 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3170 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3171 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3172 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3176 @node Topic Variables
3177 @subsection Topic Variables
3178 @cindex topic variables
3180 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
3181 really neat, I think.
3183 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3184 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3185 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3198 Number of groups in the topic.
3200 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3202 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3205 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3206 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3207 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3210 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3211 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3213 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3214 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3215 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3218 @node Topic Commands
3219 @subsection Topic Commands
3220 @cindex topic commands
3222 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3223 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3224 definitions slightly.
3230 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3231 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3232 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3236 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3237 Move the current group to some other topic
3238 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3239 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3243 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3244 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3248 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3249 Copy the current group to some other topic
3250 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3251 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3255 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3256 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3257 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3261 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3262 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3263 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3267 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3268 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3269 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3270 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3271 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3272 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3273 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3276 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3277 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3281 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3282 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3283 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3287 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3288 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3289 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3293 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3294 Toggle hiding empty topics
3295 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3299 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3300 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3301 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3304 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3305 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3306 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3307 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3311 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3313 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3314 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3315 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3316 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3319 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3320 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3321 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3322 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3326 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3328 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3329 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3330 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3331 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3332 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3333 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3336 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3337 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3338 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
3339 process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
3343 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3344 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3345 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3349 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3350 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3351 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3356 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3357 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3360 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3361 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3362 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3366 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3367 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3368 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3372 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3373 @cindex group parameters
3374 @cindex topic parameters
3376 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3377 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3383 @subsection Topic Sorting
3384 @cindex topic sorting
3386 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3392 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3393 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3394 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3395 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3398 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3399 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3400 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3401 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3404 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3405 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3406 Sort the current topic by group level
3407 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3410 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3411 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3412 Sort the current topic by group score
3413 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3416 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3417 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3418 Sort the current topic by group rank
3419 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3422 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3423 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3424 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
3425 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3429 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3432 @node Topic Topology
3433 @subsection Topic Topology
3434 @cindex topic topology
3437 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3443 2: alt.religion.emacs
3446 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3448 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3449 13: comp.sources.unix
3452 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3453 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3454 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3459 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3460 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3464 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3465 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3466 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3467 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3468 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3469 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3471 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3472 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3473 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3476 @node Topic Parameters
3477 @subsection Topic Parameters
3478 @cindex topic parameters
3480 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3481 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3482 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3484 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3489 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3490 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3491 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3496 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3497 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3498 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3499 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3505 2: alt.religion.emacs
3509 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3511 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3512 13: comp.sources.unix
3516 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3517 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3518 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3519 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3520 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3521 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3523 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3524 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3525 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3526 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3527 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3529 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3530 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3531 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3532 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3533 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3534 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3535 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3536 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3539 @node Misc Group Stuff
3540 @section Misc Group Stuff
3543 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3544 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3545 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3546 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3553 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3554 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3555 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
3559 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3560 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3561 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3565 @findex gnus-group-mail
3566 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3570 Variables for the group buffer:
3574 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3575 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3576 is called after the group buffer has been
3579 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3580 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3581 is called after the group buffer is
3582 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3585 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3586 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3587 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3588 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3590 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3591 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3592 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3593 whether they are empty or not.
3595 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3596 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3597 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3598 non-ASCII group names.
3602 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3603 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3606 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3607 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3608 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3609 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3613 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3614 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3619 @node Scanning New Messages
3620 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3621 @cindex new messages
3622 @cindex scanning new news
3628 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3629 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3630 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3631 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3632 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3633 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3638 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3639 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3640 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3641 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3642 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3643 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3644 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3646 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3647 @cindex activating groups
3649 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3650 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3655 @findex gnus-group-restart
3656 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3657 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3658 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3662 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3663 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3665 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3666 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3670 @node Group Information
3671 @subsection Group Information
3672 @cindex group information
3673 @cindex information on groups
3680 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3681 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3684 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3685 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3686 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3687 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3688 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3689 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3690 for fetching the file.
3692 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3693 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3697 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3699 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3700 @cindex describing groups
3701 @cindex group description
3702 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3703 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3704 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3708 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3709 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3710 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3717 @findex gnus-version
3718 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3722 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3723 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3726 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3729 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3730 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3734 @node Group Timestamp
3735 @subsection Group Timestamp
3737 @cindex group timestamps
3739 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3740 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3741 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3744 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3747 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3749 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3750 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3753 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3754 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3757 This will result in lines looking like:
3760 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3761 0: custom 19961002T012713
3764 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3765 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3769 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3770 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3775 @subsection File Commands
3776 @cindex file commands
3782 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3783 @vindex gnus-init-file
3784 @cindex reading init file
3785 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3786 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3790 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3791 @cindex saving .newsrc
3792 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3793 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3794 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3797 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3798 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3799 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3804 @node The Summary Buffer
3805 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3806 @cindex summary buffer
3808 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3809 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3811 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3812 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3814 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3817 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3818 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3819 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3820 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3821 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3822 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3823 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3824 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3825 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3826 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3827 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3828 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3829 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3830 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3831 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3832 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3833 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3834 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3835 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3836 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3837 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3838 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3839 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3840 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3841 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3842 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3843 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3844 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3848 @node Summary Buffer Format
3849 @section Summary Buffer Format
3850 @cindex summary buffer format
3854 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3855 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3856 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3862 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3863 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3864 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3865 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3868 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3869 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3870 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3871 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3872 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3873 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3874 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3875 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3876 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3877 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3878 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
3881 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3882 'mail-extract-address-components)
3885 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3886 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3887 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3888 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3891 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3892 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3894 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3895 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3896 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3897 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3898 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3900 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3902 The following format specification characters are understood:
3908 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
3909 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3911 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3912 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3913 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3915 Full @code{From} header.
3917 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3919 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3920 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3922 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3923 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3924 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3925 may be more thorough.
3927 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3930 Number of lines in the article.
3932 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
3933 methods (like nnfolder).
3935 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3937 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3938 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3940 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3941 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3943 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3944 for adopted articles.
3946 One space for each thread level.
3948 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3953 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3954 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3958 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3960 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3961 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3962 default level. If the difference between
3963 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3964 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3972 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3974 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3980 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3981 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3983 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3984 article has any children.
3990 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3991 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3992 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3993 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3994 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3995 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3998 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3999 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4000 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4001 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4002 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4003 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4005 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4006 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4008 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4011 @node To From Newsgroups
4012 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4016 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4017 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4018 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4019 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4020 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4024 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4025 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4026 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4030 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4031 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4034 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4035 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4038 @findex gnus-extra-header
4039 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4040 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4041 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4044 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4048 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4049 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4050 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4051 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4052 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4053 headers are used instead.
4057 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4058 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4059 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4060 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4063 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4064 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4065 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4066 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4068 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
4071 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4073 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4074 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4075 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
4076 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4080 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4081 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4088 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4089 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4092 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4093 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4095 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4096 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4097 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4098 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4100 Here are the elements you can play with:
4106 Unprefixed group name.
4108 Current article number.
4110 Current article score.
4114 Number of unread articles in this group.
4116 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4119 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4120 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4121 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4122 and no unselected ones.
4124 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4125 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4127 Subject of the current article.
4129 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4131 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4133 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4135 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4137 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4139 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4143 @node Summary Highlighting
4144 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4148 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4149 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4150 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4151 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4152 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4154 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4155 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4156 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4157 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4159 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4160 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4161 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4162 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4164 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4165 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4166 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4167 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4168 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4169 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4172 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4173 ((> score default) . bold))
4175 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4176 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4180 @node Summary Maneuvering
4181 @section Summary Maneuvering
4182 @cindex summary movement
4184 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4185 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4187 None of these commands select articles.
4192 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4193 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4194 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4195 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4196 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4200 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4201 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4202 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4203 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4204 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4209 @kindex G j (Summary)
4210 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4211 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4212 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4215 @kindex G g (Summary)
4216 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4217 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4218 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4221 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4222 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4223 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4224 to the group buffer.
4226 Variables related to summary movement:
4230 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4231 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4232 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4233 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4234 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4235 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4236 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4237 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4238 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4239 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4240 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4241 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4242 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4243 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4245 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4246 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4247 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4248 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4249 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4250 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4251 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4253 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4255 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4256 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4257 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4258 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4259 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4261 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4262 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4263 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4264 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4265 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4266 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4267 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4268 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4271 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4272 the given number of lines from the top.
4277 @node Choosing Articles
4278 @section Choosing Articles
4279 @cindex selecting articles
4282 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4283 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4287 @node Choosing Commands
4288 @subsection Choosing Commands
4290 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4291 and they all select and display an article.
4295 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4296 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4297 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4298 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4303 @kindex G n (Summary)
4304 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4305 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4306 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4311 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4312 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4313 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4318 @kindex G N (Summary)
4319 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4320 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4325 @kindex G P (Summary)
4326 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4327 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4330 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4331 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4332 Go to the next article with the same subject
4333 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4336 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4337 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4338 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4339 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4343 @kindex G f (Summary)
4345 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4346 Go to the first unread article
4347 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4351 @kindex G b (Summary)
4353 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4354 Go to the article with the highest score
4355 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4360 @kindex G l (Summary)
4361 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4362 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4365 @kindex G o (Summary)
4366 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4368 @cindex article history
4369 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4370 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4371 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4372 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4373 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4374 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4378 @node Choosing Variables
4379 @subsection Choosing Variables
4381 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4384 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4385 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4386 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4387 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4388 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4389 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4391 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4392 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4393 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4394 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4396 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4397 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4398 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4399 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4400 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4401 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4402 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4403 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4404 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4405 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4406 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4407 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4408 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4409 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4414 @node Paging the Article
4415 @section Scrolling the Article
4416 @cindex article scrolling
4421 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4422 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4423 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4424 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4425 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4428 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4429 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4430 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4433 @kindex RET (Summary)
4434 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4435 Scroll the current article one line forward
4436 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4439 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4440 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4441 Scroll the current article one line backward
4442 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4446 @kindex A g (Summary)
4448 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4449 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4450 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4451 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4452 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4453 the way it came from the server.
4455 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4456 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4457 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4460 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4465 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4470 @kindex A < (Summary)
4471 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4472 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4473 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4478 @kindex A > (Summary)
4479 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4480 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4484 @kindex A s (Summary)
4486 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4487 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4488 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4492 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4493 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4498 @node Reply Followup and Post
4499 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4502 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4503 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4504 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4505 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
4509 @node Summary Mail Commands
4510 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4512 @cindex composing mail
4514 Commands for composing a mail message:
4520 @kindex S r (Summary)
4522 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4523 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4524 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4525 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4526 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4531 @kindex S R (Summary)
4532 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4533 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4534 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4535 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4536 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4539 @kindex S w (Summary)
4540 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4541 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4542 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4543 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4544 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4547 @kindex S W (Summary)
4548 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4549 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4550 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4551 the process/prefix convention.
4555 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4556 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4557 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4558 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4559 Forward the current article to some other person
4560 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4561 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4562 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4563 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, foward message
4564 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4565 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, foward message
4566 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4567 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4568 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4573 @kindex S m (Summary)
4574 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4575 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4576 Send a mail to some other person
4577 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4580 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4581 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4582 @cindex bouncing mail
4583 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4584 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4585 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4586 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4587 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4588 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4589 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4590 very well fail, though.
4593 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4594 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4595 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4596 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4597 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4598 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4599 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4600 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4601 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4602 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4604 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4605 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4606 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4607 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4608 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4610 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4611 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4614 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4615 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4616 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4617 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4618 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4621 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4622 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4623 @cindex crossposting
4624 @cindex excessive crossposting
4625 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4626 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4628 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4629 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4630 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4631 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4632 command understands the process/prefix convention
4633 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4637 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4640 @node Summary Post Commands
4641 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4643 @cindex composing news
4645 Commands for posting a news article:
4651 @kindex S p (Summary)
4652 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4653 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4654 Post an article to the current group
4655 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4660 @kindex S f (Summary)
4661 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4662 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4663 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4667 @kindex S F (Summary)
4669 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4670 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4671 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4672 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4673 process/prefix convention.
4676 @kindex S n (Summary)
4677 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4678 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4679 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4682 @kindex S N (Summary)
4683 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4684 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4685 message through mail and include the original message
4686 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4687 the process/prefix convention.
4690 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4691 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4692 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4693 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
4694 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
4695 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
4696 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4697 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, foward message
4698 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4699 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, foward message
4700 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4701 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4702 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4705 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4706 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4708 @cindex making digests
4709 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4710 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4711 process/prefix convention.
4714 @kindex S u (Summary)
4715 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4716 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4717 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4718 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4721 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4724 @node Summary Message Commands
4725 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4729 @kindex S y (Summary)
4730 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4731 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4732 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4733 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4734 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4739 @node Canceling and Superseding
4740 @subsection Canceling Articles
4741 @cindex canceling articles
4742 @cindex superseding articles
4744 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4745 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4747 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4749 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4751 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4752 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4753 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4754 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4755 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4756 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4758 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4759 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4762 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4763 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4764 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4766 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4767 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4768 your original article.
4770 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4772 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4773 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4774 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4777 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4778 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4779 have posted almost the same article twice.
4781 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4782 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4783 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4784 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4785 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4786 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4787 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4788 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4789 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4790 canceled/superseded.
4792 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4795 @node Marking Articles
4796 @section Marking Articles
4797 @cindex article marking
4798 @cindex article ticking
4801 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4803 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4804 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4805 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4807 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4810 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4811 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4812 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4816 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4820 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4821 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4822 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4826 @node Unread Articles
4827 @subsection Unread Articles
4829 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4834 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4835 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4837 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4838 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4839 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4840 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4841 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4845 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4846 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4848 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4849 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4850 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4853 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4854 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4856 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4861 @subsection Read Articles
4862 @cindex expirable mark
4864 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4869 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4870 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4871 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4874 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4875 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4878 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4879 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4880 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4883 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4884 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4887 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4888 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4891 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4892 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4895 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4896 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4899 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4900 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4903 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4904 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4907 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4908 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4912 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4913 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4914 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4918 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4919 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4921 One more special mark, though:
4925 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4926 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4928 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4929 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4930 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4931 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4937 @subsection Other Marks
4938 @cindex process mark
4941 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4947 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4948 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4949 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4950 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4951 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4954 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4955 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4956 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4957 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4960 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4961 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4962 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4965 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4966 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4967 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4968 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4971 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4972 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4973 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4974 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4975 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4978 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4979 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4980 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4981 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4982 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4983 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4987 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4988 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4989 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4991 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4992 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4993 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4997 @subsection Setting Marks
4998 @cindex setting marks
5000 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5005 @kindex M c (Summary)
5006 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5007 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5008 @cindex mark as unread
5009 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5010 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5016 @kindex M t (Summary)
5017 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5018 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5019 @xref{Article Caching}.
5024 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5025 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5026 Mark the current article as dormant
5027 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5031 @kindex M d (Summary)
5033 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5034 Mark the current article as read
5035 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5039 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5040 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5041 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5046 @kindex M k (Summary)
5047 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5048 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5049 and then select the next unread article
5050 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5054 @kindex M K (Summary)
5055 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5056 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5057 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5058 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5061 @kindex M C (Summary)
5062 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5063 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5064 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5067 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5068 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5069 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5070 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5073 @kindex M H (Summary)
5074 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5075 Catchup the current group to point
5076 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5079 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5080 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5081 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5082 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5085 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5086 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5087 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5088 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5092 @kindex M e (Summary)
5094 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5095 Mark the current article as expirable
5096 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5099 @kindex M b (Summary)
5100 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5101 Set a bookmark in the current article
5102 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5105 @kindex M B (Summary)
5106 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5107 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5108 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5111 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5112 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5113 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5114 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5117 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5118 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5119 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5120 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5123 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5124 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5125 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5126 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5127 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5130 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5131 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5132 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5133 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5134 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5135 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5136 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5137 The default is @code{t}.
5140 @node Generic Marking Commands
5141 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5143 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5144 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5145 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5146 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5147 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5150 Multiply these five behaviours with five different marking commands, and
5151 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5154 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5155 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5156 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5157 to list in this manual.
5159 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5160 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5161 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5162 article, you could say something like:
5165 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5166 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5167 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5173 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5174 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5178 @node Setting Process Marks
5179 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5180 @cindex setting process marks
5187 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5188 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5189 Mark the current article with the process mark
5190 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5191 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5195 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5196 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5197 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5198 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5201 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5202 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5203 Remove the process mark from all articles
5204 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5207 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5208 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5209 Invert the list of process marked articles
5210 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5213 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5214 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5215 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5216 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5219 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5220 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5221 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5222 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5225 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5226 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5227 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5230 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5231 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5232 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5233 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5236 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5237 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5238 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5239 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5242 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5243 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5244 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5245 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5248 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5249 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5250 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5253 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5254 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5255 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5256 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5259 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5260 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5261 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5264 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5265 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5266 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5267 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5270 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5271 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5272 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5273 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5276 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5277 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5278 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5279 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5282 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5284 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5285 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5289 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5290 set process marks based on article body contents.
5297 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5298 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5299 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5302 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5303 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5304 additional articles.
5310 @kindex / / (Summary)
5311 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5312 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5313 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5316 @kindex / a (Summary)
5317 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5318 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5319 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5322 @kindex / x (Summary)
5323 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5324 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5325 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5326 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5330 @kindex / u (Summary)
5332 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5333 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5334 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5335 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5336 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5339 @kindex / m (Summary)
5340 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5341 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5342 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5345 @kindex / t (Summary)
5346 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5347 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5348 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5349 articles younger than that number of days.
5352 @kindex / n (Summary)
5353 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5354 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5355 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5356 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5359 @kindex / w (Summary)
5360 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5361 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5362 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5366 @kindex / v (Summary)
5367 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5368 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5369 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5373 @kindex M S (Summary)
5374 @kindex / E (Summary)
5375 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5376 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5377 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5380 @kindex / D (Summary)
5381 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5382 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5383 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5386 @kindex / * (Summary)
5387 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5388 Include all cached articles in the limit
5389 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5392 @kindex / d (Summary)
5393 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5394 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5395 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5398 @kindex / M (Summary)
5399 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5400 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5403 @kindex / T (Summary)
5404 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5405 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5408 @kindex / c (Summary)
5409 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5410 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5411 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5414 @kindex / C (Summary)
5415 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5416 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5417 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5418 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5426 @cindex article threading
5428 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5429 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5430 hierarchical fashion.
5432 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5433 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5434 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5435 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
5436 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5437 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5438 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5440 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5444 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5447 A tree-like article structure.
5450 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5453 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5454 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5455 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5456 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5457 called loose threads.
5459 @item thread gathering
5460 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5462 @item sparse threads
5463 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5464 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5470 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5471 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5475 @node Customizing Threading
5476 @subsection Customizing Threading
5477 @cindex customizing threading
5480 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5481 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5482 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5483 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5488 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5491 @cindex loose threads
5494 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5495 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5496 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5497 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5498 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5499 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5501 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
5502 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
5503 There are four possible values:
5507 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5508 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5509 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5510 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5511 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5516 @cindex adopting articles
5521 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5522 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5523 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5524 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5527 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5528 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5529 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5530 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5531 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5532 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5533 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5536 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5537 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5538 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5542 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5543 display them after one another.
5546 Don't gather loose threads.
5549 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5550 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5551 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5552 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
5553 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5554 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5555 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5556 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5557 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5558 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
5559 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5561 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5562 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
5563 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5566 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5567 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5568 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5569 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5570 simplification is used.
5572 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5573 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5574 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5575 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5577 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5579 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5585 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5586 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5587 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5588 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5593 (mapconcat 'identity
5594 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5596 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5599 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5602 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5603 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5604 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5605 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5606 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5607 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5609 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5612 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5613 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5614 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5616 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5617 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5620 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5621 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5622 Remove excessive whitespace.
5625 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5628 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5629 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5630 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5631 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5632 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5633 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5634 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5635 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5637 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5638 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5639 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5640 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5641 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5642 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5643 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5644 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5645 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5649 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5650 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5651 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5652 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5654 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5655 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5656 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5659 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5663 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5664 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5670 @node Filling In Threads
5671 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5674 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5675 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5676 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5677 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5678 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5679 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5680 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5681 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5682 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5683 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5684 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5685 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
5687 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5688 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5689 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5691 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5692 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5693 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5694 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5695 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5696 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5697 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
5698 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5699 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
5700 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
5701 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5702 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
5703 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5704 @code{nil} by default.
5709 @node More Threading
5710 @subsubsection More Threading
5713 @item gnus-show-threads
5714 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5715 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5716 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5717 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5718 slower and more awkward.
5720 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5721 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5722 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5725 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5726 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5727 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5728 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5729 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5730 threads are expunged.
5732 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5733 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5734 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5737 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5738 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5739 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5740 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5741 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5744 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5745 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5746 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5749 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5750 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5751 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5752 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5753 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5754 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5755 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
5756 Setting this variable to an alternate value
5757 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5758 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5759 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5764 @node Low-Level Threading
5765 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5769 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5770 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5771 Hook run before parsing any headers.
5773 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5774 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5775 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5776 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5777 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5778 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5779 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5780 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5781 meaningful. Here's one example:
5784 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5786 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5787 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5789 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5791 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5798 @node Thread Commands
5799 @subsection Thread Commands
5800 @cindex thread commands
5806 @kindex T k (Summary)
5807 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5808 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5809 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5810 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5811 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5816 @kindex T l (Summary)
5817 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5818 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5819 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5820 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5823 @kindex T i (Summary)
5824 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5825 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5826 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5829 @kindex T # (Summary)
5830 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5831 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5832 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5835 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5836 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5837 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5838 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5841 @kindex T T (Summary)
5842 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5843 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5846 @kindex T s (Summary)
5847 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5848 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5849 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5852 @kindex T h (Summary)
5853 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5854 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5857 @kindex T S (Summary)
5858 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5859 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5862 @kindex T H (Summary)
5863 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5864 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5867 @kindex T t (Summary)
5868 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5869 Re-thread the current article's thread
5870 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5871 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5874 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5875 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5876 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5877 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5881 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5882 understand the numeric prefix.
5887 @kindex T n (Summary)
5889 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
5891 @kindex M-down (Summary)
5892 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5893 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5896 @kindex T p (Summary)
5898 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
5900 @kindex M-up (Summary)
5901 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5902 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5905 @kindex T d (Summary)
5906 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5907 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5910 @kindex T u (Summary)
5911 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5912 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5915 @kindex T o (Summary)
5916 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5917 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5920 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5921 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5922 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5923 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5924 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5925 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5926 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5927 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5928 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5929 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5930 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5931 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5938 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5939 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5940 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5941 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5942 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5943 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5944 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5945 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5946 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5947 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5948 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5950 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5951 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5952 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5953 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5954 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5956 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5957 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5958 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
5960 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
5961 last function in the list. You should probably always include
5962 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5963 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5964 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5965 ascending article order.
5967 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
5968 by number, you could do something like:
5971 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5972 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5973 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5974 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
5977 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5978 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5979 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5980 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5981 which the articles arrived.
5983 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5987 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5989 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5990 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5993 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5994 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5995 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5996 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5999 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6000 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6001 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6002 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6003 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6004 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6005 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6006 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6007 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6008 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6009 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6010 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6011 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6013 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6017 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6018 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6019 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6024 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6025 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6026 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6027 @cindex article pre-fetch
6030 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6031 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6032 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6033 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6034 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6036 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6037 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6039 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6040 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6041 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6042 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6043 connection is blocked.
6045 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6046 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6047 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6048 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6050 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6051 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6052 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6053 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6056 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6059 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6060 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6061 happen automatically.
6063 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6064 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6065 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6066 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
6067 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
6068 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6069 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6071 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6072 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6073 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6074 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6075 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6076 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6077 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6078 data structure as the only parameter.
6080 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6083 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6084 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6085 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6086 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6089 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6092 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6093 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6094 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6096 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6097 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6098 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6099 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6103 Remove articles when they are read.
6106 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6109 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6111 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6112 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6113 @c from the next group.
6116 @node Article Caching
6117 @section Article Caching
6118 @cindex article caching
6121 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6122 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6123 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6124 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6125 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6127 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6129 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6130 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6131 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6132 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6133 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6134 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6135 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
6136 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6138 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6139 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6140 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6141 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6142 as dormant, and don't worry.
6144 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6146 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6147 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6148 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6149 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6150 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6151 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6152 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6153 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6154 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6155 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6157 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6158 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6159 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6160 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6161 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6162 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6163 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6164 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6165 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6166 not then be downloaded by this command.
6168 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6169 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6170 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6171 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6172 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6173 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6175 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6176 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6177 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6178 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6179 variables, the group is not cached.
6181 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6182 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6183 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6184 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6185 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6186 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6187 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6188 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6189 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6193 @node Persistent Articles
6194 @section Persistent Articles
6195 @cindex persistent articles
6197 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6198 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6199 useful in my opinion.
6201 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6202 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6203 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6204 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6205 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6206 the expiry going on at the news server.
6208 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6209 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6210 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6216 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6217 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6220 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6221 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6222 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6223 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6227 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6229 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6230 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6231 interested in persistent articles:
6234 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6238 @node Article Backlog
6239 @section Article Backlog
6241 @cindex article backlog
6243 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6244 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6245 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6246 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6247 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6248 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6249 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6250 increase memory usage some.
6252 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6253 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6254 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6255 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6256 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6257 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6258 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6260 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6263 @node Saving Articles
6264 @section Saving Articles
6265 @cindex saving articles
6267 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6268 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6269 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6270 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6271 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6273 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6274 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6275 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6277 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6278 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6279 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6280 deleted before saving.
6286 @kindex O o (Summary)
6288 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6289 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6290 Save the current article using the default article saver
6291 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6294 @kindex O m (Summary)
6295 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6296 Save the current article in mail format
6297 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6300 @kindex O r (Summary)
6301 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6302 Save the current article in rmail format
6303 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6306 @kindex O f (Summary)
6307 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6308 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6309 Save the current article in plain file format
6310 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6313 @kindex O F (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6315 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6316 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6319 @kindex O b (Summary)
6320 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6321 Save the current article body in plain file format
6322 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6325 @kindex O h (Summary)
6326 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6327 Save the current article in mh folder format
6328 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6331 @kindex O v (Summary)
6332 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6333 Save the current article in a VM folder
6334 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6337 @kindex O p (Summary)
6338 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6339 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6340 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6343 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6344 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6345 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6346 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6347 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6348 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6349 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6350 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6351 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6352 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6353 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6354 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6358 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6359 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6360 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6361 functions below, or you can create your own.
6365 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6366 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6367 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6368 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6369 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6370 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6371 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6373 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6374 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6375 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6376 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6377 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6378 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6380 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6381 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6382 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6383 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6384 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6385 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6386 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6388 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6389 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6390 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6391 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6392 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6394 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6395 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6396 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6397 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6398 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6401 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6402 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6403 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6404 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6405 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6407 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6408 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6409 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6410 reader to use this setting.
6413 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6414 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6415 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6416 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6419 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6420 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6421 available functions that generate names:
6425 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6426 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6427 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6429 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6430 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6431 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6433 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6434 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6435 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6437 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6438 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6439 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6442 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6443 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6444 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6445 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6446 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6450 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6451 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6452 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6453 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6456 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6457 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6458 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6459 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6460 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6461 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6462 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6463 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6464 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6466 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6467 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6468 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6469 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6471 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6472 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6473 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6476 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6477 lots of mail groups called things like
6478 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6479 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6480 following will do just that:
6483 (defun my-save-name (group)
6484 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6485 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6487 (setq gnus-split-methods
6488 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6493 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6494 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6495 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6496 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6497 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6498 all the files in the top level directory
6499 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6500 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6501 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6502 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6504 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6505 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6506 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6507 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6508 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6511 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6515 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6516 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6519 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6520 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6521 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6522 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6525 @node Decoding Articles
6526 @section Decoding Articles
6527 @cindex decoding articles
6529 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6530 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6533 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6534 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6535 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6536 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6537 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6538 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6542 @cindex article series
6543 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6544 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6545 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6546 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6547 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6549 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6550 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6551 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6553 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
6554 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6555 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6557 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6558 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6559 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6562 @node Uuencoded Articles
6563 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6565 @cindex uuencoded articles
6570 @kindex X u (Summary)
6571 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6572 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6573 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6576 @kindex X U (Summary)
6577 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6578 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6579 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6582 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6583 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6584 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6587 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6588 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6589 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6590 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6594 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6595 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6596 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6597 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6598 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6600 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6601 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6602 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6603 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6606 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6607 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6608 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6609 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6610 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6611 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6615 @node Shell Archives
6616 @subsection Shell Archives
6618 @cindex shell archives
6619 @cindex shared articles
6621 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6622 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6623 some commands to deal with these:
6628 @kindex X s (Summary)
6629 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6630 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6633 @kindex X S (Summary)
6634 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6635 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6638 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6639 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6640 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6643 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6644 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6645 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6646 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6650 @node PostScript Files
6651 @subsection PostScript Files
6657 @kindex X p (Summary)
6658 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6659 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6662 @kindex X P (Summary)
6663 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6664 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6665 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6668 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6669 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6670 View the current PostScript series
6671 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6674 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6675 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6676 View and save the current PostScript series
6677 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6682 @subsection Other Files
6686 @kindex X o (Summary)
6687 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6688 Save the current series
6689 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6692 @kindex X b (Summary)
6693 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6694 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6695 doesn't really work yet.
6699 @node Decoding Variables
6700 @subsection Decoding Variables
6702 Adjective, not verb.
6705 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6706 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6707 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6711 @node Rule Variables
6712 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6713 @cindex rule variables
6715 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6716 variables are of the form
6719 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6726 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6727 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6729 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6730 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6733 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6734 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6737 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6738 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6739 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6740 user and default view rules.
6742 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6743 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6744 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6749 @node Other Decode Variables
6750 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6753 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6755 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6756 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6757 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6758 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6759 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6763 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6764 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6767 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6768 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6769 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6772 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6773 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6774 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6775 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6776 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6779 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6780 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6781 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6783 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6784 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6785 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6786 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6787 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6790 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6791 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6792 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6794 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6795 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6796 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6797 looking for files to display.
6799 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6800 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6801 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6804 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6805 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6806 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6809 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6810 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6811 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6814 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6815 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6816 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6819 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6820 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6821 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6822 decoded articles as unread.
6824 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6825 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6826 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6827 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6829 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6830 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6831 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6833 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6834 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6836 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6837 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6838 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6839 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6841 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6842 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6843 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6844 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6845 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6846 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
6847 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6848 simply dropped them.
6853 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6854 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6858 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6859 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6860 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6861 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6862 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6863 for you when you post the article.
6865 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6866 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6867 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6868 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6870 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6871 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6872 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6873 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6874 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6875 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6876 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6878 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6879 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6880 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6881 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6882 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6883 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6884 Default is @code{t}.
6890 @subsection Viewing Files
6891 @cindex viewing files
6892 @cindex pseudo-articles
6894 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
6895 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6896 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6897 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
6898 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6899 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6900 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6902 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6903 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6904 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6905 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6907 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6908 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6909 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6911 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6912 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6913 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6914 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6915 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6917 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6918 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6919 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6920 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6921 a list of parameters to that command.
6923 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6924 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6925 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6927 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6928 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6929 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6932 @node Article Treatment
6933 @section Article Treatment
6935 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6936 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6937 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6938 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6939 these articles easier.
6942 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6943 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6944 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6945 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6946 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6947 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6948 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6949 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
6953 @node Article Highlighting
6954 @subsection Article Highlighting
6955 @cindex highlighting
6957 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6958 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6963 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6964 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6965 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6966 Do much highlighting of the current article
6967 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6968 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6971 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6972 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6973 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6974 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6975 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6976 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
6977 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
6978 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6979 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6980 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6981 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6982 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6985 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6986 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6987 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6989 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6992 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6994 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6995 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6996 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6998 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6999 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
7000 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
7002 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7003 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7004 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7006 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7007 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7008 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7009 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7010 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7011 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7013 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7014 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7015 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7017 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7018 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7019 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7021 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7022 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7023 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7024 that it's a citation.
7026 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7027 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7028 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7030 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7031 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7032 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7034 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7035 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7036 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7037 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7043 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7044 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7045 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7046 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7047 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7048 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7049 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7050 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7055 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7058 @node Article Fontisizing
7059 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7061 @cindex article emphasis
7063 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7064 @kindex W e (Summary)
7065 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7066 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7067 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7068 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7070 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7071 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7072 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7073 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7074 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7075 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7076 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7077 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7081 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
7082 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7083 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7092 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7093 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7094 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7095 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7096 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7097 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7098 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7099 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7100 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7101 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7102 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7103 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7104 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7106 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7107 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7108 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7112 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7115 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7117 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7118 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7119 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7120 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7122 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7125 @node Article Hiding
7126 @subsection Article Hiding
7127 @cindex article hiding
7129 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7130 too much cruft in most articles.
7135 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7136 @findex gnus-article-hide
7137 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7138 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7139 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7142 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7143 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7144 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7148 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7149 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7150 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7151 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7154 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7155 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7156 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7160 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7161 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7162 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7163 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7164 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7165 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7166 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7167 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7171 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7172 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7173 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7174 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7179 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7180 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7181 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7182 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7183 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7184 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7185 articles that have signatures in them do:
7187 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7189 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7191 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7192 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7194 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7197 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7202 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7203 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7204 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7205 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7208 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7209 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7212 @cindex stripping advertisments
7213 @cindex advertisments
7214 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7215 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7216 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7217 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7218 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7219 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7220 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7221 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7222 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7223 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7227 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7228 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7229 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7230 customizing the hiding:
7234 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7235 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7236 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7237 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7238 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7239 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7240 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7245 Starting point of the hidden text.
7247 Ending point of the hidden text.
7249 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7251 Number of lines of hidden text.
7254 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7255 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7256 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7257 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7258 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7263 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7264 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7266 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7267 following two variables:
7270 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7271 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7272 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7273 50), hide the cited text.
7275 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7276 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7277 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7282 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7283 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7284 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7285 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7286 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7287 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7291 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7292 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7293 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7295 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7296 citation customization.
7298 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7302 @node Article Washing
7303 @subsection Article Washing
7305 @cindex article washing
7307 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7308 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7310 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7311 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7317 @kindex W l (Summary)
7318 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7319 Remove page breaks from the current article
7320 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7324 @kindex W r (Summary)
7325 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7326 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7327 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7328 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7329 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7330 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7332 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7333 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7334 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7335 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7339 @kindex W t (Summary)
7341 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7342 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7343 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7346 @kindex W v (Summary)
7347 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7348 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7349 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7352 @kindex W o (Summary)
7353 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7354 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7357 @kindex W d (Summary)
7358 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7359 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7361 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
7363 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7364 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7365 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7366 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7370 @kindex W w (Summary)
7371 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7372 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7374 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7378 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7379 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7380 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7383 @kindex W C (Summary)
7384 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7385 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7386 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7389 @kindex W c (Summary)
7390 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7391 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7392 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7393 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7394 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7397 @kindex W q (Summary)
7398 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7399 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7400 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7401 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7402 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7403 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7404 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7405 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7408 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7409 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7410 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7411 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7412 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7413 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7414 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7418 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7419 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7420 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7421 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7422 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7425 @kindex W h (Summary)
7426 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7427 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7428 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7429 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7433 @kindex W f (Summary)
7435 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7436 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7437 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7438 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7444 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7445 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7446 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7447 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7448 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7449 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7450 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7451 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7452 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7453 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7454 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7455 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7456 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7457 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7458 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7459 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7460 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7461 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7462 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7463 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7467 @kindex W b (Summary)
7468 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7469 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7470 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7473 @kindex W B (Summary)
7474 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7475 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7476 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7479 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7480 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7481 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7482 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7485 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7486 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7487 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7488 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7491 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7492 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7493 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7494 lines with a single empty line.
7495 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7498 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7499 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7500 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7501 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7504 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7505 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7506 Do all the three commands above
7507 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7510 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7511 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7512 Remove all blank lines
7513 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7516 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7517 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7518 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7519 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7522 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7523 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7524 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7525 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7529 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7532 @node Article Buttons
7533 @subsection Article Buttons
7536 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7537 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7538 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7539 button on these references.
7541 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7542 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7543 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7548 @item gnus-button-alist
7549 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7550 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7553 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7559 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
7560 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
7561 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
7564 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
7565 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
7566 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
7569 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
7570 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
7571 avoid false matches.
7574 This function will be called when you click on this button.
7577 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
7578 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
7582 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
7585 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
7588 @item gnus-header-button-alist
7589 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
7590 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7591 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7592 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7595 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7598 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7600 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7601 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7602 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7603 default values of the variables above.
7605 @item gnus-article-button-face
7606 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7607 Face used on buttons.
7609 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7610 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7611 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7615 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7619 @subsection Article Date
7621 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7622 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7623 when the article was sent.
7628 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7629 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7630 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7631 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7634 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7635 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7637 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7638 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7641 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7642 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7643 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7646 @kindex W T s (Summary)
7647 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
7648 @findex gnus-article-date-user
7649 @findex format-time-string
7650 Display the date using a user-defined format
7651 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
7652 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
7653 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
7654 for a list of possible format specs.
7657 @kindex W T e (Summary)
7658 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
7659 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
7660 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
7661 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
7662 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
7665 X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
7668 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
7669 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7672 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7673 into wonderful absurdities.
7675 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7678 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7681 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7682 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7686 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7687 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7688 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7689 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7690 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7691 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7692 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7696 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7697 preferred format automatically.
7700 @node Article Signature
7701 @subsection Article Signature
7703 @cindex article signature
7705 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7706 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7707 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7708 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7709 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7710 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7711 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7712 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7713 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7716 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7717 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7718 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7719 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7720 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7721 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7722 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7723 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7726 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7729 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7730 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7731 signature when displaying articles.
7735 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7738 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7741 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7742 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7744 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7745 in question is not a signature.
7748 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7749 listed above. Here's an example:
7752 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7753 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7756 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7757 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7758 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7759 signature after all.
7762 @node Article Miscellania
7763 @subsection Article Miscellania
7767 @kindex A t (Summary)
7768 @findex gnus-article-babel
7769 Translate the article from one language to another
7770 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7776 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7777 @cindex MIME decoding
7779 @cindex viewing attachments
7781 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
7782 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
7788 @kindex K v (Summary)
7789 View the @sc{mime} part.
7792 @kindex K o (Summary)
7793 Save the @sc{mime} part.
7796 @kindex K c (Summary)
7797 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
7800 @kindex K e (Summary)
7801 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
7804 @kindex K i (Summary)
7805 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
7808 @kindex K | (Summary)
7809 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
7812 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
7817 @kindex K b (Summary)
7818 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
7819 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
7823 @kindex K m (Summary)
7824 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
7825 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
7826 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
7827 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
7828 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
7831 @kindex X m (Summary)
7832 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7833 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
7834 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
7835 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7838 @kindex M-t (Summary)
7839 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
7840 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
7841 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
7844 @kindex W M w (Summary)
7845 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
7846 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
7849 @kindex W M c (Summary)
7850 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
7851 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
7853 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
7854 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
7855 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
7856 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
7857 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
7858 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
7861 @kindex W M v (Summary)
7862 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
7863 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
7870 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
7871 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
7872 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7873 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
7876 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
7879 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
7883 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7884 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7885 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7886 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
7887 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
7889 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
7890 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
7891 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
7892 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
7893 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
7894 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
7895 save all jpegs into some directory).
7897 Here's an example function the does the latter:
7900 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
7901 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
7903 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
7904 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
7905 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
7906 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
7907 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
7910 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7911 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7912 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
7921 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
7922 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
7923 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
7924 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
7925 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
7926 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
7927 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
7929 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
7930 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
7931 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
7932 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
7934 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
7935 aren't. These blitely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
7936 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
7937 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
7938 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
7939 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
7940 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
7941 something some agents insist on having in there.
7943 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
7944 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
7945 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
7946 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
7947 quoted-printable header encoding.
7949 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
7950 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
7951 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
7955 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
7958 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
7959 means encode all charsets),
7961 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
7962 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
7963 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
7970 @cindex coding system aliases
7971 @cindex preferred charset
7973 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
7975 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
7976 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
7979 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
7980 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
7983 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
7984 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
7986 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
7989 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
7992 This will almost do the right thing.
7994 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
7998 (codepage-setup 1251)
7999 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8003 @node Article Commands
8004 @section Article Commands
8011 @kindex A P (Summary)
8012 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8013 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8014 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8015 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8016 run just before printing the buffer.
8021 @node Summary Sorting
8022 @section Summary Sorting
8023 @cindex summary sorting
8025 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8026 can't really see why you'd want that.
8031 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8032 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8033 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8036 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8037 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8038 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8041 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8042 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8043 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8046 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8047 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8048 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8051 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8052 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8053 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8056 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8057 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8058 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8061 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8062 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8063 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8066 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8067 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8068 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8069 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8070 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8074 @node Finding the Parent
8075 @section Finding the Parent
8076 @cindex parent articles
8077 @cindex referring articles
8082 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8083 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8084 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8085 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8086 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8087 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8088 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8089 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8090 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8092 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8093 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8094 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8095 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8096 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8100 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8101 @kindex A R (Summary)
8102 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8103 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8106 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8107 @kindex A T (Summary)
8108 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8109 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8110 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8111 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8112 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8113 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8114 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8116 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8117 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8118 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8119 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8120 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8121 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8124 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8125 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8127 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8128 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8129 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8130 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8131 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8132 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8133 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8136 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8137 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8138 by giving this command a prefix.
8140 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8141 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
8142 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8143 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8144 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8145 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8148 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8149 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8150 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8153 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8154 then ask Deja if that fails:
8157 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8159 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8162 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
8163 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
8164 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8165 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
8166 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
8167 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
8170 @node Alternative Approaches
8171 @section Alternative Approaches
8173 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8174 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8177 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8178 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8183 @subsection Pick and Read
8184 @cindex pick and read
8186 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8187 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8188 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8189 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8191 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8192 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8193 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8194 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8195 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8196 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8198 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8203 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8204 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8205 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8206 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8207 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8208 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8209 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8210 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8213 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8214 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8215 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8216 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8220 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8221 Unpick the thread or article
8222 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8223 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8224 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8225 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8226 the thread or article at that line.
8230 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8231 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8232 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8233 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8234 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8235 will still be visible when you are reading.
8239 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8240 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8241 which is mapped to the same function
8242 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8244 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8247 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8250 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8251 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8253 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8254 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8255 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8257 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8258 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8259 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8260 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8261 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8262 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8263 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8267 @subsection Binary Groups
8268 @cindex binary groups
8270 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8271 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8272 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8273 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8274 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8275 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8276 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8279 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8280 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8281 command, when you have turned on this mode
8282 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8284 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8285 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8289 @section Tree Display
8292 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8293 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8294 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8295 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8298 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8301 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8302 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8303 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8305 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8306 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8307 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8308 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8309 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8311 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8312 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8313 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8314 default is @code{modeline}.
8316 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8317 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8318 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8319 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8320 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8321 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8322 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8328 The name of the poster.
8330 The @code{From} header.
8332 The number of the article.
8334 The opening bracket.
8336 The closing bracket.
8341 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8343 Variables related to the display are:
8346 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8347 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8348 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8349 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8350 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8351 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8353 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8354 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8355 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8356 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8360 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8361 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8362 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
8363 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
8364 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8365 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8366 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8367 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8368 other windows displayed next to it.
8370 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8371 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8372 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8373 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8374 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8375 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8376 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8380 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8383 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8393 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8397 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8398 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8400 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8402 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8407 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8408 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8409 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8412 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8413 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8414 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8415 (gnus-add-configuration
8419 (summary 0.75 point)
8424 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
8427 @node Mail Group Commands
8428 @section Mail Group Commands
8429 @cindex mail group commands
8431 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8432 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8434 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8435 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8440 @kindex B e (Summary)
8441 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8442 Expire all expirable articles in the group
8443 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
8446 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8447 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8448 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8449 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8450 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8451 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8454 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8455 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8456 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8457 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8458 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8459 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8462 @kindex B m (Summary)
8464 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8465 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8466 Move the article from one mail group to another
8467 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8468 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8471 @kindex B c (Summary)
8473 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8474 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8475 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8476 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8477 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8480 @kindex B B (Summary)
8481 @cindex crosspost mail
8482 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8483 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8484 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8485 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8486 be properly updated.
8489 @kindex B i (Summary)
8490 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8491 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8492 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8493 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
8496 @kindex B r (Summary)
8497 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
8498 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
8499 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
8500 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
8501 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
8502 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
8503 (which is the default).
8507 @kindex B w (Summary)
8509 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
8510 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
8511 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
8512 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
8513 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
8514 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
8517 @kindex B q (Summary)
8518 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
8519 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
8520 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
8521 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
8524 @kindex B t (Summary)
8525 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
8526 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
8527 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
8530 @kindex B p (Summary)
8531 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
8532 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
8533 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
8534 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
8535 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
8536 article from your news server (or rather, from
8537 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
8538 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
8539 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
8540 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
8541 just not have arrived yet.
8545 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
8546 @cindex moving articles
8547 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
8548 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
8549 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
8550 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
8551 suggestions you find reasonable.
8554 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
8555 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
8556 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
8557 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
8561 @node Various Summary Stuff
8562 @section Various Summary Stuff
8565 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
8566 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
8567 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
8568 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
8572 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
8573 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
8574 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
8576 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
8577 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
8578 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
8579 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
8580 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
8581 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
8584 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8585 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8586 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
8587 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
8588 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
8590 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8591 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8592 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
8595 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8596 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8597 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
8598 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
8599 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
8600 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
8601 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
8602 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
8603 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
8604 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
8606 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8607 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8608 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
8609 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
8610 list of articles to be selected.
8612 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
8613 the list in one particular group:
8616 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
8617 (if (string= group "some.group")
8618 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
8625 @node Summary Group Information
8626 @subsection Summary Group Information
8631 @kindex H f (Summary)
8632 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
8633 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
8634 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
8635 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
8636 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
8637 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
8638 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
8639 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
8640 be used for fetching the file.
8643 @kindex H d (Summary)
8644 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
8645 Give a brief description of the current group
8646 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
8647 rereading the description from the server.
8650 @kindex H h (Summary)
8651 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
8652 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
8653 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
8656 @kindex H i (Summary)
8657 @findex gnus-info-find-node
8658 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
8662 @node Searching for Articles
8663 @subsection Searching for Articles
8668 @kindex M-s (Summary)
8669 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
8670 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
8671 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
8674 @kindex M-r (Summary)
8675 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
8676 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
8677 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
8681 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
8682 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
8683 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
8684 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
8685 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
8686 search backward instead.
8688 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
8689 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
8692 @kindex M-& (Summary)
8693 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
8694 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
8695 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
8698 @node Summary Generation Commands
8699 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
8704 @kindex Y g (Summary)
8705 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
8706 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
8709 @kindex Y c (Summary)
8710 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
8711 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
8712 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
8717 @node Really Various Summary Commands
8718 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
8724 @kindex C-d (Summary)
8725 @kindex A D (Summary)
8726 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
8727 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
8728 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
8729 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
8730 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
8731 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
8732 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
8733 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
8737 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
8738 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
8739 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
8740 several documents into one biiig group
8741 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
8742 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
8743 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
8744 command understands the process/prefix convention
8745 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8748 @kindex C-t (Summary)
8749 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
8750 Toggle truncation of summary lines
8751 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
8752 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
8753 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
8757 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
8758 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
8759 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
8762 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
8763 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
8764 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8765 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
8768 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
8769 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
8770 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8771 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
8776 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
8777 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
8778 @cindex summary exit
8779 @cindex exiting groups
8781 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
8782 group and return you to the group buffer.
8788 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
8790 @findex gnus-summary-exit
8791 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
8792 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
8793 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
8794 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
8795 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
8796 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
8797 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
8798 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
8799 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
8800 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
8804 @kindex Z E (Summary)
8806 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
8807 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
8808 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
8812 @kindex Z c (Summary)
8814 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
8815 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
8816 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
8817 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
8820 @kindex Z C (Summary)
8821 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
8822 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
8823 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
8826 @kindex Z n (Summary)
8827 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
8828 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
8829 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
8832 @kindex Z R (Summary)
8833 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
8834 Exit this group, and then enter it again
8835 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
8836 all articles, both read and unread.
8840 @kindex Z G (Summary)
8841 @kindex M-g (Summary)
8842 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
8843 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
8844 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
8845 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
8846 articles, both read and unread.
8849 @kindex Z N (Summary)
8850 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
8851 Exit the group and go to the next group
8852 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
8855 @kindex Z P (Summary)
8856 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
8857 Exit the group and go to the previous group
8858 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
8861 @kindex Z s (Summary)
8862 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
8863 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
8864 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
8865 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
8866 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
8869 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
8870 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
8871 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
8872 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
8874 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
8875 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
8876 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
8877 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
8878 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
8879 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
8880 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
8881 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
8882 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
8883 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
8884 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
8885 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
8887 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
8889 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
8890 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
8891 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
8892 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
8893 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
8894 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
8895 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
8896 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
8897 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
8900 @node Crosspost Handling
8901 @section Crosspost Handling
8905 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
8906 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
8907 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
8908 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
8909 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
8910 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
8913 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
8914 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
8915 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
8916 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
8917 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
8919 @cindex cross-posting
8922 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
8923 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
8924 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
8925 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
8926 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
8927 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
8928 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
8929 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
8930 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
8931 the cross reference mechanism.
8933 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
8934 @cindex overview.fmt
8935 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
8936 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
8937 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
8938 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
8939 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
8940 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
8943 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
8944 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
8945 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
8950 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
8953 @node Duplicate Suppression
8954 @section Duplicate Suppression
8956 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
8957 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
8958 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
8959 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
8964 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
8965 is evil and not very common.
8968 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
8969 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
8972 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
8973 different @sc{nntp} servers.
8976 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
8979 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
8980 well, but these four are the most common situations.
8982 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
8983 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
8984 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
8985 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
8986 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
8987 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
8988 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
8991 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
8992 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
8993 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
8994 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
8995 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
8999 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9000 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9001 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9003 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9004 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9005 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9006 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9007 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9008 session are suppressed.
9010 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9011 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9012 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9013 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9015 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9016 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9017 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9018 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9021 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9022 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9023 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9024 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9025 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9026 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9027 to you to figure out, I think.
9030 @node The Article Buffer
9031 @chapter The Article Buffer
9032 @cindex article buffer
9034 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9035 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9036 tell Gnus otherwise.
9039 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9040 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9041 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9042 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9043 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9047 @node Hiding Headers
9048 @section Hiding Headers
9049 @cindex hiding headers
9050 @cindex deleting headers
9052 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9053 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9055 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9056 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9057 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9058 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9059 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9060 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9061 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9062 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9063 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9065 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9069 @item gnus-visible-headers
9070 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9071 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9072 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9073 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9075 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9076 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9079 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9082 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9085 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9086 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9087 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9088 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9089 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9090 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9092 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9093 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9096 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9099 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9102 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9103 variable will have no effect.
9107 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9108 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9109 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9110 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9111 the headers are to be displayed.
9113 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9114 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9117 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9120 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9121 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9123 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9124 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9125 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9126 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-header} to @code{head}. What this function
9127 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9128 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9129 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9132 These conditions are:
9135 Remove all empty headers.
9137 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9138 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9140 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9143 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9146 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9149 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9151 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9154 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
9157 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9158 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9161 This is also the default value for this variable.
9165 @section Using @sc{mime}
9168 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9169 while people stand around yawning.
9171 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9172 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9174 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9175 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9176 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9178 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9179 @findex gnus-display-mime
9180 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9181 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9182 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9183 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9185 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9189 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9191 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9192 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9193 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9195 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9196 @item M-RET (Article)
9198 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9199 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9201 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9203 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9204 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9206 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9208 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9209 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9211 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9213 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9214 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9216 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
9218 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
9220 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9222 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9223 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
9224 the raw contens without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
9225 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
9226 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
9229 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
9231 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
9232 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
9236 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
9237 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
9240 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
9241 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
9242 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
9243 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
9244 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
9245 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
9246 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
9247 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
9248 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
9250 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9252 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9255 @node Customizing Articles
9256 @section Customizing Articles
9257 @cindex article customization
9259 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9260 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9261 called automatically when you select the articles.
9263 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9264 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9265 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9266 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9268 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9269 for sensible values.
9273 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9276 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9279 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9282 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9285 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9289 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9290 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9291 regexps in the list.
9294 A list where the first element is not a string:
9296 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9297 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9298 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9302 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9307 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9308 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9309 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9310 considered to contain just a single part.
9312 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9313 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9314 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9315 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9316 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9317 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9318 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9320 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9321 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9322 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9323 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9326 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9327 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9328 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9329 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9330 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9331 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9332 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9333 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9334 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9335 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9336 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9337 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9338 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9339 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9340 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9341 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9342 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9343 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9344 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9345 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9346 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9347 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9348 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9349 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9350 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9351 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9352 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9353 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9354 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9355 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9356 @item gnus-treat-translate
9359 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9360 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9361 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9362 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9363 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9367 @node Article Keymap
9368 @section Article Keymap
9370 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9371 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9372 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9373 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9376 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9381 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9382 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9383 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9386 @kindex DEL (Article)
9387 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9388 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9391 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9392 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9393 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9394 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9395 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9398 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9399 @findex gnus-article-mail
9400 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9401 given a prefix, include the mail.
9405 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9406 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9407 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9411 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9412 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9413 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9416 @kindex TAB (Article)
9417 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9418 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9419 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9422 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9423 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9424 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
9430 @section Misc Article
9434 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
9435 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
9436 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
9437 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
9440 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
9441 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
9443 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
9444 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
9446 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
9447 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
9448 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
9449 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
9450 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
9451 the contents of the article buffer.
9453 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
9454 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
9455 Hook called in article mode buffers.
9457 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9458 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9459 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
9460 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
9462 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
9463 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
9464 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
9465 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
9466 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
9471 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
9472 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
9475 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
9478 @vindex gnus-break-pages
9480 @item gnus-break-pages
9481 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
9482 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
9483 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
9484 paging will not be done.
9486 @item gnus-page-delimiter
9487 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
9488 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
9493 @node Composing Messages
9494 @chapter Composing Messages
9495 @cindex composing messages
9498 @cindex sending mail
9504 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
9505 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
9506 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
9507 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
9508 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
9509 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
9512 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
9513 * Post:: Posting and following up.
9514 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
9515 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
9516 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
9517 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
9518 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
9519 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
9520 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
9523 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
9524 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
9530 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
9533 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
9534 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
9535 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
9536 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
9538 @item gnus-add-to-list
9539 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
9540 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
9541 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
9543 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
9544 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
9545 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
9546 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
9547 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
9555 Variables for composing news articles:
9558 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
9559 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
9560 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
9561 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
9562 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
9563 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
9564 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
9565 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
9566 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
9569 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
9570 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
9571 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
9572 file. It is 1000 by default.
9577 @node Posting Server
9578 @section Posting Server
9580 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
9581 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
9583 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
9585 @vindex gnus-post-method
9587 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
9588 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
9589 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
9590 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
9591 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
9594 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
9597 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
9598 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
9599 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
9600 the ``current'' server for posting.
9602 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
9603 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
9605 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
9606 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
9609 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
9610 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
9611 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
9616 @section Mail and Post
9618 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
9622 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
9623 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
9624 @cindex mailing lists
9626 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
9627 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
9628 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
9629 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
9630 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
9631 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
9632 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
9633 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
9634 still a pain, though.
9638 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
9639 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
9640 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
9643 @findex ispell-message
9645 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
9648 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
9649 you're in, you could say something like the following:
9652 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
9655 ((string-match "^de\\." gnus-newsgroup-name)
9656 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
9658 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
9661 Modify to suit your needs.
9664 @node Archived Messages
9665 @section Archived Messages
9666 @cindex archived messages
9667 @cindex sent messages
9669 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
9670 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
9671 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
9672 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
9675 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
9676 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
9677 use to store sent messages. The default is:
9681 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
9682 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
9683 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
9684 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
9687 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
9688 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
9689 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
9690 directory chosen, you could say something like:
9693 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
9694 '(nnfolder "archive"
9695 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
9696 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
9697 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
9700 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
9702 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
9703 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
9704 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
9706 This variable can be used to do the following:
9710 Messages will be saved in that group.
9712 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
9713 message will not be stored in the select method given by
9714 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
9715 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
9716 has the default value shown above. Then setting
9717 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
9718 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
9719 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
9721 @item a list of strings
9722 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
9723 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
9724 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
9726 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
9731 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
9733 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
9736 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
9738 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
9741 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
9743 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9744 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
9745 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
9746 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
9751 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9752 '((if (message-news-p)
9757 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
9758 messages in one file per month:
9761 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9762 '((if (message-news-p)
9764 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
9767 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
9768 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
9770 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
9771 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
9772 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
9773 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
9774 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
9775 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
9776 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
9777 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
9778 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
9779 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
9781 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
9782 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
9783 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
9784 this will disable archiving.
9787 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
9788 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
9789 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
9790 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
9791 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
9794 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
9795 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
9796 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
9799 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
9800 but the latter is the preferred method.
9804 @node Posting Styles
9805 @section Posting Styles
9806 @cindex posting styles
9809 All them variables, they make my head swim.
9811 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
9812 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
9813 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
9816 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
9817 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
9818 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
9819 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
9820 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
9825 (signature "Peace and happiness")
9826 (organization "What me?"))
9828 (signature "Death to everybody"))
9829 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
9830 (organization "Emacs is it")))
9833 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
9834 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
9835 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
9836 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
9837 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
9838 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
9839 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
9840 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
9842 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
9843 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
9844 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header that
9845 match the next element in the match, and compare that to the last header
9846 in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function will be called
9847 with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
9848 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
9849 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
9852 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
9853 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} . @var{value})} pair. The
9854 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
9855 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
9856 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
9857 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
9858 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
9859 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
9860 result is thrown away.
9862 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
9863 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
9864 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
9865 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
9866 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
9867 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
9869 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
9870 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
9871 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
9873 @findex message-mail-p
9874 @findex message-news-p
9876 So here's a new example:
9879 (setq gnus-posting-styles
9881 (signature-file "~/.signature")
9883 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
9884 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
9886 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
9887 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
9888 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
9890 (signature my-news-signature))
9891 (header "From\\|To" "larsi.*org"
9892 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
9893 ((posting-from-work-p)
9894 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
9895 (address "user@@bar.foo")
9896 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
9897 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
9899 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
9907 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
9908 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
9909 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
9910 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
9911 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
9913 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
9914 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
9915 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
9916 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
9917 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
9921 @vindex nndraft-directory
9922 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
9923 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
9924 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
9925 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
9926 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
9927 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
9929 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
9930 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
9933 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
9934 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
9935 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
9936 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
9937 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
9938 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
9939 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
9940 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
9941 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
9942 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
9943 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
9944 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
9945 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
9946 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
9948 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
9949 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
9950 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
9952 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
9954 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
9955 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
9956 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
9958 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
9961 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
9962 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
9963 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
9964 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
9965 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
9966 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
9967 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
9970 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
9971 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
9972 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
9975 @node Rejected Articles
9976 @section Rejected Articles
9977 @cindex rejected articles
9979 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
9980 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
9981 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
9982 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
9984 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
9985 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
9986 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
9987 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
9988 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
9990 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
9991 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
9992 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
9998 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el} and
9999 @file{mml2015.el}. When viewing signed or encrypted messages, Gnus automatically
10000 asks if you want to verify or decrypt them.
10002 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10003 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10006 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10007 (setq gpg-temp-directory "~/.gnupg/tmp")
10010 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10011 to 700, for your own safety.
10013 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10014 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10018 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10021 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10022 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10025 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10028 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security menu or
10029 @kbd{M-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME, @kbd{M-m s s} to sign your
10030 message using S/MIME. There's also @kbd{M-m c p} to encrypt your message with
10031 PGP/MIME and @kbd{M-m c s} to encrypt using S/MIME.
10033 Gnus will ask for your passphrase three times and then it will send your
10034 message, if you've typed it correctly.
10037 @node Select Methods
10038 @chapter Select Methods
10039 @cindex foreign groups
10040 @cindex select methods
10042 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10043 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10044 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10045 personal mail group.
10047 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10048 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10049 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10050 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10051 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10052 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
10054 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10055 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
10057 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
10060 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10061 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10062 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10063 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10064 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10066 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10069 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10070 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10071 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10072 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10073 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10074 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10075 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10079 @node The Server Buffer
10080 @section The Server Buffer
10082 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10083 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10084 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10085 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10086 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10087 backend represents a virtual server.
10089 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
10090 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10091 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
10092 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10094 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10095 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10096 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10097 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10098 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10099 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10100 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10102 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10103 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10106 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10107 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10108 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10109 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10110 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10111 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10112 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10115 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10116 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10119 @node Server Buffer Format
10120 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10121 @cindex server buffer format
10123 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10124 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10125 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10126 variable, with some simple extensions:
10131 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
10134 The name of this server.
10137 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10140 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10143 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10144 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10145 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10146 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10156 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10159 @node Server Commands
10160 @subsection Server Commands
10161 @cindex server commands
10167 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10168 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10172 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10173 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10176 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10177 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10178 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10182 @findex gnus-server-exit
10183 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10187 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10188 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10192 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10193 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10197 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10198 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10202 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10203 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10207 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10208 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10209 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10214 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10215 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10216 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10217 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
10222 @node Example Methods
10223 @subsection Example Methods
10225 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10228 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10231 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10237 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10238 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10241 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10242 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10244 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10245 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10249 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10252 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
10253 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10255 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10256 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10257 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10261 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10264 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10267 Here's the method for a public spool:
10271 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10272 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10278 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10279 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10280 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10281 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10282 should probably look something like this:
10286 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
10287 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10288 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10289 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10290 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
10293 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10294 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
10295 server that would look something like this:
10299 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
10300 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
10301 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10302 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10303 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10304 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
10307 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10308 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10309 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10310 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10313 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10314 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10316 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10317 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10319 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10320 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10321 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10323 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10325 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10326 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10327 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10328 will contain the following:
10338 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10339 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10340 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10343 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10344 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10345 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10348 @node Server Variables
10349 @subsection Server Variables
10351 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
10352 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10353 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10354 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10355 won't change the "derived" variables.
10357 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10358 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10359 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10360 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10361 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10362 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10363 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10364 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
10365 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10369 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10370 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10371 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10375 @node Servers and Methods
10376 @subsection Servers and Methods
10378 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10379 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10380 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10381 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10385 @node Unavailable Servers
10386 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10388 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10389 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10390 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10391 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10392 actually the case or not.
10394 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10395 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10396 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10397 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10398 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10399 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10400 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10401 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10403 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10404 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10406 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
10407 with the following commands:
10413 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10414 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10415 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10419 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10420 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10421 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10425 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10426 Mark the current server as unreachable
10427 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10430 @kindex M-o (Server)
10431 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10432 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10433 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
10436 @kindex M-c (Server)
10437 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
10438 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
10439 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
10443 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
10444 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
10445 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
10451 @section Getting News
10452 @cindex reading news
10453 @cindex news backends
10455 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
10456 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
10457 or it can read from a local spool.
10460 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
10461 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
10466 @subsection @sc{nntp}
10469 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
10470 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
10471 server as the, uhm, address.
10473 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
10474 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
10475 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
10476 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10478 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
10479 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
10480 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
10482 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
10487 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
10488 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
10489 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
10491 @cindex authentification
10492 @cindex nntp authentification
10493 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10494 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
10495 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
10496 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
10497 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
10498 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
10499 present in this hook.
10501 @item nntp-authinfo-function
10502 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
10503 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10504 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
10505 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
10506 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
10507 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
10508 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
10509 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
10510 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
10511 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
10512 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
10516 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
10519 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
10522 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
10523 @samp{default}. Gnus introduce two new tokens, not present in the
10524 original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
10525 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
10526 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
10527 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to, @samp{force}
10528 is explained below.
10530 Here's an example file:
10533 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
10534 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
10537 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
10538 have to be first, for instance.
10540 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
10541 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
10542 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
10543 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
10544 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
10545 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
10546 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
10548 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
10549 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
10555 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
10556 previously mentioned.
10558 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
10560 @item nntp-server-action-alist
10561 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
10562 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
10563 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
10564 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
10567 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
10568 '(("innd" (ding))))
10571 You probably don't want to do that, though.
10573 The default value is
10576 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
10577 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
10580 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
10581 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
10583 @item nntp-maximum-request
10584 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
10585 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
10586 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
10587 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
10588 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
10589 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
10590 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
10592 @item nntp-connection-timeout
10593 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
10594 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
10595 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
10596 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
10597 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
10598 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
10599 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
10600 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
10601 no timeouts are done.
10603 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
10604 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
10605 @c @cindex PPP connections
10606 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
10607 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
10608 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
10609 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
10610 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
10611 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
10612 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
10613 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
10614 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
10615 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
10617 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
10618 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
10619 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
10620 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
10621 @c described above.
10623 @item nntp-server-hook
10624 @vindex nntp-server-hook
10625 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
10628 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
10629 @findex nntp-open-telnet
10630 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
10631 @item nntp-open-connection-function
10632 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
10633 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
10634 functions are supplied:
10637 @item nntp-open-network-stream
10638 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
10641 @item nntp-open-rlogin
10642 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
10643 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
10646 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
10650 @item nntp-rlogin-program
10651 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
10652 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
10653 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
10655 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
10656 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
10657 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
10659 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10660 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10661 User name on the remote system.
10665 @item nntp-open-telnet
10666 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
10667 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
10669 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
10672 @item nntp-telnet-command
10673 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
10674 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
10676 @item nntp-telnet-switches
10677 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
10678 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
10680 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
10681 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
10682 User name for log in on the remote system.
10684 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
10685 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
10686 Password to use when logging in.
10688 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
10689 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
10690 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
10693 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10694 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10695 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
10696 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
10698 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10699 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10700 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
10701 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
10702 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
10706 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
10707 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
10708 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
10709 you must have SSLay installed
10710 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
10711 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
10712 define a server as follows:
10715 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
10717 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
10719 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
10720 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
10721 (nntp-port-number "snews")
10722 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
10727 @item nntp-end-of-line
10728 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
10729 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
10730 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
10731 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
10733 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10734 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10735 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
10739 @vindex nntp-address
10740 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
10742 @item nntp-port-number
10743 @vindex nntp-port-number
10744 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
10747 @item nntp-buggy-select
10748 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
10749 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
10751 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
10752 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
10753 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
10754 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
10757 @item nntp-xover-commands
10758 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
10761 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
10762 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
10766 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
10767 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
10768 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
10769 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
10770 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
10771 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
10772 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
10773 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
10774 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
10775 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
10776 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
10778 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
10779 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
10780 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
10782 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10783 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10784 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
10785 server closes connection.
10787 @item nntp-record-commands
10788 @vindex nntp-record-commands
10789 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
10790 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
10791 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
10792 that doesn't seem to work.
10798 @subsection News Spool
10802 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
10803 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
10804 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
10807 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
10808 anything else) as the address.
10810 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
10811 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
10812 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
10813 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
10817 @item nnspool-inews-program
10818 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
10819 Program used to post an article.
10821 @item nnspool-inews-switches
10822 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
10823 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
10825 @item nnspool-spool-directory
10826 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
10827 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
10828 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
10830 @item nnspool-nov-directory
10831 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
10832 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
10833 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
10835 @item nnspool-lib-dir
10836 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
10837 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
10839 @item nnspool-active-file
10840 @vindex nnspool-active-file
10841 The path to the active file.
10843 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
10844 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
10845 The path to the group descriptions file.
10847 @item nnspool-history-file
10848 @vindex nnspool-history-file
10849 The path to the news history file.
10851 @item nnspool-active-times-file
10852 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
10853 The path to the active date file.
10855 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
10856 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
10857 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
10860 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10861 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10863 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
10864 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
10865 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
10871 @section Getting Mail
10872 @cindex reading mail
10875 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
10879 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
10880 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
10881 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
10882 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
10883 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
10884 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
10885 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
10886 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
10887 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
10888 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
10889 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
10890 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
10891 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
10895 @node Mail in a Newsreader
10896 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
10898 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
10899 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
10900 of a culture shock.
10902 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
10903 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
10905 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
10906 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
10907 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
10908 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
10910 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
10912 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
10913 deleted? How awful!
10915 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
10916 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
10917 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
10918 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
10921 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
10922 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
10923 they want to treat a message.
10925 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
10926 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
10927 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
10928 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
10929 archived somewhere else.
10931 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
10932 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
10933 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
10934 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
10935 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
10937 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
10938 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
10939 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
10941 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
10942 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
10945 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
10946 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
10947 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
10948 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
10949 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
10951 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
10952 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
10953 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
10954 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
10955 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
10956 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
10960 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
10961 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
10963 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
10964 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
10965 and things will happen automatically.
10967 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
10968 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
10971 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
10972 '((nnml "private")))
10975 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
10976 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
10977 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
10978 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
10979 like any other group.
10981 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
10984 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10985 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10986 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10990 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
10991 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
10992 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
10995 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
10996 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
10997 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11000 @node Splitting Mail
11001 @subsection Splitting Mail
11002 @cindex splitting mail
11003 @cindex mail splitting
11005 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11006 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11007 to be split into groups.
11010 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11011 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11012 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11013 ("mail.other" "")))
11016 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11017 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11018 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11019 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11020 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11021 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11022 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11025 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11028 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11029 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11030 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11031 mail belongs in that group.
11033 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11034 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11035 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11036 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11037 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11038 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11040 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11041 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11042 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11043 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11044 thinks should carry this mail message.
11046 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11047 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11048 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11049 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11051 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11052 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11053 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11054 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11055 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11057 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11060 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11061 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11062 links. If that's the case for you, set
11063 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11064 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11066 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11067 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11068 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11069 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11070 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11071 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11074 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11075 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11076 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11077 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11078 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11079 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11080 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11081 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11082 month's rent money.
11086 @subsection Mail Sources
11088 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11089 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11093 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11094 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11095 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11099 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11100 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11102 @cindex mail server
11105 @cindex mail source
11107 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11108 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11113 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11116 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11117 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11118 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11121 The following mail source types are available:
11125 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11131 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11132 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11135 An example file mail source:
11138 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11141 Or using the default path:
11147 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11148 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11149 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11152 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11156 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11159 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11163 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11166 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11168 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11171 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11175 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11176 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11177 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil force Gnus to
11178 scan the mail source only once.
11184 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11188 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11192 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11193 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11194 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11195 predicate are considered.
11199 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11203 An example directory mail source:
11206 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11211 Get mail from a POP server.
11217 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11218 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11221 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11222 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11223 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11224 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}.
11227 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11231 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11235 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This is should be
11236 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11239 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11242 The valid format specifier characters are:
11246 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11247 included in this string.
11250 The name of the server.
11253 The port number of the server.
11256 The user name to use.
11259 The password to use.
11262 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11263 corresponding keywords.
11266 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11267 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11270 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11271 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11274 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11275 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11278 @item :authentication
11279 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11280 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11285 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11286 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11288 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11289 default user name, and default fetcher:
11295 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11298 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11299 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11302 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11305 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11309 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11310 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11311 contains exactly one mail.
11317 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
11318 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
11321 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
11322 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
11324 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
11325 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
11326 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
11329 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
11330 from locking problems).
11334 Two example maildir mail sources:
11337 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/" :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
11341 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/" :subdirs ("new"))
11345 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap} as
11346 intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for some
11347 reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server and
11348 fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox.
11354 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
11355 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11358 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
11359 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
11362 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
11366 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
11370 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
11371 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
11372 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
11374 @item :authentication
11375 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
11376 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
11377 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
11381 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
11382 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
11385 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
11386 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
11387 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
11388 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
11389 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
11390 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
11393 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
11394 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
11395 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
11396 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
11399 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
11400 after finishing the fetch.
11404 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
11407 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" :stream kerberos4 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
11411 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
11412 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
11414 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
11417 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
11418 required for url "4.0pre.46".
11420 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
11426 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
11427 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
11430 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
11434 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
11438 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
11439 folder after finishing the fetch.
11443 An example webmail source:
11446 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11451 @item Common Keywords
11452 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
11458 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
11459 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
11463 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
11468 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
11469 useful when you use local mail and news.
11474 @subsubheading Function Interface
11476 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
11477 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
11478 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
11479 consider the following mail-source setting:
11482 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
11483 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
11486 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
11487 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
11488 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
11489 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
11490 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
11492 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
11495 @node Mail Source Customization
11496 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
11498 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
11499 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
11503 @item mail-source-crash-box
11504 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
11505 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
11506 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
11508 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
11509 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
11510 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
11512 @item mail-source-directory
11513 @vindex mail-source-directory
11514 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
11515 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
11516 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
11519 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11520 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11521 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
11522 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
11523 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
11524 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
11526 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
11527 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
11528 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
11533 @node Fetching Mail
11534 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
11536 @vindex mail-sources
11537 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
11538 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
11539 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
11540 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
11542 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
11543 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
11546 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
11547 mail server, you'd say something like:
11552 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11553 :password "secret")))
11556 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
11560 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
11561 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11564 :password "secret")))
11568 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
11569 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
11570 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
11571 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
11572 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
11573 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
11577 @node Mail Backend Variables
11578 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
11580 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
11584 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11585 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11586 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
11587 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
11589 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
11590 @item nnmail-split-hook
11591 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
11592 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
11593 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
11594 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
11595 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
11596 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
11597 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
11598 in the buffer will show up in any files.
11599 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
11602 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11603 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11604 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11605 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11606 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
11607 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
11608 starting to handle the new mail) and
11609 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
11610 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
11611 default file modes the new mail files get:
11614 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11615 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
11617 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
11618 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
11621 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
11622 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
11623 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
11624 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
11625 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
11626 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
11627 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
11629 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
11630 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
11631 @findex delete-file
11632 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
11634 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11635 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11636 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
11637 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
11638 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
11643 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
11644 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
11645 @cindex mail splitting
11646 @cindex fancy mail splitting
11648 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
11649 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
11650 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
11651 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
11652 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
11653 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
11655 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
11658 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
11659 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
11660 ;; from real errors.
11661 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
11663 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
11664 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
11665 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
11666 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
11667 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
11668 ;; Other mailing lists...
11669 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
11670 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
11671 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
11672 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
11673 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
11674 ;; message was really cross-posted.
11675 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
11676 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
11678 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
11679 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
11683 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
11684 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
11685 the five possible split syntaxes:
11690 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
11691 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
11695 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
11696 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
11697 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
11698 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
11699 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
11700 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
11701 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
11702 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
11705 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11706 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
11707 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
11708 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
11711 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11712 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
11715 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
11716 this message. Use with extreme caution.
11719 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
11720 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
11721 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
11722 function should return a @var{split}.
11724 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
11725 body of the messages:
11728 (defun split-on-body ()
11730 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
11731 (goto-char (point-min))
11732 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
11737 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11738 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
11739 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
11743 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
11747 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
11748 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
11749 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
11750 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
11751 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
11753 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
11754 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
11755 are expanded as specified by the variable
11756 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
11757 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
11760 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
11761 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
11762 when all this splitting is performed.
11764 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
11765 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
11766 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
11769 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
11772 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
11773 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
11775 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
11776 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
11777 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
11778 groupings 1 through 9.
11781 @node Group Mail Splitting
11782 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
11783 @cindex mail splitting
11784 @cindex group mail splitting
11786 @findex gnus-group-split
11787 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
11788 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
11789 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
11790 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
11791 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
11792 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
11793 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
11794 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
11796 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
11797 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
11798 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
11799 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
11801 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
11802 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
11803 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
11804 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
11805 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
11806 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
11807 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
11809 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
11810 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
11811 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
11812 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
11813 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
11814 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
11815 @code{gnus-group-split}.
11817 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
11818 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
11819 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
11820 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
11821 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
11822 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
11823 that group is used as the catch-all group. Note that, in this case,
11824 there's no cross-posting, as a @code{|} fancy split encloses the
11825 @code{&} split and the catch-all group.
11827 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
11832 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
11833 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
11835 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
11836 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
11837 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
11838 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
11840 ((split-spec . catch-all))
11843 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
11844 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
11845 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
11848 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
11849 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
11850 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
11854 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
11855 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
11856 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
11860 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
11863 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
11864 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
11865 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
11866 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} may be the name
11867 of a group to be used as the default catch-all group. If
11868 @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
11869 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
11870 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
11871 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
11873 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
11874 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
11875 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
11876 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
11877 used to select @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
11878 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
11879 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
11880 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
11881 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
11883 @findex gnus-group-split-update
11884 However, if you change group parameters, you have to update
11885 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
11886 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
11887 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
11888 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
11891 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
11894 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
11895 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
11896 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
11897 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional),
11898 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
11901 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
11902 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
11903 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
11904 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
11906 @node Incorporating Old Mail
11907 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
11909 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
11910 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
11911 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
11914 Doing so can be quite easy.
11916 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
11917 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
11918 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
11919 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
11920 your @code{nnml} groups.
11926 Go to the group buffer.
11929 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
11930 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11933 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
11936 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
11937 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11940 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
11941 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
11944 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
11945 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
11946 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
11947 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
11948 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
11950 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
11951 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
11952 using the new mail backend.
11955 @node Expiring Mail
11956 @subsection Expiring Mail
11957 @cindex article expiry
11959 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
11960 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
11961 different approach to mail reading.
11963 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
11964 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
11965 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
11966 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
11967 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
11968 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
11971 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
11972 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
11973 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
11974 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
11975 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
11976 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
11977 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
11978 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
11980 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11981 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
11982 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
11983 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
11984 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
11985 column in the summary buffer.
11987 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
11988 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
11989 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
11990 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
11993 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
11995 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
11996 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
11997 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12000 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
12001 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
12002 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
12003 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
12004 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
12006 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
12007 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
12010 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12011 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
12014 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
12015 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
12017 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
12018 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
12019 don't really mix very well.
12021 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
12022 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
12023 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
12024 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
12027 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
12028 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
12029 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
12030 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
12033 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12035 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12037 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
12039 ((string= group "mail.junk")
12041 ((string= group "important")
12047 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
12048 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
12050 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
12051 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
12052 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
12055 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
12056 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
12058 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
12059 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
12060 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
12061 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
12062 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
12063 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
12064 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
12065 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
12066 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
12067 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
12068 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
12069 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
12072 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
12074 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
12078 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
12079 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
12080 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
12081 easier for procmail users.
12083 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
12084 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
12085 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
12086 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
12087 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
12088 caution. Even more dangerous is the
12089 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
12090 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12091 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12092 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12093 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12094 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12095 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12098 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12100 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12101 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12102 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12103 auto-expire turned on.
12107 @subsection Washing Mail
12108 @cindex mail washing
12109 @cindex list server brain damage
12110 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12112 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12113 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12114 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12115 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12116 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12117 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12119 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12120 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12121 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12124 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12125 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12126 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12127 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12130 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12131 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12132 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12133 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12134 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12137 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12138 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12139 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12140 Emacs running on MS machines.
12144 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12145 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12146 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12147 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12150 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12151 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12152 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12153 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12155 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12156 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12157 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12158 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12159 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12160 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12161 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12164 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12165 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12168 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12169 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12172 This can also be done non-destructively with
12173 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12175 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12176 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12177 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12179 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12180 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12182 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12183 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12184 @code{References} headers.
12188 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12189 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12190 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12194 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12195 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12196 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12203 @subsection Duplicates
12205 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12206 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12207 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12208 @cindex duplicate mails
12209 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12210 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12211 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12212 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12213 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12214 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12215 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12216 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12217 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12218 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12219 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12220 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12221 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12223 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
12224 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
12225 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
12226 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
12228 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
12231 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
12232 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
12236 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12237 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
12238 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
12239 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
12240 (any mail "mail.misc")
12247 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12248 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
12253 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
12254 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
12255 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
12256 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
12257 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
12260 @node Not Reading Mail
12261 @subsection Not Reading Mail
12263 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
12264 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
12265 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
12267 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
12268 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
12269 mail, which should help.
12271 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12272 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12273 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12274 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12275 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12276 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
12277 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
12278 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
12279 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
12280 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
12281 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
12283 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
12284 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
12288 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
12289 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
12291 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
12292 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
12293 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
12295 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
12296 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
12297 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
12298 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
12301 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
12302 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
12303 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
12304 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
12305 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
12306 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
12310 @node Unix Mail Box
12311 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
12313 @cindex unix mail box
12315 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12316 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12317 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
12318 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
12319 which group it belongs in.
12321 Virtual server settings:
12324 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
12325 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12326 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
12328 @item nnmbox-active-file
12329 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12330 The name of the active file for the mail box.
12332 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
12333 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12334 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
12340 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
12344 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12345 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12346 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
12347 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
12348 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
12350 Virtual server settings:
12353 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
12354 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12355 The name of the rmail mbox file.
12357 @item nnbabyl-active-file
12358 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12359 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
12361 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12362 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12363 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
12368 @subsubsection Mail Spool
12370 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
12372 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
12373 format. It should be used with some caution.
12375 @vindex nnml-directory
12376 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
12377 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
12378 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
12379 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
12381 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
12384 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
12385 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
12386 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
12387 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
12388 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
12389 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
12390 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
12391 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
12393 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
12394 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
12395 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
12396 backend when it comes to reading mail.
12398 Virtual server settings:
12401 @item nnml-directory
12402 @vindex nnml-directory
12403 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
12405 @item nnml-active-file
12406 @vindex nnml-active-file
12407 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
12409 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
12410 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
12411 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12414 @item nnml-get-new-mail
12415 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12416 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
12418 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
12419 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
12420 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
12422 @item nnml-nov-file-name
12423 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
12424 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
12426 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12427 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12428 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
12432 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
12433 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
12434 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
12435 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
12436 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
12437 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
12438 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
12443 @subsubsection MH Spool
12445 @cindex mh-e mail spool
12447 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
12448 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
12449 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
12450 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
12452 Virtual server settings:
12455 @item nnmh-directory
12456 @vindex nnmh-directory
12457 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
12459 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
12460 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12461 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
12464 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
12465 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
12466 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
12467 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
12468 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
12469 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
12470 to set this variable to @code{t}.
12475 @subsubsection Mail Folders
12477 @cindex mbox folders
12478 @cindex mail folders
12480 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
12481 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
12482 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
12485 Virtual server settings:
12488 @item nnfolder-directory
12489 @vindex nnfolder-directory
12490 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
12492 @item nnfolder-active-file
12493 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
12494 The name of the active file.
12496 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12497 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12498 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
12500 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
12501 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12502 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
12504 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12505 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12506 @cindex backup files
12507 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
12508 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
12509 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
12510 your @file{.emacs} file:
12513 (defun turn-off-backup ()
12514 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
12516 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
12519 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12520 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12521 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
12522 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
12523 extract some information from it before removing it.
12528 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
12529 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
12530 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
12531 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
12532 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
12533 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
12536 @node Comparing Mail Backends
12537 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
12539 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
12540 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
12541 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
12542 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
12543 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
12545 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
12546 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
12547 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
12548 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
12549 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
12550 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
12551 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
12552 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
12555 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
12556 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
12557 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
12558 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
12563 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
12564 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
12565 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
12566 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
12567 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
12568 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
12569 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
12570 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
12571 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
12572 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
12573 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
12574 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
12575 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
12580 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
12581 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
12582 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
12583 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
12584 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
12585 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
12586 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
12587 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
12588 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
12589 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
12590 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
12591 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
12592 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
12593 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
12595 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
12596 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
12601 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
12602 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
12603 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
12604 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
12605 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
12606 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
12607 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
12608 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
12609 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
12610 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
12611 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
12612 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
12613 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
12614 provided by the active file and overviews.
12616 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
12617 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
12618 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
12619 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
12620 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
12623 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
12624 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
12629 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
12630 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
12631 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
12632 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
12633 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
12634 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
12635 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
12639 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
12640 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
12641 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
12642 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
12643 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
12644 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
12645 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
12646 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
12647 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
12649 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
12650 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
12651 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
12652 friendly mail backend all over.
12657 @node Browsing the Web
12658 @section Browsing the Web
12660 @cindex browsing the web
12664 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
12665 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
12666 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
12667 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
12668 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
12669 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
12670 even know what a news group is.
12672 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
12673 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
12674 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
12675 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
12676 you mad in the end.
12678 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
12681 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
12682 interfaces to these sources.
12685 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
12686 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
12687 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
12688 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
12689 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
12692 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
12694 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
12695 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
12696 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
12697 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
12698 though, you should be ok.
12700 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
12701 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
12702 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
12703 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
12704 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
12708 @subsection Web Searches
12712 @cindex InReference
12713 @cindex Usenet searches
12714 @cindex searching the Usenet
12716 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
12717 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
12718 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
12719 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
12720 searches without having to use a browser.
12722 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
12723 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
12724 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
12725 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
12726 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
12728 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
12729 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
12730 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
12731 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
12732 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
12733 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
12734 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
12735 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
12736 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
12737 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
12740 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
12741 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
12742 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
12743 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
12744 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
12745 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
12747 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
12748 to use @code{nnweb}.
12750 Virtual server variables:
12755 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
12756 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
12760 @vindex nnweb-search
12761 The search string to feed to the search engine.
12763 @item nnweb-max-hits
12764 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
12765 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
12768 @item nnweb-type-definition
12769 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
12770 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
12771 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
12776 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
12780 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
12783 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
12786 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
12790 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
12797 @subsection Slashdot
12801 Slashdot (@file{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
12802 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
12803 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
12805 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
12806 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12809 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
12810 '((nnslashdot "")))
12813 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
12814 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
12815 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
12816 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
12817 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
12820 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
12821 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12823 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
12824 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
12825 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
12826 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
12827 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
12828 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
12831 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
12834 @item nnslashdot-threaded
12835 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
12836 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
12837 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
12838 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
12839 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
12840 but much, much slower than untreaded.
12842 @item nnslashdot-login-name
12843 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
12844 The login name to use when posting.
12846 @item nnslashdot-password
12847 @vindex nnslashdot-password
12848 The password to use when posting.
12850 @item nnslashdot-directory
12851 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
12852 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default value is
12853 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
12855 @item nnslashdot-active-url
12856 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
12857 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
12858 news articles and comments. The default is
12859 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
12861 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
12862 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
12863 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
12865 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
12867 @item nnslashdot-article-url
12868 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
12869 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
12871 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
12873 @item nnslashdot-threshold
12874 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
12875 The score threshold. The default is -1.
12877 @item nnslashdot-group-number
12878 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
12879 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
12880 updated. The default is 0.
12887 @subsection Ultimate
12889 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
12891 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@file{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
12892 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
12893 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
12894 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
12896 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
12897 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
12898 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
12899 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
12900 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
12901 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
12902 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
12904 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
12907 @item nnultimate-directory
12908 @vindex nnultimate-directory
12909 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
12910 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
12915 @subsection Web Archive
12917 @cindex Web Archive
12919 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
12920 @file{http://www.egroups.com/} and
12921 @file{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
12922 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
12925 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
12926 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
12927 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
12928 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
12929 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
12930 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
12931 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
12933 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
12936 @item nnwarchive-directory
12937 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
12938 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
12939 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
12941 @item nnwarchive-login
12942 @vindex nnwarchive-login
12943 The account name on the web server.
12945 @item nnwarchive-passwd
12946 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
12947 The password for your account on the web server.
12951 @node Customizing w3
12952 @subsection Customizing w3
12958 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
12959 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
12960 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
12962 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
12963 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
12964 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
12967 (eval-after-load "w3"
12969 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
12970 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
12971 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
12972 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
12974 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
12977 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
12978 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
12982 @node Other Sources
12983 @section Other Sources
12985 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
12986 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
12990 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
12991 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
12992 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
12993 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
12994 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
12995 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
12999 @node Directory Groups
13000 @subsection Directory Groups
13002 @cindex directory groups
13004 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
13005 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
13008 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
13009 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
13010 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
13011 backend to read directories. Big deal.
13013 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
13014 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
13015 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
13016 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
13017 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
13019 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
13021 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
13022 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
13023 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
13024 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
13027 @node Anything Groups
13028 @subsection Anything Groups
13031 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
13032 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
13033 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
13036 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
13037 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
13038 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
13039 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
13040 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
13041 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
13042 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
13043 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
13044 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
13045 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
13048 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
13049 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
13050 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
13051 in the article buffer, just as usual.
13053 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
13054 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
13055 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
13056 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
13058 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
13059 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
13060 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
13061 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
13062 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
13063 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
13064 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
13065 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
13070 @item nneething-map-file-directory
13071 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
13072 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
13073 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
13075 @item nneething-exclude-files
13076 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
13077 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
13078 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
13080 @item nneething-include-files
13081 @vindex nneething-include-files
13082 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
13083 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
13085 @item nneething-map-file
13086 @vindex nneething-map-file
13087 Name of the map files.
13091 @node Document Groups
13092 @subsection Document Groups
13094 @cindex documentation group
13097 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
13098 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
13105 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
13110 The standard Unix mbox file.
13112 @cindex MMDF mail box
13114 The MMDF mail box format.
13117 Several news articles appended into a file.
13120 @cindex rnews batch files
13121 The rnews batch transport format.
13122 @cindex forwarded messages
13125 Forwarded articles.
13128 Netscape mail boxes.
13131 MIME multipart messages.
13133 @item standard-digest
13134 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
13137 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
13140 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
13141 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
13142 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
13145 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
13146 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
13147 group. And that's it.
13149 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
13150 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
13151 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
13152 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
13153 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
13154 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
13155 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
13156 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
13157 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
13158 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
13160 Virtual server variables:
13163 @item nndoc-article-type
13164 @vindex nndoc-article-type
13165 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
13166 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
13167 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
13168 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
13170 @item nndoc-post-type
13171 @vindex nndoc-post-type
13172 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
13173 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
13178 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
13182 @node Document Server Internals
13183 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
13185 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
13186 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
13187 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
13188 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
13190 First, here's an example document type definition:
13194 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
13195 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
13198 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
13199 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
13200 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
13201 types can be defined with very few settings:
13204 @item first-article
13205 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
13206 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
13209 @item article-begin
13210 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
13211 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
13213 @item head-begin-function
13214 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
13217 @item nndoc-head-begin
13218 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
13221 @item nndoc-head-end
13222 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
13223 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
13225 @item body-begin-function
13226 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
13230 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
13233 @item body-end-function
13234 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
13238 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
13241 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
13242 regexp will be totally ignored.
13246 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
13247 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
13248 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
13249 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
13250 something that's palatable for Gnus:
13253 @item prepare-body-function
13254 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
13255 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
13256 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
13258 @item article-transform-function
13259 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
13260 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
13261 body of the article.
13263 @item generate-head-function
13264 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
13265 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
13266 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
13267 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
13271 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
13276 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13277 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13278 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
13279 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
13280 (head-end . "^ ?$")
13281 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
13282 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
13283 (subtype digest guess))
13286 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
13287 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
13288 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
13289 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
13290 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
13292 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
13293 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
13294 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
13295 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
13296 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
13297 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
13298 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
13299 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
13300 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
13301 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
13309 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
13310 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
13311 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
13313 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
13314 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
13315 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
13318 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
13319 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
13320 that interested in doing things properly.
13322 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
13323 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
13326 First some terminology:
13331 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
13332 get news and/or mail from.
13335 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
13336 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
13339 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
13343 @item message packets
13344 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
13345 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
13346 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13348 @item response packets
13349 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
13350 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
13351 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13361 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
13362 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
13363 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
13364 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
13367 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
13370 You put the packet in your home directory.
13373 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
13374 the native or secondary server.
13377 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
13378 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
13381 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
13385 You transfer this packet to the server.
13388 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
13391 You then repeat until you die.
13395 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
13396 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
13399 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
13400 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
13401 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
13405 @node SOUP Commands
13406 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
13408 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
13412 @kindex G s b (Group)
13413 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
13414 Pack all unread articles in the current group
13415 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
13416 process/prefix convention.
13419 @kindex G s w (Group)
13420 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
13421 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
13424 @kindex G s s (Group)
13425 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
13426 Send all replies from the replies packet
13427 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
13430 @kindex G s p (Group)
13431 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
13432 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
13435 @kindex G s r (Group)
13436 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
13437 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
13440 @kindex O s (Summary)
13441 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
13442 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
13443 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
13444 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13449 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
13454 @item gnus-soup-directory
13455 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
13456 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
13457 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
13459 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
13460 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
13461 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
13462 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
13464 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
13465 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
13466 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
13467 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
13469 @item gnus-soup-packer
13470 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
13471 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13472 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
13474 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
13475 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
13476 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13477 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13479 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
13480 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
13481 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
13483 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13484 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13485 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
13486 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
13492 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
13495 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
13496 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
13497 you can read them at leisure.
13499 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
13503 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
13504 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
13505 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
13506 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
13508 @item nnsoup-directory
13509 @vindex nnsoup-directory
13510 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
13511 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
13513 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
13514 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
13515 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
13516 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
13518 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
13519 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
13520 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
13521 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
13522 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
13524 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
13525 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
13526 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
13527 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
13529 @item nnsoup-active-file
13530 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
13531 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
13532 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
13533 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
13534 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
13536 @item nnsoup-packer
13537 @vindex nnsoup-packer
13538 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
13539 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
13541 @item nnsoup-unpacker
13542 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
13543 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
13544 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13546 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
13547 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
13548 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
13551 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
13552 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
13553 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
13556 @item nnsoup-always-save
13557 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
13558 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
13564 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
13566 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
13567 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
13568 more for that to happen.
13570 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
13571 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
13572 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
13575 In specific, this is what it does:
13578 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
13579 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
13582 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
13583 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
13584 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
13587 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
13588 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
13589 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
13592 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
13593 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
13594 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
13596 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
13602 @item nngateway-address
13603 @vindex nngateway-address
13604 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
13606 @item nngateway-header-transformation
13607 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
13608 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
13609 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
13610 transformation should be called, and defaults to
13611 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
13612 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
13615 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
13616 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
13617 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
13620 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
13623 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
13626 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
13629 The following pre-defined functions exist:
13631 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13634 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13635 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13636 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
13638 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13640 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13641 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13642 @code{nngateway-address}.
13647 (setq gnus-post-method
13648 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
13649 (nngateway-header-transformation
13650 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
13658 So, to use this, simply say something like:
13661 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
13667 @subsection @sc{imap}
13671 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13672 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap} server
13673 is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just specify the
13674 network address of the server.
13676 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
13677 might look something like this:
13680 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13681 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
13682 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
13684 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13685 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
13686 ; a UW server running on localhost
13688 (nnimap-server-port 143)
13689 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13690 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
13691 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
13692 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
13693 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
13694 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
13695 (nnimap-stream network))
13696 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
13698 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
13699 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
13700 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
13703 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
13708 @item nnimap-address
13709 @vindex nnimap-address
13711 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
13712 server name if not specified.
13714 @item nnimap-server-port
13715 @vindex nnimap-server-port
13716 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
13718 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
13721 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13722 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
13725 @item nnimap-list-pattern
13726 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
13727 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
13728 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
13729 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
13730 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
13731 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
13733 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
13734 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
13735 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
13738 Example server specification:
13741 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13742 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
13743 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
13746 @item nnimap-stream
13747 @vindex nnimap-stream
13748 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
13749 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
13750 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
13751 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
13753 Example server specification:
13756 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13757 (nnimap-stream ssl))
13760 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
13764 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Require the
13765 @samp{imtest} program.
13767 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Require the @samp{imtest} program.
13769 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
13770 SSL). Require the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13773 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Require OpenSSL (the
13774 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
13776 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start IMAP connection.
13778 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
13781 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
13782 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD, nnimap support
13783 both @samp{imtest} version 1.5.x and version 1.6.x. The variable
13784 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
13787 @vindex imap-ssl-program
13788 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
13789 @file{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
13790 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
13791 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
13792 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
13793 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
13796 @vindex imap-shell-program
13797 @vindex imap-shell-host
13798 For IMAP connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
13799 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
13801 @item nnimap-authenticator
13802 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
13804 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
13805 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
13807 Example server specification:
13810 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13811 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
13814 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
13818 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
13819 external program @code{imtest}.
13821 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
13824 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
13825 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
13827 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
13829 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
13831 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
13834 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
13836 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
13837 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
13838 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
13839 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
13840 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
13841 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
13844 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
13845 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
13846 running in circles yet?
13848 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
13849 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
13852 The possible options are:
13857 The default behaviour, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
13860 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
13861 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
13862 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
13863 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
13865 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
13870 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
13871 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
13873 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format
13874 is (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See
13875 `nntp-authinfo-file' for exact syntax.
13877 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
13878 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
13879 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
13885 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
13886 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
13887 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
13892 @node Splitting in IMAP
13893 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
13894 @cindex splitting imap mail
13896 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
13897 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
13898 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
13899 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
13900 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
13904 Here are the variables of interest:
13908 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
13909 @cindex splitting, crosspost
13911 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
13913 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
13914 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
13916 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
13918 @item nnimap-split-inbox
13919 @cindex splitting, inbox
13921 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
13923 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
13924 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
13928 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
13929 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
13932 No nnmail equivalent.
13934 @item nnimap-split-rule
13935 @cindex Splitting, rules
13936 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
13938 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
13941 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
13942 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
13943 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
13944 Neither did I, we need examples.
13947 (setq nnimap-split-rule
13948 '(("INBOX.nnimap" "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
13949 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
13950 ("INBOX.private" "")))
13953 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
13954 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
13955 into INBOX.spam and everything else in INBOX.private.
13957 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
13958 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
13962 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
13965 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13966 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
13967 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
13968 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
13970 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
13971 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
13972 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
13973 of your inbox. (This might might affect performance if you keep lots of
13974 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
13975 them every time you fetch new mail.)
13977 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
13978 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
13979 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
13981 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
13982 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
13983 thinks the article should be splitted to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
13985 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
13987 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
13988 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
13989 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
13992 (setq nnimap-split-rule
13993 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
13994 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
13995 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
13996 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
13997 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14000 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14001 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14002 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14003 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14004 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14005 group/function elements.
14007 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14009 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14011 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14013 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14014 splitted, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14016 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14017 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14018 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14021 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14022 @cindex splitting, fancy
14023 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14024 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14026 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14027 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14028 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14030 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14031 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14032 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14033 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14038 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14039 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14042 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14046 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14047 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14048 @cindex editing imap acls
14049 @cindex Access Control Lists
14050 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14052 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14054 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14055 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14056 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14059 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14060 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14061 editing window with detailed instructions.
14063 Some possible uses:
14067 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14068 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14069 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14071 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14072 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14073 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14077 @node Expunging mailboxes
14078 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
14082 @cindex Manual expunging
14084 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14086 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-close},
14087 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14088 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14090 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14095 @node Combined Groups
14096 @section Combined Groups
14098 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
14102 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
14103 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
14107 @node Virtual Groups
14108 @subsection Virtual Groups
14110 @cindex virtual groups
14111 @cindex merging groups
14113 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
14116 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
14117 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
14118 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
14120 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
14121 regexp to match component groups.
14123 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
14124 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
14125 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
14126 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
14127 the virtual group.)
14129 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
14130 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
14133 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
14136 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
14137 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
14139 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
14140 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
14141 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
14142 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
14145 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
14148 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
14149 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
14150 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
14152 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
14153 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
14154 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
14155 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
14156 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
14158 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
14159 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
14160 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
14162 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
14163 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
14164 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
14165 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14166 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
14167 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
14168 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
14169 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
14170 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
14171 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
14172 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
14174 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
14175 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
14176 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
14177 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
14178 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
14179 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
14180 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
14182 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
14183 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
14187 @node Kibozed Groups
14188 @subsection Kibozed Groups
14192 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
14193 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
14194 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
14195 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
14197 @kindex G k (Group)
14198 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
14201 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
14202 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
14203 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
14204 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
14206 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
14207 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
14208 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
14210 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
14211 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
14212 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
14213 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
14214 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
14215 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
14216 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
14217 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
14219 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
14220 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
14221 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
14222 Stranger things have happened.
14224 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
14225 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
14227 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
14228 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
14229 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
14230 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
14231 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
14232 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
14234 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
14235 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
14238 @node Gnus Unplugged
14239 @section Gnus Unplugged
14244 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
14246 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
14247 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
14248 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
14249 read news. Believe it or not.
14251 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
14252 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
14253 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
14254 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
14255 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
14257 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
14258 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
14259 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
14260 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
14261 reading news on a machine.
14263 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
14267 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
14268 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
14272 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
14273 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14280 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
14282 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
14285 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
14286 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
14287 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
14288 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
14289 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
14290 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
14291 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
14292 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
14293 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
14294 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
14299 @subsection Agent Basics
14301 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
14303 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
14304 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
14305 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
14306 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
14308 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
14309 connected to the net continuously.
14311 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
14312 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
14314 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
14319 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
14320 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
14321 already fetched while in this mode.
14324 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
14325 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
14326 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
14327 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
14328 Source Specifiers}).
14331 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
14332 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
14333 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
14334 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
14335 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
14338 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
14339 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
14340 then you read the news offline.
14343 And then you go to step 2.
14346 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
14352 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
14353 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
14354 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
14355 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
14356 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
14357 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
14360 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
14367 @node Agent Categories
14368 @subsection Agent Categories
14370 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
14371 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
14372 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
14373 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
14374 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
14375 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
14376 you're interested in the articles anyway.
14378 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
14379 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
14380 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
14381 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
14382 managing categories.
14385 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
14386 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
14387 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
14391 @node Category Syntax
14392 @subsubsection Category Syntax
14394 A category consists of two things.
14398 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
14399 are eligible for downloading; and
14402 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
14403 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
14404 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
14407 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
14408 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
14409 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
14410 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
14412 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
14413 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
14414 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
14416 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
14417 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
14418 operators sprinkled in between.
14420 Perhaps some examples are in order.
14422 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
14423 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
14429 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
14430 short (for some value of ``short'').
14432 Here's a more complex predicate:
14441 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
14442 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
14445 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
14446 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
14447 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
14449 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
14450 you want to do, you can write your own.
14454 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
14455 lines; default 100.
14458 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
14459 lines; default 200.
14462 True iff the article has a download score less than
14463 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
14466 True iff the article has a download score greater than
14467 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
14470 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
14471 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
14472 checksum and sees whether articles match.
14481 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
14482 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
14483 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
14486 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
14487 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
14488 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
14489 something along the lines of the following:
14492 (defun my-article-old-p ()
14493 "Say whether an article is old."
14494 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
14495 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
14498 with the predicate then defined as:
14501 (not my-article-old-p)
14504 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
14505 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
14506 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
14507 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
14510 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
14511 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
14512 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
14515 and simply specify your predicate as:
14521 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
14522 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
14523 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
14524 just don't give a damm.
14526 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
14527 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
14528 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
14529 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
14530 parameters like so:
14533 (agent-predicate . short)
14536 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
14537 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
14538 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
14540 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
14543 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
14546 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
14547 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
14548 predicate is assumed to be a list.
14551 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
14552 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
14553 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
14554 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
14555 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
14556 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
14558 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
14559 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
14560 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
14561 if it's to be specific to that group.
14563 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
14570 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
14571 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
14577 Category specification
14581 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14587 Group Parameter specification
14590 (agent-score ("from"
14591 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14596 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
14602 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
14609 Category specification
14612 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
14618 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
14622 Group Parameter specification
14625 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
14628 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
14633 Use @code{normal} score files
14635 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
14636 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
14637 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
14638 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
14640 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
14641 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
14642 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
14643 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
14647 Category Specification
14654 Group Parameter specification
14657 (agent-score . file)
14662 @node The Category Buffer
14663 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
14665 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
14666 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
14667 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
14669 The following commands are available in this buffer:
14673 @kindex q (Category)
14674 @findex gnus-category-exit
14675 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
14678 @kindex k (Category)
14679 @findex gnus-category-kill
14680 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
14683 @kindex c (Category)
14684 @findex gnus-category-copy
14685 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
14688 @kindex a (Category)
14689 @findex gnus-category-add
14690 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
14693 @kindex p (Category)
14694 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
14695 Edit the predicate of the current category
14696 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
14699 @kindex g (Category)
14700 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
14701 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
14702 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
14705 @kindex s (Category)
14706 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
14707 Edit the download score rule of the current category
14708 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
14711 @kindex l (Category)
14712 @findex gnus-category-list
14713 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
14717 @node Category Variables
14718 @subsubsection Category Variables
14721 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
14722 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
14723 Hook run in category buffers.
14725 @item gnus-category-line-format
14726 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
14727 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
14728 Variables}). Valid elements are:
14732 The name of the category.
14735 The number of groups in the category.
14738 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
14739 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
14740 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
14742 @item gnus-agent-short-article
14743 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
14744 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
14746 @item gnus-agent-long-article
14747 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
14748 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
14750 @item gnus-agent-low-score
14751 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
14752 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
14755 @item gnus-agent-high-score
14756 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
14757 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
14763 @node Agent Commands
14764 @subsection Agent Commands
14766 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
14767 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
14768 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
14772 * Group Agent Commands::
14773 * Summary Agent Commands::
14774 * Server Agent Commands::
14777 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
14778 following incantation:
14780 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14782 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14787 @node Group Agent Commands
14788 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
14792 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
14793 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
14794 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
14795 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
14798 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
14799 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
14800 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
14803 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
14804 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
14805 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
14806 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
14809 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
14810 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
14811 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
14812 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
14815 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
14816 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
14817 Add the current group to an Agent category
14818 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
14819 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14822 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
14823 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
14824 Remove the current group from its category, if any
14825 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
14826 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14829 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
14830 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
14831 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
14837 @node Summary Agent Commands
14838 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
14842 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
14843 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
14844 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
14847 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
14848 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
14849 Remove the downloading mark from the article
14850 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
14853 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
14854 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
14855 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
14858 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
14859 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
14860 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
14865 @node Server Agent Commands
14866 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
14870 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
14871 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
14872 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
14873 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
14876 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
14877 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
14878 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
14879 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
14885 @subsection Agent Expiry
14887 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
14888 @findex gnus-agent-expire
14889 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
14890 @cindex Agent expiry
14891 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
14894 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
14895 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
14896 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
14897 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
14898 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
14899 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
14901 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
14902 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
14903 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
14904 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
14905 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
14908 @node Agent and IMAP
14909 @subsection Agent and IMAP
14911 The Agent work with any Gnus backend, including nnimap. However, since
14912 there are some conceptual differences between NNTP and IMAP, this
14913 section (should) provide you with some information to make Gnus Agent
14914 work smoother as a IMAP Disconnected Mode client.
14916 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
14917 are kept on the IMAP server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
14918 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
14919 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
14921 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
14922 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
14923 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize theese
14924 with the server. This behaviour is customizable with
14925 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
14927 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
14928 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
14929 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
14930 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
14931 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
14932 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
14934 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
14935 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
14936 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
14937 in the group buffer by default.
14939 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
14940 expect from a disconnected IMAP client, including:
14945 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
14948 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
14952 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
14953 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
14954 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
14955 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
14956 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
14957 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
14958 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
14959 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
14962 @node Outgoing Messages
14963 @subsection Outgoing Messages
14965 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
14966 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
14967 after posting, and edit them at will.
14969 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
14970 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
14971 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
14972 messages in the draft group.
14976 @node Agent Variables
14977 @subsection Agent Variables
14980 @item gnus-agent-directory
14981 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
14982 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
14983 @file{~/News/agent/}.
14985 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
14986 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
14987 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
14988 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
14989 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
14992 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
14993 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
14994 Hook run when connecting to the network.
14996 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
14997 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
14998 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
15003 @node Example Setup
15004 @subsection Example Setup
15006 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
15007 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
15008 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
15011 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
15012 ;;; from your ISP's server.
15013 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
15015 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
15016 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
15017 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
15019 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
15020 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
15022 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
15026 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
15027 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
15030 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
15031 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
15032 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
15033 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
15034 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
15037 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
15038 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
15039 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
15040 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
15041 back all the killed groups.)
15043 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
15044 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
15045 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
15048 @node Batching Agents
15049 @subsection Batching Agents
15051 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
15052 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
15053 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
15057 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
15061 @node Agent Caveats
15062 @subsection Agent Caveats
15064 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
15065 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
15069 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
15074 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
15075 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
15081 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
15082 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
15089 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
15090 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
15091 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
15094 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
15095 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
15096 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
15097 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
15098 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
15100 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
15101 before generating the summary buffer.
15103 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
15104 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
15105 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
15107 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
15108 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
15109 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
15110 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
15113 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
15114 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
15115 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
15116 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
15117 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
15118 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
15119 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
15120 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
15121 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
15122 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
15123 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
15124 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
15125 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
15126 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
15127 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
15128 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
15132 @node Summary Score Commands
15133 @section Summary Score Commands
15134 @cindex score commands
15136 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
15137 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
15138 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
15139 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
15140 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
15142 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
15143 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
15144 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
15145 score file the current one.
15147 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
15152 @kindex V s (Summary)
15153 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
15154 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
15157 @kindex V S (Summary)
15158 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
15159 Display the score of the current article
15160 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
15163 @kindex V t (Summary)
15164 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
15165 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
15166 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
15169 @kindex V R (Summary)
15170 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
15171 Run the current summary through the scoring process
15172 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
15173 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
15174 effect you're having.
15177 @kindex V c (Summary)
15178 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
15179 Make a different score file the current
15180 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
15183 @kindex V e (Summary)
15184 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
15185 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
15186 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
15190 @kindex V f (Summary)
15191 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
15192 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
15193 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
15196 @kindex V F (Summary)
15197 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15198 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
15199 after editing score files.
15202 @kindex V C (Summary)
15203 @findex gnus-score-customize
15204 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
15205 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
15209 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
15214 @kindex V m (Summary)
15215 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
15216 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
15217 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
15220 @kindex V x (Summary)
15221 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
15222 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
15223 expunge all articles below this score
15224 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
15227 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
15228 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
15231 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
15232 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
15236 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
15237 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
15239 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
15240 keys are available:
15244 Score on the author name.
15247 Score on the subject line.
15250 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
15253 Score on the @code{References} line.
15259 Score on the number of lines.
15262 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
15265 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
15266 the followups to this author.
15280 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
15281 what headers you are scoring on.
15293 Substring matching.
15296 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
15325 Greater than number.
15330 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
15331 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
15332 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
15336 Temporary score entry.
15339 Permanent score entry.
15342 Immediately scoring.
15347 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
15348 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
15349 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
15350 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
15352 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
15353 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
15354 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
15355 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
15356 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
15358 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
15359 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
15360 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
15361 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
15362 current score file.
15364 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
15365 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
15366 pretend they are keymaps or not.
15369 @node Group Score Commands
15370 @section Group Score Commands
15371 @cindex group score commands
15373 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
15378 @kindex W f (Group)
15379 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15380 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
15381 all the time. This command will flush the cache
15382 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
15386 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
15388 @findex gnus-batch-score
15389 @cindex batch scoring
15391 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
15395 @node Score Variables
15396 @section Score Variables
15397 @cindex score variables
15401 @item gnus-use-scoring
15402 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
15403 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
15404 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
15406 @item gnus-kill-killed
15407 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
15408 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
15409 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
15410 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
15411 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
15412 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
15413 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
15415 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
15416 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
15417 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
15418 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
15419 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
15421 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
15422 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
15423 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
15424 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
15426 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15427 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15428 @cindex score cache
15429 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
15430 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
15431 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
15432 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
15433 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
15434 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
15437 @item gnus-save-score
15438 @vindex gnus-save-score
15439 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
15440 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
15441 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
15443 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
15444 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
15445 across group visits.
15447 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15448 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15449 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
15450 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
15451 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
15452 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
15453 manually entered data.
15455 @item gnus-summary-default-score
15456 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
15457 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
15459 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
15460 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
15461 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
15462 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
15463 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
15464 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
15466 @item gnus-score-over-mark
15467 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
15468 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
15469 default. Default is @samp{+}.
15471 @item gnus-score-below-mark
15472 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
15473 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
15474 default. Default is @samp{-}.
15476 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15477 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15478 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
15479 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
15481 Predefined functions available are:
15484 @item gnus-score-find-single
15485 @findex gnus-score-find-single
15486 Only apply the group's own score file.
15488 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
15489 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
15490 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
15491 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
15492 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
15493 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
15494 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
15495 then a regexp match is done.
15497 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
15498 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
15500 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
15501 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
15502 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
15503 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
15505 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15506 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15507 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
15508 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
15509 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
15513 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
15514 functions will be called with the group name as argument, and all the
15515 returned lists of score files will be applied. These functions can also
15516 return lists of score alists directly. In that case, the functions that
15517 return these non-file score alists should probably be placed before the
15518 ``real'' score file functions, to ensure that the last score file
15519 returned is the local score file. Phu.
15521 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
15522 overall score file, you could use the value
15524 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE")) 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
15527 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
15528 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
15529 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
15530 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
15531 are expired. It's 7 by default.
15533 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15534 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15535 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
15536 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
15537 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
15538 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
15539 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
15542 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15543 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15544 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
15546 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
15547 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
15548 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
15549 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
15550 threading---according to the current value of
15551 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
15552 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
15553 simplified in this manner.
15558 @node Score File Format
15559 @section Score File Format
15560 @cindex score file format
15562 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
15563 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
15564 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
15566 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
15570 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
15572 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
15574 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
15576 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
15581 (mark-and-expunge -10)
15585 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
15586 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
15587 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
15588 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
15592 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
15593 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
15595 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
15596 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
15597 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
15599 Six keys are supported by this alist:
15604 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
15605 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
15606 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
15607 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
15608 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
15609 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
15610 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
15611 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
15612 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
15613 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
15614 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
15615 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
15616 to articles that matches these score entries.
15618 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
15619 score entry has one to four elements.
15623 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
15624 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
15628 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
15629 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
15630 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
15631 is successful. If this element is not present, the
15632 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
15633 instead. This is 1000 by default.
15636 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
15637 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
15638 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
15639 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
15640 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
15643 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
15644 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
15645 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
15646 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
15649 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
15650 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
15651 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
15652 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
15653 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
15654 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
15655 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
15656 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
15657 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
15658 instead, if you feel like.
15661 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
15662 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
15664 These predicates are true if
15667 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
15670 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
15671 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
15678 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
15679 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
15680 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
15681 it's not. I think.)
15683 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
15684 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
15685 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
15686 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
15689 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
15690 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
15691 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
15692 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
15693 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
15694 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
15695 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
15699 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
15700 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
15701 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
15702 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
15703 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
15704 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
15705 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
15706 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
15709 @item Head, Body, All
15710 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
15714 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
15715 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
15716 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
15717 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
15718 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
15719 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
15720 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
15724 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
15725 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
15726 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
15727 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
15728 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
15729 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
15730 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
15731 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
15732 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
15733 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
15734 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
15738 @cindex Score File Atoms
15740 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15741 lower than this number will be marked as read.
15744 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15745 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
15747 @item mark-and-expunge
15748 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15749 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
15752 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
15753 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
15754 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
15755 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
15756 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
15759 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
15760 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
15763 @item exclude-files
15764 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
15765 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
15769 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
15770 ignored when handling global score files.
15773 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
15774 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
15775 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
15776 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
15779 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
15780 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
15781 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
15782 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
15784 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
15788 (mark-and-expunge -100)
15791 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
15792 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
15793 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
15794 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
15795 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
15797 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
15798 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
15799 ordinary scoring rules.
15802 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
15803 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
15804 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
15805 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
15806 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
15807 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
15808 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15809 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
15810 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
15811 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
15812 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
15816 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
15817 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
15818 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
15819 file for a number of groups.
15822 @cindex local variables
15823 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
15824 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
15825 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
15826 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
15827 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
15831 @node Score File Editing
15832 @section Score File Editing
15834 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
15835 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
15836 with a mode for that.
15838 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
15839 additional commands:
15844 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
15845 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
15846 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
15847 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
15850 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
15851 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
15852 Insert the current date in numerical format
15853 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
15854 you were wondering.
15857 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
15858 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
15859 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
15860 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
15861 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
15866 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
15868 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
15869 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
15871 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
15872 e} to begin editing score files.
15875 @node Adaptive Scoring
15876 @section Adaptive Scoring
15877 @cindex adaptive scoring
15879 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
15880 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
15881 stupidity, to be precise.
15883 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
15884 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
15885 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
15886 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
15887 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15888 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
15889 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
15890 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
15891 variable to @code{(word line)}.
15893 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
15894 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
15895 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
15896 might look something like this:
15899 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
15900 '((gnus-unread-mark)
15901 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
15902 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
15903 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
15904 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
15905 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
15906 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
15907 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
15908 (gnus-ancient-mark)
15909 (gnus-low-score-mark)
15910 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
15913 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
15914 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
15915 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
15916 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
15917 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
15918 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
15921 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
15922 will be applied to each article.
15924 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
15925 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
15926 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
15927 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
15929 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
15930 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
15931 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
15932 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
15934 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
15935 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
15936 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
15937 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
15939 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
15940 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
15941 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
15942 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
15943 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
15944 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
15946 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
15947 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
15948 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
15949 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
15950 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
15951 aspirins afterwards.)
15953 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
15954 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
15955 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
15957 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
15958 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
15959 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
15961 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
15962 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
15963 let you use different rules in different groups.
15965 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
15966 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
15967 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
15970 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
15971 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
15972 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
15973 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
15974 the length of the match is less than
15975 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
15976 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
15979 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
15980 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
15981 headers. If you adapt on words, the
15982 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
15983 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
15986 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
15987 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
15988 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
15989 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
15990 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
15993 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
15994 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
15995 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
15996 score with 30 points.
15998 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
15999 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
16000 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
16001 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
16002 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
16004 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
16005 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
16006 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
16007 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
16009 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
16010 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
16011 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
16012 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
16014 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
16015 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
16016 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
16017 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
16018 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
16020 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
16021 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
16022 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
16024 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
16025 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
16026 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
16027 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
16030 @node Home Score File
16031 @section Home Score File
16033 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
16034 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
16035 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
16036 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
16038 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
16039 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
16040 could perhaps use the same home score file.
16042 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
16043 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
16048 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
16052 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
16053 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
16057 A list. The elements in this list can be:
16061 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
16062 group name, the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
16065 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
16066 the home score file.
16069 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
16072 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
16077 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
16080 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16081 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
16084 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
16085 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
16087 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
16089 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16090 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
16093 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
16094 Other functions include
16097 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
16098 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
16099 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
16100 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
16104 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
16105 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
16106 their own home score files:
16109 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16110 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
16111 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
16112 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
16113 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
16116 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
16117 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
16118 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
16119 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
16120 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
16122 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
16123 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
16124 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
16125 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
16126 precedence over this variable.
16129 @node Followups To Yourself
16130 @section Followups To Yourself
16132 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
16133 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
16134 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
16135 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
16136 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
16137 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
16141 @item gnus-score-followup-article
16142 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
16143 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
16146 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
16147 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
16148 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
16152 @vindex message-sent-hook
16153 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
16154 @code{message-sent-hook}.
16156 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
16157 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
16161 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16162 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16165 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
16166 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
16171 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
16175 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
16176 is system-dependent.
16180 @section Scoring Tips
16181 @cindex scoring tips
16187 @cindex scoring crossposts
16188 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
16189 the @code{Xref} header.
16191 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
16194 @item Multiple crossposts
16195 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
16196 more than, say, 3 groups:
16198 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
16201 @item Matching on the body
16202 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
16203 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
16204 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
16205 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
16206 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
16207 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
16208 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
16211 @item Marking as read
16212 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
16213 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
16214 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
16218 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
16220 @item Negated character classes
16221 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
16222 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
16223 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
16227 @node Reverse Scoring
16228 @section Reverse Scoring
16229 @cindex reverse scoring
16231 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
16232 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
16233 like this in your score file:
16237 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
16242 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
16243 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
16246 @node Global Score Files
16247 @section Global Score Files
16248 @cindex global score files
16250 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
16251 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
16252 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
16254 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
16255 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
16256 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
16258 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
16259 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
16260 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
16261 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
16262 files are applicable to which group.
16264 Say you want to use the score file
16265 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
16266 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
16269 (setq gnus-global-score-files
16270 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
16271 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
16274 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
16275 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
16276 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
16277 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
16278 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
16280 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
16281 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
16283 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
16284 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
16285 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
16286 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
16287 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
16288 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
16290 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
16296 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
16298 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
16300 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
16302 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
16303 lowered out of existence.
16305 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
16306 articles completely.
16309 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
16310 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
16311 old articles for a long time.
16314 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
16315 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
16316 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
16317 holding our breath yet?
16321 @section Kill Files
16324 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
16325 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
16326 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
16328 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
16329 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
16330 files into score files.
16332 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
16333 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
16334 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
16335 that isn't a very good idea.
16337 Normal kill files look like this:
16340 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16341 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
16345 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
16346 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
16348 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
16349 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
16352 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
16357 @kindex M-k (Summary)
16358 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
16359 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
16362 @kindex M-K (Summary)
16363 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
16364 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
16367 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
16372 @kindex M-k (Group)
16373 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
16374 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
16377 @kindex M-K (Group)
16378 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
16379 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
16382 Kill file variables:
16385 @item gnus-kill-file-name
16386 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
16387 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
16388 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
16389 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
16390 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
16391 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
16393 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16394 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16395 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
16396 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
16399 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
16400 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
16401 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
16402 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
16403 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
16404 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
16405 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
16406 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
16407 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
16409 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16410 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16411 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
16416 @node Converting Kill Files
16417 @section Converting Kill Files
16419 @cindex converting kill files
16421 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
16422 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
16423 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
16426 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
16427 You can fetch it from
16428 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
16430 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
16431 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
16432 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
16440 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
16441 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
16442 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
16444 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
16445 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
16446 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
16447 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
16448 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
16449 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
16450 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
16451 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
16455 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
16456 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
16457 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
16458 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
16462 @node Using GroupLens
16463 @subsection Using GroupLens
16465 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
16467 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
16468 better bit in town at the moment.
16470 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
16474 @item gnus-use-grouplens
16475 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
16476 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
16477 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
16479 @item grouplens-pseudonym
16480 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
16481 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
16482 with the Better Bit Bureau.
16484 @item grouplens-newsgroups
16485 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
16486 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
16490 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
16491 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
16492 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
16493 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
16494 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
16495 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
16498 @node Rating Articles
16499 @subsection Rating Articles
16501 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
16502 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
16503 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
16504 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
16507 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
16512 @kindex r (GroupLens)
16513 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
16514 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
16517 @kindex k (GroupLens)
16518 @findex grouplens-score-thread
16519 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
16520 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
16521 threads in rec.humor.
16525 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
16526 the score of the article you're reading.
16531 @kindex n (GroupLens)
16532 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
16533 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
16536 @kindex , (GroupLens)
16537 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
16538 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
16542 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
16543 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
16546 @node Displaying Predictions
16547 @subsection Displaying Predictions
16549 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
16550 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
16551 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
16552 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
16553 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
16555 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
16556 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
16557 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
16558 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
16559 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
16560 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
16561 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
16562 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
16563 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
16564 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
16565 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
16566 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
16567 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
16569 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
16570 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
16571 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
16572 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
16574 The following are valid values for that variable.
16577 @item prediction-spot
16578 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
16581 @item confidence-interval
16582 A numeric confidence interval.
16584 @item prediction-bar
16585 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
16587 @item confidence-bar
16588 Numerical confidence.
16590 @item confidence-spot
16591 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
16593 @item prediction-num
16594 Plain-old numeric value.
16596 @item confidence-plus-minus
16597 Prediction +/- confidence.
16602 @node GroupLens Variables
16603 @subsection GroupLens Variables
16607 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
16608 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
16609 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
16610 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
16613 @item grouplens-bbb-host
16614 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
16617 @item grouplens-bbb-port
16618 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
16620 @item grouplens-score-offset
16621 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
16622 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
16625 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
16626 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
16627 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
16632 @node Advanced Scoring
16633 @section Advanced Scoring
16635 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
16636 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
16637 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
16638 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
16639 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
16641 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
16645 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
16646 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
16647 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
16651 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
16652 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
16654 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
16655 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
16656 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
16657 non-@code{nil} value.
16659 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
16660 operator, and various match operators.
16667 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16668 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
16669 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
16674 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16675 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
16676 then this operator will return @code{false}.
16681 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
16682 logical negation of the value of its argument.
16686 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
16687 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
16688 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
16689 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
16690 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
16691 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
16692 the ancestry you want to go.
16694 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
16695 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
16696 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
16697 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
16698 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
16701 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
16702 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
16704 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
16705 when he's talking about Gnus:
16709 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16710 ("subject" "Gnus"))
16716 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
16720 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16727 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
16728 really don't want to read what he's written:
16732 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16733 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
16737 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
16738 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
16739 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
16746 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
16747 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
16748 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
16749 ("body" "white.*socks"))
16753 The possibilities are endless.
16756 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
16757 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
16759 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
16760 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
16761 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
16762 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
16763 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
16764 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
16765 @samp{subject}) first.
16767 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
16768 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
16779 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
16780 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
16786 ("subject" "Gnus")))
16793 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
16794 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
16799 @section Score Decays
16800 @cindex score decays
16803 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
16804 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
16805 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
16806 use them in any sensible way.
16808 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
16809 @findex gnus-decay-score
16810 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
16811 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
16812 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
16813 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
16814 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
16815 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
16816 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
16817 definition of that function:
16820 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
16822 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
16823 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
16826 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
16828 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
16830 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
16833 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
16834 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
16835 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
16836 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
16840 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
16843 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
16846 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
16850 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
16851 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
16852 the new score, which should be an integer.
16854 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
16855 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
16862 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
16863 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
16864 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
16865 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
16866 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
16867 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
16868 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
16869 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
16870 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
16871 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
16872 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
16873 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
16874 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
16875 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
16876 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
16877 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
16878 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
16879 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
16883 @node Process/Prefix
16884 @section Process/Prefix
16885 @cindex process/prefix convention
16887 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
16888 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
16890 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
16891 command to be performed on.
16895 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
16896 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
16897 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
16898 with the current one.
16900 @vindex transient-mark-mode
16901 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
16902 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
16904 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
16905 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
16908 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
16909 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
16911 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
16914 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
16915 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
16916 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
16917 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16919 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
16920 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
16921 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
16922 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
16923 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
16924 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
16925 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
16926 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
16928 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
16929 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
16930 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
16931 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
16932 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
16936 @section Interactive
16937 @cindex interaction
16941 @item gnus-novice-user
16942 @vindex gnus-novice-user
16943 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
16944 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
16945 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
16946 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
16949 @item gnus-expert-user
16950 @vindex gnus-expert-user
16951 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
16952 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
16953 matter how strange.
16955 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
16956 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
16957 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
16958 is @code{t} by default.
16960 @item gnus-interactive-exit
16961 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
16962 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
16967 @node Symbolic Prefixes
16968 @section Symbolic Prefixes
16969 @cindex symbolic prefixes
16971 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
16972 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
16973 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
16974 rule of 900 to the current article.
16976 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
16977 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
16978 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
16979 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
16980 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
16981 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
16982 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
16984 @kindex M-i (Summary)
16985 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
16986 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
16987 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
16988 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
16989 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
16990 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
16991 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
16992 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
16994 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
16995 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
16996 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
16998 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
17002 @node Formatting Variables
17003 @section Formatting Variables
17004 @cindex formatting variables
17006 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
17007 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
17008 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
17009 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
17010 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
17013 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
17014 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
17015 lots of percentages everywhere.
17018 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
17019 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
17020 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
17021 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
17022 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
17025 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
17026 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
17027 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
17028 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
17029 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
17030 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
17031 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
17032 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
17034 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
17035 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
17037 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
17038 @findex gnus-update-format
17039 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
17040 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
17041 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
17042 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
17046 @node Formatting Basics
17047 @subsection Formatting Basics
17049 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
17050 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
17051 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
17053 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
17054 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
17055 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
17056 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
17057 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
17060 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
17061 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
17062 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
17063 less than 4 characters wide.
17066 @node Mode Line Formatting
17067 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
17069 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
17070 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
17071 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
17072 with the following two differences:
17077 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
17080 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
17081 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
17082 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
17083 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
17084 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
17085 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
17086 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
17091 @node Advanced Formatting
17092 @subsection Advanced Formatting
17094 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
17095 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
17096 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
17097 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
17099 These are the valid modifiers:
17104 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
17108 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
17113 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
17116 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
17121 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
17124 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
17127 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
17130 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
17134 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
17135 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
17136 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
17137 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
17138 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
17139 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
17140 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
17142 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
17143 last operation, padding.
17145 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
17146 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
17147 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
17148 @xref{Compilation}.
17151 @node User-Defined Specs
17152 @subsection User-Defined Specs
17154 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
17155 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
17156 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
17157 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
17158 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
17159 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
17160 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
17161 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
17162 should protect against that.
17164 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
17165 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
17166 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
17167 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
17171 @node Formatting Fonts
17172 @subsection Formatting Fonts
17174 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
17175 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
17176 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
17177 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
17180 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
17181 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
17182 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
17183 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
17184 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
17185 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
17187 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
17188 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
17189 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
17190 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
17191 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
17192 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
17193 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
17194 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
17196 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
17199 ;; Create three face types.
17200 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
17201 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
17203 ;; We want the article count to be in
17204 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
17205 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
17206 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
17208 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
17209 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
17211 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
17212 (setq gnus-group-line-format
17213 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
17216 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
17217 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
17219 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
17220 mode-line variables.
17223 @node Windows Configuration
17224 @section Windows Configuration
17225 @cindex windows configuration
17227 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
17229 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
17230 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
17231 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
17232 @code{t} by default.
17234 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
17235 glitches. Use at your own peril.
17237 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
17238 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
17239 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
17242 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
17243 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
17244 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17248 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
17249 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
17250 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
17251 possible names is listed below.
17253 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
17254 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
17257 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17261 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
17262 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
17263 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
17264 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
17265 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
17266 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
17267 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
17268 size spec per split.
17270 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
17271 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
17272 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
17273 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
17274 present) gets focus.
17276 Here's a more complicated example:
17279 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
17280 (summary 0.25 point)
17281 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
17285 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
17286 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
17287 occupy, not a percentage.
17289 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
17290 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
17291 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
17292 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
17293 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
17296 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
17299 (article (horizontal 1.0
17304 (summary 0.25 point)
17309 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
17310 @code{horizontal} thingie?
17312 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
17313 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
17314 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
17315 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
17316 the screen is to be given to this strip.
17318 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
17319 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
17320 lines from the splits.
17322 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
17326 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
17327 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
17328 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
17329 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
17330 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
17331 size = number | frame-params
17332 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
17335 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
17336 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
17337 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
17338 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
17340 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
17341 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
17342 @cindex window height
17343 @cindex window width
17344 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
17345 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
17346 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
17347 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
17348 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
17349 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
17351 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
17352 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
17353 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
17354 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
17356 @findex gnus-configure-frame
17357 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
17358 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
17359 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
17360 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
17361 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
17362 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
17363 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
17364 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
17365 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
17366 configuration list.
17369 (gnus-configure-frame
17373 (article 0.3 point))
17381 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
17382 @code{frame} split:
17385 (gnus-configure-frame
17388 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
17390 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
17391 (user-position . t)
17392 (left . -1) (top . 1))
17397 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
17398 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
17399 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
17400 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
17401 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
17402 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
17403 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
17404 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
17406 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
17407 be found in its default value.
17409 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
17410 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
17411 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
17415 (message (horizontal 1.0
17416 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
17418 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
17423 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
17424 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
17425 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
17428 (message (frame 1.0
17429 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
17430 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
17431 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
17432 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
17433 (name . "Message"))
17434 (message 1.0 point))))
17437 @findex gnus-add-configuration
17438 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
17439 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
17440 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
17441 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
17444 (gnus-add-configuration
17445 '(article (vertical 1.0
17447 (summary .25 point)
17451 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
17452 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
17453 Gnus has been loaded.
17455 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
17456 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
17457 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
17458 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
17459 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
17461 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
17462 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
17463 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
17466 @subsection Example Window Configurations
17470 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
17471 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
17486 (gnus-add-configuration
17489 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
17491 (summary 0.16 point)
17494 (gnus-add-configuration
17497 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
17498 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
17504 @node Faces and Fonts
17505 @section Faces and Fonts
17510 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
17511 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
17512 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
17517 @section Compilation
17518 @cindex compilation
17519 @cindex byte-compilation
17521 @findex gnus-compile
17523 Remember all those line format specification variables?
17524 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
17525 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
17526 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
17527 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
17528 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
17531 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
17532 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
17533 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
17534 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
17535 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
17536 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
17537 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
17541 @section Mode Lines
17544 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
17545 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
17546 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
17547 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
17548 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
17549 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
17550 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
17553 @cindex display-time
17555 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
17556 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
17557 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
17558 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
17559 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
17560 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
17561 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
17562 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
17565 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
17567 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
17568 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
17570 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
17571 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
17572 (length display-time-string)))))
17575 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
17576 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
17577 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
17578 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
17579 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
17582 @node Highlighting and Menus
17583 @section Highlighting and Menus
17585 @cindex highlighting
17588 @vindex gnus-visual
17589 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
17590 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
17591 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
17594 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
17595 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
17598 @item group-highlight
17599 Do highlights in the group buffer.
17600 @item summary-highlight
17601 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
17602 @item article-highlight
17603 Do highlights in the article buffer.
17605 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
17607 Create menus in the group buffer.
17609 Create menus in the summary buffers.
17611 Create menus in the article buffer.
17613 Create menus in the browse buffer.
17615 Create menus in the server buffer.
17617 Create menus in the score buffers.
17619 Create menus in all buffers.
17622 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
17623 buffers, you could say something like:
17626 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
17629 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
17632 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
17635 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
17636 in all Gnus buffers.
17638 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
17641 @item gnus-mouse-face
17642 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
17643 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
17644 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
17648 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
17652 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
17653 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
17654 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
17656 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
17657 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
17658 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
17660 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
17661 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
17662 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
17664 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
17665 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
17666 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
17668 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
17669 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
17670 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
17672 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
17673 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
17674 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
17685 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
17686 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
17687 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
17688 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
17689 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
17693 @vindex gnus-carpal
17694 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
17695 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
17696 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
17701 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17702 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17703 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
17705 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
17706 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
17707 Face used on buttons.
17709 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
17710 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
17711 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
17713 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17714 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17715 Buttons in the group buffer.
17717 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17718 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17719 Buttons in the summary buffer.
17721 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17722 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17723 Buttons in the server buffer.
17725 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17726 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17727 Buttons in the browse buffer.
17730 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
17731 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
17732 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
17740 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
17741 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
17742 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
17743 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
17744 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
17746 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
17747 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
17748 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
17750 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
17751 been idle for thirty minutes:
17754 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
17757 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
17761 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
17764 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
17765 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
17766 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17768 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
17769 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
17770 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
17771 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17773 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
17774 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
17775 @var{idle} minutes.
17777 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
17778 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
17781 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
17782 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
17783 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
17785 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
17786 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
17787 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
17788 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
17790 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
17791 your @file{.gnus} file:
17793 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
17795 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
17798 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
17799 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
17800 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
17801 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
17802 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
17803 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
17804 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
17805 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
17806 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
17807 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
17808 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
17810 @findex gnus-demon-init
17811 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
17812 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
17813 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
17814 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
17815 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
17817 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
17818 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
17819 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
17828 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
17829 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
17831 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
17832 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
17833 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
17834 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
17837 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
17838 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
17839 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
17840 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
17842 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
17843 this will make spam disappear.
17845 There are some variables to customize, of course:
17848 @item gnus-use-nocem
17849 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
17850 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
17853 @item gnus-nocem-groups
17854 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
17855 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
17856 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
17857 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
17859 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
17860 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
17861 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
17862 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
17863 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
17864 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
17866 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
17867 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
17869 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
17870 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
17871 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
17872 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
17873 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
17874 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
17875 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
17876 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
17877 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
17878 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
17880 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
17881 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
17884 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
17887 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
17888 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
17891 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
17894 The specs are applied left-to-right.
17897 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
17898 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
17900 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
17901 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
17902 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
17903 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
17905 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
17906 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
17909 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
17911 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
17919 This might be dangerous, though.
17921 @item gnus-nocem-directory
17922 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
17923 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
17924 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
17926 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
17927 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
17928 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
17929 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
17930 might then see old spam.
17932 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
17933 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
17934 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
17935 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
17936 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
17939 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
17940 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
17941 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
17942 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
17946 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
17947 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
17948 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
17949 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
17956 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
17957 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
17958 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
17960 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
17961 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
17962 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
17963 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
17964 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
17965 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
17966 @code{undo} function.
17968 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
17969 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
17970 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
17971 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
17972 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
17973 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
17974 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
17975 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
17976 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
17977 never be totally undoable.
17979 @findex gnus-undo-mode
17980 @vindex gnus-use-undo
17982 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
17983 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
17984 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
17985 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
17990 @section Moderation
17993 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
17994 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
17995 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
17998 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
18002 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
18005 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18007 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
18012 You split your incoming mail by matching on
18013 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
18014 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
18017 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
18018 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
18021 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
18022 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
18026 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
18029 (setq gnus-moderated-list
18030 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
18034 @node XEmacs Enhancements
18035 @section XEmacs Enhancements
18038 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
18042 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
18043 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
18044 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
18045 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
18058 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
18059 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
18060 over your shoulder as you read news.
18063 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
18064 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
18065 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
18066 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
18067 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
18072 @subsubsection Picon Basics
18074 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
18083 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
18084 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
18085 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
18086 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
18087 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
18088 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
18089 @code{GIF} formats.
18092 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18093 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
18094 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
18095 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
18096 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
18098 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18099 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
18100 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
18101 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
18102 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
18103 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18106 @node Picon Requirements
18107 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
18109 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
18110 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
18113 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
18114 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
18115 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
18117 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18118 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
18119 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
18120 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
18121 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
18125 @subsubsection Easy Picons
18127 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
18128 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
18131 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
18132 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
18135 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
18136 containing the Picons databases.
18138 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
18141 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18142 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
18147 @subsubsection Hard Picons
18155 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
18156 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
18157 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
18158 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
18159 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
18164 @item gnus-picons-database
18165 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18166 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
18167 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
18168 subdirectories. This is only useful if
18169 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
18170 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
18172 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18173 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18174 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
18175 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
18176 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
18177 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
18178 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18180 @item gnus-picons-display-where
18181 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18182 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
18183 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
18184 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
18185 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
18186 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
18187 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
18189 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18190 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18191 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
18196 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
18197 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
18199 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
18200 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
18203 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18205 @item gnus-article-display-picons
18206 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18207 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
18208 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
18210 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
18211 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18212 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
18218 @node Picon Useless Configuration
18219 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
18227 The following variables offer further control over how things are
18228 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
18229 don't need to worry about.
18233 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
18234 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
18235 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18236 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
18238 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
18239 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
18240 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
18241 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
18243 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
18244 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
18245 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18246 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
18247 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
18249 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18250 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18251 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
18252 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
18253 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
18254 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
18255 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
18257 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18258 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18259 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
18260 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
18262 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18263 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18264 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
18265 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
18266 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
18267 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
18268 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
18270 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18271 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18272 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
18273 Defaults to @code{nil}.
18275 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
18276 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
18277 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
18278 Defaults to @code{t}.
18280 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18281 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18282 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
18283 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
18285 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
18286 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
18287 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
18289 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18290 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18291 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
18292 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
18294 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
18295 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the defailt.
18297 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18298 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18299 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
18300 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
18301 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
18302 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
18303 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
18304 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
18315 @subsection Smileys
18320 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
18325 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
18326 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
18328 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
18329 @file{.gnus.el} file:
18332 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
18335 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
18336 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
18337 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
18338 text and maps that to file names.
18340 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
18341 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
18342 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
18343 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
18344 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
18345 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
18347 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
18348 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
18350 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
18351 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
18352 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
18354 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
18355 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
18359 @item smiley-data-directory
18360 @vindex smiley-data-directory
18361 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
18363 @item smiley-flesh-color
18364 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
18365 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
18367 @item smiley-features-color
18368 @vindex smiley-features-color
18369 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18371 @item smiley-tongue-color
18372 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
18373 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
18375 @item smiley-circle-color
18376 @vindex smiley-circle-color
18377 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18379 @item smiley-mouse-face
18380 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
18381 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
18387 @subsection Toolbar
18397 @item gnus-use-toolbar
18398 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
18399 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
18400 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
18401 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
18403 @item gnus-group-toolbar
18404 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
18405 The toolbar in the group buffer.
18407 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
18408 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
18409 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
18411 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18412 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18413 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
18419 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
18422 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18423 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18424 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
18425 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
18426 unusual directory structure.
18428 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18429 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18430 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
18431 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
18433 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18434 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18435 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
18436 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
18437 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
18438 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
18440 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18441 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18442 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
18456 @node Fuzzy Matching
18457 @section Fuzzy Matching
18458 @cindex fuzzy matching
18460 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
18461 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
18463 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
18464 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
18465 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
18467 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
18468 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
18469 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
18470 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
18471 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
18474 @node Thwarting Email Spam
18475 @section Thwarting Email Spam
18479 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
18481 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
18482 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
18483 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
18484 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
18485 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
18486 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
18487 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
18488 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
18491 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
18492 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
18493 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
18494 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
18495 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
18496 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
18500 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
18501 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
18503 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
18504 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
18505 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
18506 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
18507 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
18508 part of the mail address.)
18511 (setq message-default-news-headers
18512 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
18515 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
18516 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
18521 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
18522 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
18523 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
18529 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
18530 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
18531 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
18532 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
18534 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
18535 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
18536 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
18537 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
18538 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
18539 your fancy split rule in this way:
18544 (to "larsi" "misc")
18548 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
18549 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
18550 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
18551 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
18552 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
18554 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
18555 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
18556 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
18557 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
18558 cosmic balance somewhat.
18560 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
18561 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
18562 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
18563 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
18566 @node Various Various
18567 @section Various Various
18573 @item gnus-home-directory
18574 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
18575 defaults to @file{~/}.
18577 @item gnus-directory
18578 @vindex gnus-directory
18579 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
18580 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
18581 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
18583 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
18584 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
18585 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
18586 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
18588 @item gnus-default-directory
18589 @vindex gnus-default-directory
18590 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
18591 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
18592 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
18593 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
18594 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
18595 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
18598 @vindex gnus-verbose
18599 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
18600 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
18601 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
18602 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
18603 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
18605 @item gnus-verbose-backends
18606 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
18607 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
18608 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
18610 @item nnheader-max-head-length
18611 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
18612 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
18613 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
18614 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
18615 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
18616 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
18617 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
18618 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
18619 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
18621 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
18622 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
18623 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
18624 read when doing the operation described above.
18626 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18627 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18629 @cindex invalid characters in file names
18630 @cindex characters in file names
18631 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
18632 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
18633 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
18636 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18640 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
18641 Windows (phooey) systems.
18643 @item gnus-hidden-properties
18644 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
18645 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
18646 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
18647 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
18649 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
18650 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
18651 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
18652 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
18653 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
18655 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
18656 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
18657 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
18659 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18660 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18662 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
18663 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
18664 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
18665 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
18668 IMAP users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
18677 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
18678 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
18680 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
18682 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
18688 Not because of victories @*
18691 but for the common sunshine,@*
18693 the largess of the spring.
18697 but for the day's work done@*
18698 as well as I was able;@*
18699 not for a seat upon the dais@*
18700 but at the common table.@*
18705 @chapter Appendices
18708 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
18709 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
18710 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
18711 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
18712 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
18713 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
18714 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
18715 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
18723 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
18724 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
18726 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
18727 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
18728 @file{http://quimby.gnus.org/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
18729 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
18730 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
18732 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
18733 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
18734 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
18735 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
18736 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
18737 appropriate name, don't you think?)
18739 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
18740 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
18741 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
18742 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
18745 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
18746 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
18747 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
18748 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
18749 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
18750 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
18751 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
18752 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
18753 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
18754 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
18758 @node Gnus Versions
18759 @subsection Gnus Versions
18760 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
18762 @cindex September Gnus
18763 @cindex Quassia Gnus
18765 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
18766 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
18767 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
18769 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
18770 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
18772 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
18773 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
18775 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
18776 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
18778 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
18779 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
18782 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
18783 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
18784 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
18785 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
18786 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
18790 @node Other Gnus Versions
18791 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
18794 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
18795 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
18796 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
18797 @sc{mime} capabilities.
18799 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
18800 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
18801 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
18802 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
18809 What's the point of Gnus?
18811 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
18812 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
18813 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
18814 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
18815 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
18816 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
18817 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
18818 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
18819 keep track of millions of people who post?
18821 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
18822 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
18823 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
18824 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
18825 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
18826 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
18827 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
18828 every one of you to explore and invent.
18830 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
18831 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
18834 @node Compatibility
18835 @subsection Compatibility
18837 @cindex compatibility
18838 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
18839 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
18840 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
18845 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
18849 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
18852 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
18855 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
18856 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
18857 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
18858 important variables have their values copied into their global
18859 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
18860 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
18862 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
18863 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
18864 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
18865 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
18866 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
18870 @cindex highlighting
18871 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
18872 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
18873 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
18874 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
18875 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
18876 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
18879 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
18880 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
18881 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
18882 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
18884 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
18885 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
18886 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
18887 to stop doing it the old way.
18889 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
18891 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18893 @cindex reporting bugs
18895 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
18896 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
18897 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
18899 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
18900 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
18901 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
18902 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
18907 @subsection Conformity
18909 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
18910 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
18917 There are no known breaches of this standard.
18921 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
18923 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
18924 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
18925 We do have some breaches to this one.
18931 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
18932 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
18933 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
18934 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
18935 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
18940 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
18941 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
18942 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
18943 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
18947 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
18948 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
18953 @subsection Emacsen
18959 Gnus should work on :
18967 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
18971 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
18972 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
18975 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
18976 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
18977 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
18981 @node Gnus Development
18982 @subsection Gnus Development
18984 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
18985 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
18986 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
18987 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
18988 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
18989 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
18990 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
18991 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
18993 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
18994 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
18995 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
18996 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
18997 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
19000 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
19001 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
19002 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
19003 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
19004 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
19006 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
19007 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
19008 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
19009 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
19010 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
19011 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
19012 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
19013 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
19014 usually keep up with these rapid changes, whille people on the newsgroup
19015 can't be assumed to do so.
19020 @subsection Contributors
19021 @cindex contributors
19023 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
19024 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
19025 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
19026 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
19027 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
19028 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
19029 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
19030 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
19031 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
19032 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
19034 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
19040 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
19043 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
19044 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
19045 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
19046 functionality and stuff.
19049 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
19050 well as numerous other things).
19053 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
19056 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
19059 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
19062 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
19063 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
19066 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
19069 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
19070 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19073 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
19076 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
19079 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
19082 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
19085 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
19086 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
19089 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
19092 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
19095 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
19098 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
19102 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
19105 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
19108 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
19111 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
19112 well as autoconf support.
19116 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
19117 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
19119 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
19128 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
19132 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
19142 Alexei V. Barantsev,
19157 Massimo Campostrini,
19162 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
19163 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
19167 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
19170 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
19176 Michael Welsh Duggan,
19181 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
19185 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
19193 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
19195 Michelangelo Grigni,
19199 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
19201 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
19203 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
19210 François Felix Ingrand,
19211 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
19212 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
19214 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
19225 Peter Skov Knudsen,
19226 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
19228 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
19229 Thor Kristoffersen,
19232 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
19250 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
19251 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
19258 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
19263 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
19267 John McClary Prevost,
19273 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
19278 Christian von Roques,
19281 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
19288 Philippe Schnoebelen,
19290 Randal L. Schwartz,
19304 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
19309 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
19325 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
19330 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
19331 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
19332 (550kB and counting).
19334 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
19337 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
19338 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
19342 @subsection New Features
19343 @cindex new features
19346 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
19347 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
19348 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
19349 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
19352 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
19353 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
19354 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
19358 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
19360 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
19365 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
19366 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
19369 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
19370 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
19373 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
19376 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
19377 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
19378 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
19381 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
19382 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
19383 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
19384 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19387 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
19388 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19391 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
19392 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
19393 (@pxref{The Active File}).
19396 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
19397 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
19400 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
19401 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
19402 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19405 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
19406 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
19407 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
19410 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
19411 the @file{.emacs} file.
19414 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
19415 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19418 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
19419 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
19422 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
19423 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19426 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
19427 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
19430 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
19431 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19434 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
19437 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
19438 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
19441 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
19442 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
19445 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
19446 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
19449 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
19452 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
19453 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19456 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
19460 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
19464 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
19465 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
19468 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
19474 @node September Gnus
19475 @subsubsection September Gnus
19479 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
19483 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
19488 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
19489 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
19493 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
19494 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
19498 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
19502 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
19503 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
19506 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
19510 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19513 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
19516 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
19519 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
19523 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
19524 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
19527 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
19531 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
19535 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
19539 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
19543 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
19546 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
19547 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
19550 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
19554 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
19555 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
19558 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
19561 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
19562 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
19563 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19566 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
19570 The Gnus cache is much faster.
19573 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
19577 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
19578 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19581 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
19582 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
19585 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
19586 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19589 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
19590 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
19591 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
19594 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
19595 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
19598 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
19601 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19604 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
19607 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
19610 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
19611 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
19614 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
19618 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
19621 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
19626 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
19629 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
19633 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19636 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
19640 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
19643 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
19646 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
19647 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19650 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
19651 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
19655 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
19656 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
19659 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
19663 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
19664 buffer to allow easier treatment.
19667 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
19670 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
19674 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
19678 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
19679 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
19682 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
19686 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
19687 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19690 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
19691 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19694 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
19698 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19701 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
19704 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
19710 @subsubsection Red Gnus
19712 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
19716 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
19723 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
19726 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
19727 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19730 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
19731 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
19735 Article washing status can be displayed in the
19736 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
19739 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
19742 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
19743 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
19746 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
19750 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
19751 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
19755 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
19756 Server Internals}).
19759 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
19763 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
19766 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
19767 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
19770 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
19771 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
19772 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
19775 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
19776 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19779 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
19780 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
19783 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
19787 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
19788 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19791 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
19792 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19795 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
19799 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
19802 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
19806 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
19807 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19810 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
19811 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19814 A new command for reading collections of documents
19815 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
19816 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
19819 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
19823 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
19824 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
19827 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
19828 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
19829 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
19832 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
19833 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
19837 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
19841 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
19845 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
19850 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
19854 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
19858 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
19859 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
19862 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
19868 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
19870 New features in Gnus 5.6:
19875 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
19876 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
19877 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
19880 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
19881 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
19882 group, which is created automatically.
19885 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
19889 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
19892 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
19893 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
19896 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
19900 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
19903 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
19904 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
19907 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
19910 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
19911 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
19914 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
19915 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
19918 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
19919 control over simplification.
19922 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
19925 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
19929 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
19932 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
19935 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
19936 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
19937 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
19940 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
19941 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
19944 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
19948 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
19949 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
19952 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
19953 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
19956 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
19960 A history of where mails have been split is available.
19963 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
19966 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
19967 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
19970 A new function for citing in Message has been
19971 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
19974 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
19977 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
19981 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
19982 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
19985 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
19986 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
19989 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
19992 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
19997 @node Newest Features
19998 @subsection Newest Features
20001 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
20004 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
20006 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
20007 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
20010 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
20015 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
20016 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
20019 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
20022 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
20025 facep is not declared.
20028 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
20029 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
20032 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
20037 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
20038 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
20039 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
20040 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
20041 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
20042 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
20043 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
20048 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
20051 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
20054 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
20056 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
20057 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
20059 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
20061 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
20063 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
20064 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
20066 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
20068 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
20069 be marked as unread.
20071 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
20073 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
20075 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
20076 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
20078 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
20080 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
20082 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
20083 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
20085 topics that contain just groups with ticked
20086 articles aren't displayed.
20088 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
20090 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
20091 make the mail groups killed.
20093 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
20095 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
20096 and articles have to be removed.
20098 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
20101 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
20103 finding short score file names takes forever.
20105 canceling articles in foreign groups.
20107 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
20109 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
20111 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
20113 nnweb doesn't work properly.
20115 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
20117 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
20118 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
20122 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
20124 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
20125 bar and the Gnus bar.
20128 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
20129 `(canonize-message-id id)'
20130 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
20131 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
20132 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
20133 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
20138 nnml .overview directory with splits.
20142 postponed commands.
20144 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
20146 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
20149 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
20150 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
20152 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
20153 inherit copy prompts and save files.
20155 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
20157 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
20158 for backends that support that.
20160 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
20162 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
20163 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
20165 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
20166 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
20168 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
20170 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
20172 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
20174 server mode command: close/open all connections
20176 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
20177 has been changed before using it.
20179 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
20181 hide (sub)threads with low score.
20183 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
20185 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
20187 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
20188 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
20190 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
20191 contain groups that match a regexp.
20193 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
20196 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
20199 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
20200 from subject lines.
20202 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
20204 nntp-ping-before-connect
20206 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
20208 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
20209 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
20211 message annotations.
20213 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
20215 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
20216 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
20218 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
20223 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
20225 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
20227 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
20229 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
20230 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
20232 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
20234 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
20236 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
20237 finds and generate proper active ranges.
20239 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
20240 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
20242 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
20244 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
20246 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
20247 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
20249 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
20251 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
20253 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
20254 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
20257 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
20259 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
20261 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
20262 `C-c C-c' when posting.
20264 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
20267 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
20268 should be marker as expirable.
20270 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
20272 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
20273 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
20275 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
20276 Also consult Date headers.
20278 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
20280 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
20282 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
20283 Message-ID, delete the "original".
20285 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
20286 into a See-Also header.
20288 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
20290 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
20292 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
20293 should be listed as such and not as "K".
20295 generate font names dynamically.
20297 score file mode auto-alist.
20299 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
20300 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
20302 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
20303 absolutely all headers there is.
20305 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
20306 and pipe them to the process.
20308 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
20309 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
20310 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
20312 function for starting to edit a file to put into
20313 the current mail group.
20315 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
20317 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
20318 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
20320 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
20321 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
20323 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
20325 when replying to several process-marked articles,
20326 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
20328 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
20329 groups it has been mailed to.
20331 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
20333 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
20335 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
20337 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
20338 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
20340 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
20341 newlines) should be ignored.
20343 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
20344 groups in subtopics as well.
20346 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
20348 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
20351 add edit and forward secondary marks.
20353 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
20355 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
20357 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
20359 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
20361 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
20363 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
20364 or the formatted article.
20366 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
20368 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
20369 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
20371 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
20373 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
20375 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
20377 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
20378 even unread articles.
20380 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
20382 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
20384 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
20386 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
20388 canceling articles in foreign groups.
20390 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
20393 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
20394 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
20396 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
20397 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
20399 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
20401 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
20403 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
20404 from a particular server? Hm.
20406 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
20407 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
20409 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
20411 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
20412 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
20414 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
20415 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
20417 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
20418 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
20419 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
20422 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
20423 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
20425 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
20427 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
20429 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
20431 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
20434 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
20437 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
20438 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
20440 command to show and edit group scores
20442 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
20445 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
20447 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
20449 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
20450 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
20453 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
20454 that are of that length.
20456 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
20458 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
20460 asynchronous posting under nntp.
20462 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
20464 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
20466 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
20468 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
20469 a score lower than this number.
20471 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
20473 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
20475 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
20476 so that each copy can be edited separately.
20478 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
20480 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
20481 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
20483 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
20486 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
20487 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
20488 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
20489 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
20491 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
20494 command to remove all topic stuff.
20496 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
20497 and splitting the resulting digests.
20499 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
20501 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
20503 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
20504 matches an alist -- before saving.
20506 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
20508 variable to activate each group before entering them
20509 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
20511 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
20512 starting Gnus first if necessary.
20514 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
20515 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
20517 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
20519 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
20520 of several groups at once.
20522 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
20523 matches some regexp(s).
20525 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
20527 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
20529 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
20531 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
20533 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
20535 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
20537 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
20539 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
20540 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
20541 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
20542 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
20544 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
20545 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
20547 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
20549 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
20550 recently cited text.
20552 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
20554 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
20557 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
20558 server and just read the articles in the server
20560 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
20561 value of nnoo variables.
20563 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
20565 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
20566 listed in each group info.
20568 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
20571 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
20572 should only be applied to some groups.
20574 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
20575 mail-copies-to: never.
20577 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
20578 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
20580 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
20582 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
20585 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
20588 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
20590 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
20593 group user-defined meta-parameters.
20597 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
20599 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
20600 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
20601 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
20602 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
20603 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
20605 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
20606 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
20613 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
20614 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
20616 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
20617 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
20619 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
20620 "Return the date the group was last read."
20621 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
20626 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
20627 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
20628 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
20629 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
20633 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
20634 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
20636 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
20639 They could be used like this:
20643 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
20644 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
20645 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
20647 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
20649 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
20652 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
20655 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
20656 affect the summary line format.
20660 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
20662 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
20663 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
20665 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
20668 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
20670 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
20672 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
20674 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
20676 - For other files, just find them normally.
20678 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
20679 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
20682 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
20683 tell him what you are doing.
20686 Currently, I get prompted:
20690 decend into sci.something ?
20694 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
20695 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
20696 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
20697 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
20700 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
20701 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
20702 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
20703 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
20706 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
20707 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
20713 more than n blank lines
20715 more than m identical lines
20716 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
20718 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
20722 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
20723 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
20724 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
20725 "same" subject for threading purposes.
20728 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
20729 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
20730 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
20731 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
20734 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
20737 soup - bowl of soup
20738 score below - dim light bulb
20739 score over - bright light bulb
20742 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
20747 show-list-of-articles-in-group
20748 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20749 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
20750 if (articles-selected)
20751 start-reading-selected-articles;
20752 junk-unread-articles;
20757 else if (key-pressed = '.')
20758 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
20759 select-thread-under-cursor;
20761 select-article-under-cursor;
20765 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20766 if (more-pages-in-article)
20768 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
20775 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
20776 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
20777 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
20780 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
20781 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
20782 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
20783 the wildcard expression).
20786 It would be nice if it also handled
20788 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
20790 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
20795 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
20796 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
20797 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
20798 article versions) variable.
20800 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
20802 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
20803 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
20807 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
20810 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
20811 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
20812 (message-sent-hook).
20814 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
20817 * Enhancements to Gnus:
20821 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
20822 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
20825 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
20826 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
20827 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
20830 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
20831 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
20835 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
20838 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
20842 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
20843 the nnmail duplicate checking.
20846 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
20847 value of the signature file.
20850 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
20851 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
20854 (setq message-tab-alist
20855 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
20856 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
20858 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
20862 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
20865 a command to import a buffer into a group.
20868 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
20871 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
20872 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
20875 a command to process mark all unread articles.
20878 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
20879 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
20880 do more gathering by subject.
20883 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
20884 article numerical order.
20887 (gnus-thread-total-score
20888 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
20892 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
20895 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
20896 in the summary buffer.
20899 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
20900 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
20903 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
20904 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
20905 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
20906 and/or newsgroup name.
20909 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
20912 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
20915 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
20918 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
20919 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
20920 will automatically get the process mark.
20923 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
20924 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
20925 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
20928 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
20932 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
20933 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
20936 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
20937 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
20941 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
20942 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
20945 be able to post via DejaNews.
20948 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
20951 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
20952 allow them to be displayed separately.
20955 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
20956 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
20959 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
20960 articles that match a certain From header.
20963 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
20964 saving living summary buffers.
20967 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
20968 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
20971 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
20972 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
20975 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
20976 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
20979 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
20980 (goto-char (point-min))
20981 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
20982 (replace-match "`" t t))
20983 (goto-char (point-min))
20984 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
20985 (replace-match "'" t t))
20986 (goto-char (point-min))
20987 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
20988 (replace-match "\"" t t))
20989 (goto-char (point-min))
20990 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
20991 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
20996 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
20998 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
20999 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
21000 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
21001 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
21005 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
21008 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
21009 numbers and match on the age of the article.
21013 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
21014 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
21015 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
21017 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
21018 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
21020 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
21021 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
21026 all commands that react to the process mark should push
21027 the current process mark set onto the stack.
21030 gnus-article-hide-pgp
21031 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
21033 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
21035 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
21036 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
21039 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
21040 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
21043 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
21047 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
21048 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
21051 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
21054 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
21057 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
21060 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
21064 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
21070 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
21073 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
21077 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
21078 X characters in the body.
21081 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
21084 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
21087 format spec to "tab" to a position.
21090 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
21093 command to display all dormant articles.
21096 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
21099 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
21100 to something someone else has said.
21103 Read Netscape discussion groups:
21104 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
21107 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
21108 the displayed version.
21111 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
21115 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
21118 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
21119 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
21120 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
21124 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
21125 in the head or body.
21128 Allow breaking lengthy @sc{nntp} commands.
21131 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
21134 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
21135 in a special, unique buffer.
21138 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
21141 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
21142 is less than a certain number of days old.
21145 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
21148 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
21151 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
21152 file, for instance.
21155 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
21156 in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
21157 dummy root instead of the first article.
21160 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
21161 topics for displaying.
21164 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
21165 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
21168 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
21171 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
21172 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
21173 summary buffer for each article.
21176 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
21179 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
21183 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
21186 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
21190 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
21193 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
21196 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
21197 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
21200 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
21201 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
21204 A spec for the group line format to display the number of
21205 agent-downloaded articles in the group.
21208 Some nntp servers never respond when posting, so there should be a
21209 timeout for all commands.
21212 When stading on a topic line and `t'-ing, point goes to the last line.
21213 It should go somewhere else.
21216 I'm having trouble accessing a newsgroup with a "+" in its name with
21217 Gnus. There is a new newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com named
21218 "microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time" that I'm trying to
21220 "nntp+msnews.microsoft.com:microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time"
21221 but it gives an error that it cant access the group.
21223 Is the "+" character illegal in newsgroup names? Is there any way in
21224 Gnus to work around this? (gnus 5.6.45 - XEmacs 20.4)
21231 Subject: Answer to your mails 01.01.1999-01.05.1999
21232 --text follows this line--
21233 Sorry I killfiled you...
21235 Under the subject "foo", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
21237 Under the subject "foo1", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
21242 Allow "orphan" scores in the Agent scoring.
21246 - Edit article's summary line.
21248 - Sort lines in buffer by subject
21250 --> the old subject line appears in Summary buffer, not the one that was
21256 Remove list identifiers from the subject in the summary when doing `^'
21260 Have the Agent write out articles, one by one, as it retrieves them,
21261 to avoid having to re-fetch them all if Emacs should crash while
21265 Be able to forward groups of messages as MIME digests.
21268 nnweb should include the "get whole article" article when getting articles.
21271 When I type W W c (gnus-article-hide-citation) in the summary
21272 buffer, the citations are revealed, but the [+] buttons don't turn
21273 into [-] buttons. (If I click on one of the [+] buttons, it does
21274 turn into a [-] button.)
21277 Perhaps there should be a command to "attach" a buffer of comments to
21278 a message? That is, `B WHATEVER', you're popped into a buffer, write
21279 something, end with `C-c C-c', and then the thing you've written gets
21280 to be the child of the message you're commenting.
21283 Handle external-body parts.
21286 When renaming a group name, nnmail-split-history does not get the group
21290 Allow mail splitting on bodies when using advanced mail splitting.
21293 (body "whatever.text")
21297 Be able to run `J u' from summary buffers.
21300 Solve the halting problem.
21309 @section The Manual
21313 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21314 either @code{texi2dvi}
21316 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21317 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21319 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21321 The following conventions have been used:
21326 This is a @samp{string}
21329 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21332 This is a @file{file}
21335 This is a @code{symbol}
21339 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21343 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21346 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21349 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21352 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21353 ever get them confused.
21357 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21358 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21359 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21360 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21361 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21362 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21363 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21369 @node On Writing Manuals
21370 @section On Writing Manuals
21372 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21373 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21374 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21375 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21376 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21377 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21380 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21381 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21382 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21385 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21386 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21391 @section Terminology
21393 @cindex terminology
21398 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21399 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21400 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21401 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21402 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21406 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21407 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21408 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21409 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21413 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21417 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21422 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
21423 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21424 is all done by the backends.
21428 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
21429 default, way of getting news.
21433 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21434 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
21439 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21440 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21444 A message that has been posted as news.
21447 @cindex mail message
21448 A message that has been mailed.
21452 A mail message or news article
21456 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21461 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21466 A line from the head of an article.
21470 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21471 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21475 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
21476 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21477 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21478 normal @sc{head} format.
21482 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21483 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21484 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21485 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21486 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21487 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21489 @item killed groups
21490 @cindex killed groups
21491 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21492 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21494 @item zombie groups
21495 @cindex zombie groups
21496 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21499 @cindex active file
21500 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21501 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21502 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21505 @cindex bogus groups
21506 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21507 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21508 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21511 @cindex activating groups
21512 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21513 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21514 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21518 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21520 @item select method
21521 @cindex select method
21522 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
21525 @item virtual server
21526 @cindex virtual server
21527 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21528 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21529 whole is a virtual server.
21533 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21534 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21537 @item ephemeral groups
21538 @cindex ephemeral groups
21539 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21540 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21541 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21544 @cindex solid groups
21545 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21546 group buffer are solid groups.
21548 @item sparse articles
21549 @cindex sparse articles
21550 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21551 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21555 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21556 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21560 @cindex thread root
21561 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21562 articles in the thread.
21566 An article that has responses.
21570 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21574 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21575 specified by RFC 1153.
21581 @node Customization
21582 @section Customization
21583 @cindex general customization
21585 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21586 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21587 for some quite common situations.
21590 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21591 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21592 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21593 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21597 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21598 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21600 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21601 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21602 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21606 @item gnus-read-active-file
21607 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21608 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21609 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21610 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21611 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21613 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21614 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21615 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21616 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21620 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21621 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21623 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21624 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21625 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21629 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21630 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21631 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21632 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21633 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21635 @item gnus-visible-headers
21636 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21637 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21638 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21639 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21641 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21643 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21644 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21645 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21648 @item gnus-use-full-window
21649 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21650 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21651 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21652 want to read them anyway.
21654 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21655 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21658 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21659 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21660 lines, which might save some time.
21664 @node Little Disk Space
21665 @subsection Little Disk Space
21668 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21669 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21673 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21674 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21675 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21676 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21679 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21680 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21681 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21682 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21685 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21686 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21687 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21688 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21689 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21695 @subsection Slow Machine
21696 @cindex slow machine
21698 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21699 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21701 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21702 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21704 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21705 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21706 summary buffer faster.
21710 @node Troubleshooting
21711 @section Troubleshooting
21712 @cindex troubleshooting
21714 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21722 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21725 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21726 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21730 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21731 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21732 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21733 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21736 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21740 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21741 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21742 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21743 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21744 something like that.
21747 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21750 @cindex reporting bugs
21752 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21754 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21755 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21756 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21757 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21759 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21760 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21761 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21762 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21765 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21766 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21767 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21768 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21769 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21770 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21772 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21773 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21774 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21777 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21778 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21780 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21781 @cindex ding mailing list
21782 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21783 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21787 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21788 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21790 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21791 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21792 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21793 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21796 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21797 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21798 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21799 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21800 and general methods of operation.
21803 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21804 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21805 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21806 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21807 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21808 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21809 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21810 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21811 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21815 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21816 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21817 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21818 @cindex utility functions
21820 @cindex internal variables
21822 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21823 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21824 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21828 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21829 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21830 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21832 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21833 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21834 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21836 @item gnus-group-real-name
21837 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21838 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21841 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21842 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21843 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21844 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21846 @item gnus-get-info
21847 @findex gnus-get-info
21848 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21850 @item gnus-group-unread
21851 @findex gnus-group-unread
21852 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21856 @findex gnus-active
21857 The active entry for @var{group}.
21859 @item gnus-set-active
21860 @findex gnus-set-active
21861 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21863 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21864 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21865 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21868 @item gnus-continuum-version
21869 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21870 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21871 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21874 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21875 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21876 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21878 @item gnus-news-group-p
21879 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21880 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
21882 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21883 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21884 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21886 @item gnus-server-to-method
21887 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21888 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21890 @item gnus-server-equal
21891 @findex gnus-server-equal
21892 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21894 @item gnus-group-native-p
21895 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21896 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21898 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21899 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21900 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21902 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21903 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21904 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21906 @item group-group-find-parameter
21907 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21908 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21909 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21911 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21912 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21913 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21915 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21916 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21917 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21919 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21920 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21921 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
21922 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21925 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21929 @item gnus-read-method
21930 @findex gnus-read-method
21931 Prompts the user for a select method.
21936 @node Backend Interface
21937 @subsection Backend Interface
21939 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21940 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21941 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
21942 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21943 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21944 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21946 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
21947 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21948 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
21949 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21950 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21951 been opened, the function should fail.
21953 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21954 name. Take this example:
21958 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21959 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21962 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21963 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21965 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21966 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21967 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21969 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21970 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21971 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21973 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21974 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21975 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21976 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21977 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21978 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21981 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
21982 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
21983 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21984 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21987 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
21990 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21993 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21994 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21995 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21996 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
21997 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21998 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
22002 @node Required Backend Functions
22003 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
22007 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
22009 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
22010 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
22011 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
22012 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
22014 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
22015 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
22016 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
22017 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
22019 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
22020 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
22021 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
22022 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
22023 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
22024 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
22025 number, do maximum fetches.
22027 Here's an example HEAD:
22030 221 1056 Article retrieved.
22031 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
22032 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
22033 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
22034 Subject: Re: Something very droll
22035 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
22036 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
22038 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
22039 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
22040 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
22044 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
22045 these in the data buffer.
22047 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
22051 head = error / valid-head
22052 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
22053 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
22054 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
22055 header = <text> eol
22058 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
22059 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
22063 nov-buffer = *nov-line
22064 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
22065 field = <text except TAB>
22068 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
22072 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
22074 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
22075 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
22077 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
22078 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
22079 server. In fact, it should do so.
22081 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
22082 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
22085 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
22087 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
22088 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
22091 There should be no data returned.
22094 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
22096 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
22097 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
22098 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
22099 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
22101 There should be no data returned.
22104 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
22106 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
22107 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
22108 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
22109 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
22111 There should be no data returned.
22114 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
22116 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
22118 There should be no data returned.
22121 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
22123 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
22124 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
22125 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
22126 it would be nice if that were possible.
22128 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
22129 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
22130 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22131 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22132 into its article buffer.
22134 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22135 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22136 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22137 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22138 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22139 on successful article retrieval.
22142 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22144 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22145 making @var{group} the current group.
22147 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22150 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22153 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22156 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22157 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22158 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22159 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22160 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22161 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22162 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22163 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22166 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22167 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22168 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22172 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22174 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22175 a no-op on most backends.
22177 There should be no data returned.
22180 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22182 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22185 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22188 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22189 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22192 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22193 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22196 active-file = *active-line
22197 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22199 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22202 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22203 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22204 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22207 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22209 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22210 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22211 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22212 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22213 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22214 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22216 There should be no result data from this function.
22221 @node Optional Backend Functions
22222 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
22226 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22228 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22229 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22230 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22232 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22233 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22234 former is in the same format as the data from
22235 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22236 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22239 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22243 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22245 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
22246 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
22247 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22248 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22249 should return the (altered) group info.
22251 There should be no result data from this function.
22254 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22256 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22257 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22258 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22259 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22260 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22261 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22262 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22263 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22265 There should be no result data from this function.
22268 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22270 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22271 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22272 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22273 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22274 propagate the mark information to the server.
22276 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22279 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22282 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
22283 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
22284 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
22285 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
22286 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
22287 Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
22288 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
22289 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
22290 not limit itself to these.
22292 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22293 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22294 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22295 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22297 An example action list:
22300 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22301 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22302 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22305 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22306 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22308 There should be no result data from this function.
22310 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22312 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
22313 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22314 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22315 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
22316 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22318 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22319 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22320 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22323 There should be no result data from this function.
22326 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22328 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22329 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
22330 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
22331 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22332 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
22333 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22334 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22336 There should be no result data from this function.
22339 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22341 The result data from this function should be a description of
22345 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22347 description = <text>
22350 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22352 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22353 groups available on the server.
22356 description-buffer = *description-line
22360 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22362 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22363 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
22364 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
22367 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22369 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22371 There should be no return data.
22374 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22376 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22377 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22378 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
22379 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22380 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22383 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22386 There should be no result data returned.
22389 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22392 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22393 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22395 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22396 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22397 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22398 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22399 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22400 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22402 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22403 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22406 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22407 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22409 There should be no data returned.
22412 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22414 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22415 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22416 this function in short order.
22418 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22419 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22421 There should be no data returned.
22424 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22426 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22427 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22429 There should be no data returned.
22432 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22434 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22435 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22436 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22438 There should be no data returned.
22441 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22443 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22444 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22446 There should be no data returned.
22451 @node Error Messaging
22452 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22454 @findex nnheader-report
22455 @findex nnheader-get-report
22456 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22457 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22458 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
22459 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22460 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22461 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22464 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22466 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22469 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22470 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22471 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
22472 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22474 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
22475 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
22476 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22479 @node Writing New Backends
22480 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
22482 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22483 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22484 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22485 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22486 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22489 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22490 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22491 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22493 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22494 package called @code{nnoo}.
22496 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
22497 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
22503 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22504 parameters. For instance:
22507 (nnoo-declare nndir
22511 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22512 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22515 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22516 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22517 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22519 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22520 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
22521 a function in those backends.
22524 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22525 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22526 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22529 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22530 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22531 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22533 @item nnoo-define-basics
22534 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
22538 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22542 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22543 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22544 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
22546 @item nnoo-map-functions
22547 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
22548 functions from the parent backends.
22551 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22552 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22553 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22556 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22557 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22558 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22559 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22562 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
22563 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22564 haven't already been defined.
22570 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22574 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22575 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22576 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22581 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
22584 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22585 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22589 (require 'nnheader)
22593 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22595 (nnoo-declare nndir
22598 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22599 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22600 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22602 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22603 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22606 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22607 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22608 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22610 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22611 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22613 ;;; Interface functions.
22615 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22617 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22618 (setq nndir-directory
22619 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22621 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22622 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22623 (push `(nndir-current-group
22624 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22626 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22627 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22629 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22631 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22632 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22633 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22634 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22635 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22639 nnmh-status-message
22641 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22647 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22648 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22650 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22651 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
22652 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22653 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22655 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
22656 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22661 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22664 The abilities can be:
22668 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22670 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
22672 This backend supports both mail and news.
22674 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
22677 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22678 articles and groups.
22680 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22681 true for almost all backends.
22682 @item prompt-address
22683 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22684 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
22685 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22689 @node Mail-like Backends
22690 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
22692 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
22693 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
22694 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22695 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22698 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22699 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22700 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22703 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22704 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22707 This function takes four parameters.
22711 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
22714 @item exit-function
22715 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22717 @item temp-directory
22718 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22721 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22722 performed for one group only.
22725 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
22726 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22727 find the article number assigned to this article.
22729 The function also uses the following variables:
22730 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22731 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
22732 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22733 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22737 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22738 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22742 @node Score File Syntax
22743 @subsection Score File Syntax
22745 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22746 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22747 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22749 Here's a typical score file:
22753 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22760 BNF definition of a score file:
22763 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22764 element = rule / atom
22765 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22766 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22767 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22768 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22770 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22771 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22772 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22773 date-header = "date"
22774 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22775 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22776 score = "nil" / <integer>
22777 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22778 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22779 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22780 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22781 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22782 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22783 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22784 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22785 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22786 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22787 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22788 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22789 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22790 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22791 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22792 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22793 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22794 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22795 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22796 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22797 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22798 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22799 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22800 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22801 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22802 eval = "eval" space <form>
22803 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22806 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22809 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22810 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22811 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22812 one looong line, then that's ok.
22814 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22815 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22819 @subsection Headers
22821 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22822 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22823 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22824 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22826 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22827 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22828 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22829 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22830 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22831 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22832 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22834 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22835 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22836 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22837 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22838 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22840 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22841 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22847 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22848 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22850 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22851 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22852 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22853 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22855 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22859 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22862 is transformed into
22865 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22868 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22869 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22872 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22875 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22876 is slightly tricky:
22879 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22885 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22888 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22894 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22901 and is equal to the previous range.
22903 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22904 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22905 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22909 range = simple-range / normal-range
22910 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22911 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22912 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22913 number *[ " " contents ]
22916 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22917 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22918 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22919 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22920 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22925 @subsection Group Info
22927 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22928 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22929 describes the group.
22931 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22932 second is a more complex one:
22935 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22937 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22938 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22940 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22943 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22944 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22945 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22946 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22947 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22948 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22949 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22950 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22951 this section is about.
22953 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22954 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22955 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22957 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22960 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22961 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22962 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22963 group = quote <string> quote
22964 ralevel = rank / level
22965 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22966 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22967 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22969 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22970 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22971 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22972 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22975 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22976 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22979 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22980 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22983 @item gnus-info-group
22984 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22985 @findex gnus-info-group
22986 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22987 Get/set the group name.
22989 @item gnus-info-rank
22990 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22991 @findex gnus-info-rank
22992 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22993 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22995 @item gnus-info-level
22996 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22997 @findex gnus-info-level
22998 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22999 Get/set the group level.
23001 @item gnus-info-score
23002 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
23003 @findex gnus-info-score
23004 @findex gnus-info-set-score
23005 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
23007 @item gnus-info-read
23008 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
23009 @findex gnus-info-read
23010 @findex gnus-info-set-read
23011 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
23013 @item gnus-info-marks
23014 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
23015 @findex gnus-info-marks
23016 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
23017 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
23019 @item gnus-info-method
23020 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
23021 @findex gnus-info-method
23022 @findex gnus-info-set-method
23023 Get/set the group select method.
23025 @item gnus-info-params
23026 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
23027 @findex gnus-info-params
23028 @findex gnus-info-set-params
23029 Get/set the group parameters.
23032 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
23033 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
23035 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
23036 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
23037 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
23038 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
23041 @node Extended Interactive
23042 @subsection Extended Interactive
23043 @cindex interactive
23044 @findex gnus-interactive
23046 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
23047 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
23048 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
23051 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
23052 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
23057 The best thing to do would have been to implement
23058 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
23059 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
23060 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
23061 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
23062 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
23063 @code{interactive}.
23065 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
23070 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
23071 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
23075 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
23076 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
23077 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
23080 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
23084 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
23088 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
23094 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
23095 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
23099 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
23100 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
23101 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
23103 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
23104 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
23105 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
23106 Gnus, that's very useful.
23108 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
23109 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
23110 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
23111 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
23112 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
23113 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
23114 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
23115 following function:
23118 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
23122 (,function ,@@args))
23126 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
23127 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
23128 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23131 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23132 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23133 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23135 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23136 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23137 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23140 @node Various File Formats
23141 @subsection Various File Formats
23144 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23145 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23149 @node Active File Format
23150 @subsubsection Active File Format
23152 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23153 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23156 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23159 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23160 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23161 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23162 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23163 no.general 1000 900 y
23166 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23169 active = *group-line
23170 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
23171 group = <non-white-space string>
23173 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23174 low-number = <positive integer>
23175 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23178 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23179 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23182 @node Newsgroups File Format
23183 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23185 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23186 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23187 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23190 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23191 Here's the definition:
23195 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23196 group = <non-white-space string>
23198 description = <string>
23203 @node Emacs for Heathens
23204 @section Emacs for Heathens
23206 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23207 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23208 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
23209 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23210 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23211 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23212 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23216 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23217 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23222 @subsection Keystrokes
23226 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23229 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23232 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23233 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23234 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23235 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23236 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23237 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23239 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23240 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23241 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23242 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23243 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23244 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23245 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23247 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23248 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
23249 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23250 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23251 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23252 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23253 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23255 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23256 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23257 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23258 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23259 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23265 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23267 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23268 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23269 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23270 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23272 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23273 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23274 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23275 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23276 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23277 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23278 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23281 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23282 write the following:
23285 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23288 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23289 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23290 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23293 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23294 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23295 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23296 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23297 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23299 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23300 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23301 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23305 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23309 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23312 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23313 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23316 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23319 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23320 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23323 @include gnus-faq.texi