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10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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280 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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289 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
290 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
293 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
294 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
295 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
296 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
297 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
298 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
299 License'' in the Emacs manual.
301 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
302 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
303 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
305 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
306 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
307 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
308 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
316 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
318 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
319 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
321 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
322 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
323 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
324 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
325 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
326 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
327 License'' in the Emacs manual.
329 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
330 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
331 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
333 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
334 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
335 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
336 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
344 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
347 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
348 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
349 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
351 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
352 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
353 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
354 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
355 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
356 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
357 License'' in the Emacs manual.
359 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
360 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
361 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
363 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
364 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
365 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
366 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
375 @top The Gnus Newsreader
379 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
380 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
381 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
384 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v.
395 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
396 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
398 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
399 being accused of plagiarism:
401 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
402 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
403 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
404 can even read news with it!
406 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
407 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
408 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
409 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
410 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
416 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
417 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
418 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
419 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
420 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
421 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
422 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
423 * Various:: General purpose settings.
424 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
425 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
426 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
427 * Key Index:: Key Index.
430 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
434 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
435 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
436 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
437 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
438 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
439 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
440 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
441 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
442 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
443 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
444 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
448 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
449 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
450 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
454 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
455 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
456 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
457 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
458 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
459 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
460 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
461 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
462 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
463 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
464 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
465 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
466 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
467 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
468 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
469 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
470 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
474 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
475 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
476 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
480 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
481 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
482 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
483 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
484 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
488 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
489 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
490 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
491 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
492 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
496 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
497 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
498 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
499 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
500 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
502 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
503 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
504 * Threading:: How threads are made.
505 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
506 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
507 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
508 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
509 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
510 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
511 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
512 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
513 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
514 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
515 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
516 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
517 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
518 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
519 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
520 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
521 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
522 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
523 or reselecting the current group.
524 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
525 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
526 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
527 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
529 Summary Buffer Format
531 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
532 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
533 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
534 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
538 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
539 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
541 Reply, Followup and Post
543 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
544 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
545 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
546 * Canceling and Superseding::
550 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
551 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
552 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
554 * Generic Marking Commands::
555 * Setting Process Marks::
559 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
560 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
561 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
565 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
566 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
568 Customizing Threading
570 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
571 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
572 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
573 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
577 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
578 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
579 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
580 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
581 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
582 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
586 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
587 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
588 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
592 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
593 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
594 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
595 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
596 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
597 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
598 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
599 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
601 Alternative Approaches
603 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
604 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
606 Various Summary Stuff
608 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
609 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
610 * Summary Generation Commands::
611 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
615 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
616 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
617 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
618 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
619 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
623 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
624 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
625 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
626 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
627 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
628 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
629 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
630 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
634 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
635 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
636 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
637 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
638 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
639 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
640 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
641 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
645 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
646 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
647 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
648 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
649 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
650 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
651 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
655 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
656 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
660 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
661 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
662 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
666 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
667 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
668 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
669 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
670 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
671 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
672 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
673 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
674 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
675 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
676 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
677 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
678 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
679 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
683 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
684 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
685 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
687 Choosing a Mail Back End
689 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
690 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
691 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
692 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
693 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
694 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
698 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
699 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
700 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
701 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
702 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
703 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
707 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
708 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
709 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
713 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
714 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
715 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
716 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
717 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
721 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
725 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
726 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
727 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
731 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
732 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
736 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
737 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
738 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
739 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
740 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
741 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
742 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
743 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
744 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
745 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
749 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
750 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
751 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
755 * Group Agent Commands::
756 * Summary Agent Commands::
757 * Server Agent Commands::
761 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
762 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
763 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
764 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
765 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
766 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
767 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
768 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
769 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
770 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
771 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
772 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
773 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
774 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
775 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
776 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
777 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
781 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
782 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
783 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
784 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
788 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
789 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
790 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
794 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
795 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
796 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
797 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
798 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
799 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
800 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
801 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
802 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
803 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
804 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
805 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
806 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
807 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
808 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
809 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
810 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
811 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
815 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
816 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
817 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
818 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
819 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
820 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
821 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
822 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
826 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
827 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
828 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
829 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
833 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
834 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
835 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
836 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
837 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
841 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
842 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
843 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
844 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
845 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
846 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
847 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
851 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
852 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
853 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
854 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
855 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
856 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
857 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
858 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
859 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
863 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
864 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
865 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
866 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
867 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
871 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
872 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
873 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
874 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
878 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
879 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
880 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
881 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
882 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
883 * Group Info:: The group info format.
884 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
885 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
886 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
890 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
891 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
892 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
893 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
894 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
895 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
899 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
900 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
904 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
905 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
911 @chapter Starting Gnus
916 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
917 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
920 @findex gnus-other-frame
921 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
922 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
923 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
925 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
926 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
927 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
929 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
930 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
933 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
934 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
935 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
936 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
937 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
938 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
939 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
940 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
941 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
942 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
943 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
947 @node Finding the News
948 @section Finding the News
951 @vindex gnus-select-method
953 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
954 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
955 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
956 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
959 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
960 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
963 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
966 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
969 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
972 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
973 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
974 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
976 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
978 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
979 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
980 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
981 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
982 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
983 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
985 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
986 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
987 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
988 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
990 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
991 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
992 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
993 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
994 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
995 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
996 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
997 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
998 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1001 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1003 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1004 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1005 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1006 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1007 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1008 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1010 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1012 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1013 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1014 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1015 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1016 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1017 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1020 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1021 you would typically set this variable to
1024 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1028 @node The First Time
1029 @section The First Time
1030 @cindex first time usage
1032 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1033 be subscribed by default.
1035 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1036 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1037 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1038 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1041 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1042 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1043 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1045 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1046 help you with most common problems.
1048 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1049 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1053 @node The Server is Down
1054 @section The Server is Down
1055 @cindex server errors
1057 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1058 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1059 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1061 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1062 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1063 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1064 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1065 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1066 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1067 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1069 @findex gnus-no-server
1070 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1072 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1073 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1074 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1075 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1076 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1077 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1078 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1082 @section Slave Gnusae
1085 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1086 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1087 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1088 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1090 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1091 @code{.newsrc} file.
1093 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1094 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1095 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1096 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1097 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1098 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1099 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1101 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1102 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1103 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1104 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1105 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1106 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1107 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1108 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1110 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1111 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1114 @node Fetching a Group
1115 @section Fetching a Group
1116 @cindex fetching a group
1118 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1119 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1120 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1121 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1122 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1123 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1129 @cindex subscription
1131 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1132 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1133 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1134 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1135 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1136 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1137 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1138 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1139 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1142 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1143 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1144 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1148 @node Checking New Groups
1149 @subsection Checking New Groups
1151 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1152 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1153 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1154 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1155 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1156 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1157 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1158 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1159 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1160 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1162 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1163 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1164 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1165 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1166 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1167 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1168 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1169 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1170 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1171 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1172 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1174 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1175 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1176 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1177 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1178 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1179 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1182 @node Subscription Methods
1183 @subsection Subscription Methods
1185 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1186 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1187 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1189 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1190 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1192 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1196 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1197 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1198 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1199 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1200 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1202 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1203 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1204 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1205 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1207 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1208 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1209 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1211 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1212 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1213 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1214 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1215 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1216 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1217 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1218 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1219 up. Or something like that.
1221 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1222 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1223 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1224 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1225 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1227 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1228 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1229 Kill all new groups.
1231 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1232 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1233 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1234 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1235 topic parameter that looks like
1241 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1244 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1249 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1250 A closely related variable is
1251 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1252 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1253 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1254 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1257 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1258 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1259 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1260 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1263 @node Filtering New Groups
1264 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1266 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1267 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1268 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1271 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1274 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1275 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1276 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1277 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1278 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1279 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1280 subscribing these groups.
1281 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1282 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1284 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1285 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1286 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1287 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1288 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1289 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1290 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1291 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1293 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1294 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1295 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1296 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1297 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1298 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1299 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1300 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1301 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1302 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1304 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1305 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1308 @node Changing Servers
1309 @section Changing Servers
1310 @cindex changing servers
1312 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1313 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1314 very flaky and you want to use another.
1316 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1317 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1321 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1322 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1323 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1324 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1327 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1328 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1329 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1330 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1332 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1333 @findex gnus-change-server
1334 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1335 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1336 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1337 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1338 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1340 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1341 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1342 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1343 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1344 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1346 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1347 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1348 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1349 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1350 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1351 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1353 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1354 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1355 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1359 @section Startup Files
1360 @cindex startup files
1365 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1366 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1368 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1369 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1370 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1371 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1372 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1373 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1374 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1376 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1377 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1378 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1379 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1380 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1381 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1383 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1384 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1385 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1386 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1387 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1388 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1389 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1390 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1391 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1392 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1394 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1395 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1396 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1397 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1398 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1399 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1400 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1401 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1402 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1403 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1404 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1405 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1407 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1408 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1409 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1410 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1412 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1413 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1414 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1415 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1416 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1417 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1418 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1419 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1420 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1421 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1424 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1425 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1427 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1428 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1431 @vindex gnus-init-file
1432 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1433 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1434 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1435 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1436 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1437 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1438 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1439 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1440 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1446 @cindex dribble file
1449 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1450 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1451 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1452 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1453 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1456 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1457 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1460 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1461 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1462 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1464 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1465 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1466 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1467 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1468 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1469 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1471 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1472 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1473 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1476 @node The Active File
1477 @section The Active File
1479 @cindex ignored groups
1481 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1482 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1483 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1485 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1486 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1487 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1488 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1489 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1490 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1491 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1494 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1495 @c if you set it to anything else.
1497 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1499 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1500 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1501 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1503 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1504 you actually subscribe to.
1506 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1507 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1508 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1509 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1511 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1512 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1513 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1514 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1515 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1516 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1518 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1519 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1520 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1523 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1524 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1525 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1526 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1527 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1528 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1530 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1531 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1533 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1534 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1536 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1537 secondary select methods.
1540 @node Startup Variables
1541 @section Startup Variables
1545 @item gnus-load-hook
1546 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1547 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1548 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1549 times you start Gnus.
1551 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1552 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1553 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1555 @item gnus-startup-hook
1556 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1557 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1559 @item gnus-started-hook
1560 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1561 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1564 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1565 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1566 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1567 generating the group buffer.
1569 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1570 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1571 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1572 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1573 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1574 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1575 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1576 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1578 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1579 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1580 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1581 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1582 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1583 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1585 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1586 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1587 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1589 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1590 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1591 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1593 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1594 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1595 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1596 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1602 @chapter Group Buffer
1603 @cindex group buffer
1605 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1607 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1608 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1609 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1610 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1611 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1612 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1613 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1614 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1615 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1616 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1617 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1618 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1619 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1620 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1621 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1622 @c human rights at 9...
1625 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1626 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1627 long as Gnus is active.
1631 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1632 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1633 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1634 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1635 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1636 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1637 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1638 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1644 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1645 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1646 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1647 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1648 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1649 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1650 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1651 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1652 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1653 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1654 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1655 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1656 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1657 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1658 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1659 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1660 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1664 @node Group Buffer Format
1665 @section Group Buffer Format
1668 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1669 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1670 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1674 @node Group Line Specification
1675 @subsection Group Line Specification
1676 @cindex group buffer format
1678 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1679 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1681 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1684 25: news.announce.newusers
1685 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1690 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1691 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1692 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1693 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1695 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1696 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1697 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1698 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1699 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1700 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1702 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1704 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1705 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1706 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1707 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1708 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1710 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1711 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1712 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1714 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1719 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1722 Whether the group is subscribed.
1725 Level of subscribedness.
1728 Number of unread articles.
1731 Number of dormant articles.
1734 Number of ticked articles.
1737 Number of read articles.
1740 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1741 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1743 Gnus uses this estimation because the NNTP protocol provides efficient
1744 access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting the true
1745 unread message count is not possible efficiently. For hysterical
1746 raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of unread
1747 messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1748 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the
1749 back end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1750 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1753 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1756 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1765 Newsgroup description.
1768 @samp{m} if moderated.
1771 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1780 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1784 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1787 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1788 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1789 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1790 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1791 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1794 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1796 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1800 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1803 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1807 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1808 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1809 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1810 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1811 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1812 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1817 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1818 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1819 group, or a bogus native group.
1822 @node Group Modeline Specification
1823 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1824 @cindex group modeline
1826 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1827 The mode line can be changed by setting
1828 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1829 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1833 The native news server.
1835 The native select method.
1839 @node Group Highlighting
1840 @subsection Group Highlighting
1841 @cindex highlighting
1842 @cindex group highlighting
1844 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1845 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1846 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1847 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1848 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1850 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1854 (cond (window-system
1855 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1856 (defface my-group-face-1
1857 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1858 (defface my-group-face-2
1859 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1860 (defface my-group-face-3
1861 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1862 (defface my-group-face-4
1863 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1864 (defface my-group-face-5
1865 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1867 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1868 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1869 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1870 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1871 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1872 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1875 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1877 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1884 The number of unread articles in the group.
1888 Whether the group is a mail group.
1890 The level of the group.
1892 The score of the group.
1894 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1896 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1897 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1899 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1900 topic being inserted.
1903 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1904 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1905 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1907 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1908 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1909 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1910 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1911 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1914 @node Group Maneuvering
1915 @section Group Maneuvering
1916 @cindex group movement
1918 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1919 expected, hopefully.
1925 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1926 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1927 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1933 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1934 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1935 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1939 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1940 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1944 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1945 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1949 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1950 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1951 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1955 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1956 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1957 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1960 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1966 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1967 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1968 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1973 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1974 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1975 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1979 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1980 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1981 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1984 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1985 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1986 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1987 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1991 @node Selecting a Group
1992 @section Selecting a Group
1993 @cindex group selection
1998 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1999 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2000 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2001 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2002 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2003 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2004 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2005 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2006 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2007 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2009 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2010 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2011 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2013 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2014 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2019 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2020 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2021 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2022 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2023 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2027 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2028 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2029 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2030 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2031 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2032 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2033 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2034 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2035 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2036 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2039 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2040 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2041 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2042 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2043 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2046 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2047 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2048 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2049 doing any processing of its contents
2050 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2051 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2052 manner will have no permanent effects.
2056 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2057 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2058 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2059 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2060 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2061 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2062 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2063 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2066 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2067 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2068 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
2069 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2074 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2075 full summary buffer.
2078 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2081 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2086 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2087 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2088 Useful functions include:
2091 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2092 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2093 don't select the article.
2095 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2096 Select the first unread article.
2098 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2099 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2103 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2104 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2105 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2109 @node Subscription Commands
2110 @section Subscription Commands
2111 @cindex subscription
2119 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2120 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2121 Toggle subscription to the current group
2122 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2128 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2129 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2130 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2131 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2137 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2138 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2139 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2145 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2146 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2149 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2150 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2151 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2152 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2153 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2159 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2160 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2164 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2165 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2168 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2169 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2170 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2171 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2172 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2173 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2174 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2175 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2176 @file{.newsrc} file.
2180 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2190 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2191 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2192 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2193 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2194 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2195 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2200 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2201 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2202 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2206 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2207 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2208 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2210 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2211 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2212 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2213 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2214 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2215 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2222 @section Group Levels
2226 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2227 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2228 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2229 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2230 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2232 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2238 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2239 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2240 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2241 prompted for a level.
2244 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2245 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2246 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2247 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2248 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2249 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2250 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2251 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2252 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2253 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2254 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2255 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2256 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2257 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2258 reasons of efficiency.
2260 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2261 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2263 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2264 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2265 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2266 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2267 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2268 groups are hidden, in a way.
2270 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2271 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2272 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2273 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2274 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2275 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2277 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2278 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2279 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2280 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2281 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2282 list of killed groups.)
2284 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2285 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2286 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2288 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2289 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2290 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2291 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2292 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2293 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2294 relevant valid ranges.
2296 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2297 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2298 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2299 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2300 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2301 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2304 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2305 one with the best level.
2307 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2308 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2309 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2312 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2313 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2314 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2315 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2318 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2319 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2320 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2321 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2323 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2324 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2325 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2326 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2327 to 5. The default is 6.
2331 @section Group Score
2336 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2337 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2338 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2341 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2342 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2343 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2344 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2345 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2346 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2347 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2348 least significant part.))
2350 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2351 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2352 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2353 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2354 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2355 action after each summary exit, you can add
2356 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2357 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2358 slow things down somewhat.
2361 @node Marking Groups
2362 @section Marking Groups
2363 @cindex marking groups
2365 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2366 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2367 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2368 bidding on those groups.
2370 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2371 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2372 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2380 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2381 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2387 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2388 Remove the mark from the current group
2389 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2393 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2394 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2398 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2399 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2403 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2404 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2408 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2409 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2410 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2413 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2415 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2416 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2417 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2418 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2419 the command to be executed.
2422 @node Foreign Groups
2423 @section Foreign Groups
2424 @cindex foreign groups
2426 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2427 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2428 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2429 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2436 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2437 @cindex making groups
2438 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2439 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2440 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2444 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2445 @cindex renaming groups
2446 Rename the current group to something else
2447 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2448 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2454 @findex gnus-group-customize
2455 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2459 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2460 @cindex renaming groups
2461 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2462 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2466 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2467 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2468 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2472 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2473 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2474 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2478 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2480 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2481 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2486 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2487 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2491 @cindex (ding) archive
2492 @cindex archive group
2493 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2494 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2495 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2496 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2497 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2498 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2499 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2503 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2505 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2506 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2507 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2508 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2512 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2514 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2515 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2516 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2520 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2521 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2523 Make a group based on some file or other
2524 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2525 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2526 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2527 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2528 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2529 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2530 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2531 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2532 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2536 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2537 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2538 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2539 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2543 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2548 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2549 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2550 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2551 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2552 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2553 @xref{Web Searches}.
2555 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2556 to a particular group by using a match string like
2557 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2560 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2561 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2562 This function will delete the current group
2563 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2564 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2565 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2566 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2567 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2571 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2572 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2573 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2577 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2578 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2579 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2582 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2585 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2586 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2587 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2588 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2589 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2590 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2594 @node Group Parameters
2595 @section Group Parameters
2596 @cindex group parameters
2598 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2599 Here's an example group parameter list:
2602 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2606 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2607 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2608 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2609 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2611 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2612 is an alist of regexps and values.
2614 The following group parameters can be used:
2619 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2622 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2625 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2626 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2627 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2628 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2629 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2631 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2632 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2633 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2634 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2635 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2636 list address instead.
2638 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2642 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2645 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2648 It is totally ignored
2649 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2650 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2652 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2653 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2654 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2655 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2656 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2658 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2659 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2660 sending the message.
2662 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2663 @cindex Mail List Groups
2664 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2665 entering summary buffer.
2667 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2671 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2672 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2673 of whether it has any unread articles.
2675 @item broken-reply-to
2676 @cindex broken-reply-to
2677 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2678 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2679 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2680 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2681 broken behavior. So there!
2685 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2686 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2690 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2691 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2692 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2697 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2698 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2699 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2700 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2701 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2702 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2703 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2707 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2708 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2709 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2711 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2714 @cindex total-expire
2715 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2716 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2717 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2718 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2721 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2725 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2726 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2727 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2728 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2729 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2730 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2733 @cindex score file group parameter
2734 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2735 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2736 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2739 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2740 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2741 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2742 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2745 @cindex admin-address
2746 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2747 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2748 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2749 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2753 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2754 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2758 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2761 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2762 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2765 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2769 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2771 Here are some examples:
2775 Display only read articles.
2778 Display everything except expirable articles.
2780 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2781 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2785 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2786 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2787 @code{read}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2788 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2789 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{seen} and @code{recent}.
2793 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2794 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2795 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2799 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2800 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2801 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2806 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2807 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2808 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2810 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2812 @item ignored-charsets
2813 @cindex ignored-charset
2814 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2815 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2816 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2818 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2821 @cindex posting-style
2822 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2823 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2824 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2825 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2826 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2828 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2829 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2830 like this in the group parameters:
2835 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2840 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2841 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2845 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2846 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2847 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2848 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2849 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2853 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2854 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2855 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2856 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2858 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2859 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2860 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2861 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2864 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2865 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2869 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2872 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2873 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2874 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2875 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2876 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2877 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2878 @code{eval}ed there.
2880 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2881 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2882 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2883 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2884 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2888 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2889 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2890 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2891 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2892 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2894 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2895 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2899 (setq gnus-parameters
2901 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2902 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2903 (gnus-summary-line-format
2904 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2908 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2912 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2916 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2919 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2920 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2923 @node Listing Groups
2924 @section Listing Groups
2925 @cindex group listing
2927 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2935 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2936 List all groups that have unread articles
2937 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2938 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2939 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2940 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2947 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2948 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2949 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2950 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2951 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2952 unsubscribed groups).
2956 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2957 List all unread groups on a specific level
2958 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2959 with no unread articles.
2963 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2964 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2965 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2966 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2971 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2972 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2976 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2977 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2978 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2982 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2983 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2987 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2988 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2989 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2990 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2991 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2992 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2993 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2994 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2998 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2999 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3000 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3004 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3005 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3006 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3010 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3011 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3015 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3016 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3020 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3021 List groups limited within the current selection
3022 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3026 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3027 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3031 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3032 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3036 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3037 @cindex visible group parameter
3038 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3039 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3040 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3041 get the same effect.
3043 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3044 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3045 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3046 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3047 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3050 @node Sorting Groups
3051 @section Sorting Groups
3052 @cindex sorting groups
3054 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3055 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3056 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3057 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3058 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3059 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3064 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3065 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3066 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3068 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3069 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3070 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3072 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3073 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3074 Sort by group level.
3076 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3077 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3078 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3080 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3081 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3082 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3083 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3085 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3086 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3087 Sort by number of unread articles.
3089 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3090 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3091 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3093 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3094 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3095 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3100 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3101 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3105 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3106 some sorting criteria:
3110 @kindex G S a (Group)
3111 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3112 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3113 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3116 @kindex G S u (Group)
3117 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3118 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3119 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3122 @kindex G S l (Group)
3123 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3124 Sort the group buffer by group level
3125 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3128 @kindex G S v (Group)
3129 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3130 Sort the group buffer by group score
3131 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3134 @kindex G S r (Group)
3135 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3136 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3137 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3140 @kindex G S m (Group)
3141 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3142 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3143 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3147 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3148 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3150 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3151 commands will sort in reverse order.
3153 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3157 @kindex G P a (Group)
3158 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3159 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3160 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3163 @kindex G P u (Group)
3164 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3165 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3166 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3169 @kindex G P l (Group)
3170 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3171 Sort the groups by group level
3172 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3175 @kindex G P v (Group)
3176 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3177 Sort the groups by group score
3178 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3181 @kindex G P r (Group)
3182 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3183 Sort the groups by group rank
3184 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3187 @kindex G P m (Group)
3188 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3189 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3190 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3194 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3198 @node Group Maintenance
3199 @section Group Maintenance
3200 @cindex bogus groups
3205 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3206 Find bogus groups and delete them
3207 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3211 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3212 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3213 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3214 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3215 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3219 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3220 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3221 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3222 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3223 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3224 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3227 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3228 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3229 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3230 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3235 @node Browse Foreign Server
3236 @section Browse Foreign Server
3237 @cindex foreign servers
3238 @cindex browsing servers
3243 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3244 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3245 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3246 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3249 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3250 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3251 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3252 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3254 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3259 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3260 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3264 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3265 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3268 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3269 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3270 Enter the current group and display the first article
3271 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3274 @kindex RET (Browse)
3275 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3276 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3280 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3281 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3282 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3288 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3289 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3293 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3294 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3295 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3300 @section Exiting Gnus
3301 @cindex exiting Gnus
3303 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3308 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3309 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3310 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3311 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3315 @findex gnus-group-exit
3316 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3317 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3321 @findex gnus-group-quit
3322 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3323 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3326 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3327 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3328 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3329 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3330 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3335 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3336 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3337 trying to customize meta-variables.
3342 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3343 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3344 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3350 @section Group Topics
3353 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3354 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3355 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3356 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3357 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3358 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3362 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3363 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3374 2: alt.religion.emacs
3377 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3379 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3380 13: comp.sources.unix
3383 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3385 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3386 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3387 is a toggling command.)
3389 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3390 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3391 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3392 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3395 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3396 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3397 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3400 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3404 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3405 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3406 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3407 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3408 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3412 @node Topic Commands
3413 @subsection Topic Commands
3414 @cindex topic commands
3416 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3417 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3418 definitions slightly.
3420 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3421 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3422 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3423 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3424 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3425 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3427 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3434 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3435 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3436 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3440 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3442 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3443 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3444 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3445 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3448 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3449 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3450 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3451 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3455 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3456 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3457 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3458 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3464 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3465 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3466 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3470 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3471 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3472 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3475 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3476 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3477 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3478 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3479 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3481 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3482 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3486 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3487 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3494 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3496 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3497 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3498 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3499 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3500 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3501 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3505 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3511 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3512 Move the current group to some other topic
3513 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3514 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3518 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3519 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3523 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3524 Copy the current group to some other topic
3525 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3526 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3530 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3531 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3532 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3536 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3537 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3538 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3542 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3543 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3544 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3545 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3546 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3547 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3548 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3551 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3552 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3556 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3557 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3558 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3562 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3563 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3564 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3568 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3569 Toggle hiding empty topics
3570 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3574 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3575 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3576 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3579 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3580 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3581 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3582 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3585 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3586 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3587 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3588 expiry process (if any)
3589 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3593 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3594 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3597 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3598 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3599 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3603 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3604 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3605 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3609 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3610 @cindex group parameters
3611 @cindex topic parameters
3613 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3614 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3619 @node Topic Variables
3620 @subsection Topic Variables
3621 @cindex topic variables
3623 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3624 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3626 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3627 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3628 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3641 Number of groups in the topic.
3643 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3645 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3648 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3649 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3650 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3653 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3654 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3656 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3657 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3658 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3662 @subsection Topic Sorting
3663 @cindex topic sorting
3665 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3671 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3672 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3673 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3674 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3677 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3678 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3679 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3680 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3683 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3684 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3685 Sort the current topic by group level
3686 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3689 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3690 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3691 Sort the current topic by group score
3692 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3695 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3696 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3697 Sort the current topic by group rank
3698 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3701 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3702 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3703 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3704 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3707 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3708 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3709 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3710 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3714 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3717 @node Topic Topology
3718 @subsection Topic Topology
3719 @cindex topic topology
3722 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3728 2: alt.religion.emacs
3731 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3733 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3734 13: comp.sources.unix
3737 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3738 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3739 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3744 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3745 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3749 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3750 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3751 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3752 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3753 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3754 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3756 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3757 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3758 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3761 @node Topic Parameters
3762 @subsection Topic Parameters
3763 @cindex topic parameters
3765 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3766 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3767 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3769 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3774 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3775 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3776 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3779 @item subscribe-level
3780 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3781 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3782 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3786 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3787 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3788 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3789 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3795 2: alt.religion.emacs
3799 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3801 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3802 13: comp.sources.unix
3806 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3807 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3808 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3809 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3810 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3811 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3813 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3814 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3815 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3816 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3817 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3819 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3820 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3821 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3822 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3823 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3824 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3825 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3826 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3829 @node Misc Group Stuff
3830 @section Misc Group Stuff
3833 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3834 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3835 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3836 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3837 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3844 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3845 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3846 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3850 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3851 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3852 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3853 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3854 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3855 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3856 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3860 @findex gnus-group-mail
3861 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3862 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3863 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3864 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3868 @findex gnus-group-news
3869 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3870 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3871 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3873 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3874 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3875 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3876 in question. The corresponding backend must have a request-post method
3877 for this to work though.
3881 Variables for the group buffer:
3885 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3886 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3887 is called after the group buffer has been
3890 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3891 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3892 is called after the group buffer is
3893 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3896 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3897 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3898 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3899 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3901 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3902 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3903 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3904 whether they are empty or not.
3906 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3907 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3908 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3909 non-ASCII group names.
3913 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3914 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3917 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3918 @cindex UTF-8 group names
3919 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3920 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
3921 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
3922 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
3926 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3927 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3932 @node Scanning New Messages
3933 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3934 @cindex new messages
3935 @cindex scanning new news
3941 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3942 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3943 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3944 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3945 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3946 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3951 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3952 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3953 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3954 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3955 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3956 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3957 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3959 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3960 @cindex activating groups
3962 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3963 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3968 @findex gnus-group-restart
3969 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3970 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3971 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3975 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3976 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3978 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3979 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3983 @node Group Information
3984 @subsection Group Information
3985 @cindex group information
3986 @cindex information on groups
3993 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3994 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3997 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3998 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3999 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4000 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4001 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4002 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4003 for fetching the file.
4005 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4006 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4010 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4012 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4013 @cindex describing groups
4014 @cindex group description
4015 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4016 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4017 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4021 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4022 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4023 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4030 @findex gnus-version
4031 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4035 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4036 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4039 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4042 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4043 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4047 @node Group Timestamp
4048 @subsection Group Timestamp
4050 @cindex group timestamps
4052 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4053 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4054 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4057 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4060 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4062 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4063 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4066 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4067 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4070 This will result in lines looking like:
4073 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4074 0: custom 19961002T012713
4077 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4078 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4082 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4083 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4088 @subsection File Commands
4089 @cindex file commands
4095 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4096 @vindex gnus-init-file
4097 @cindex reading init file
4098 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4099 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4103 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4104 @cindex saving .newsrc
4105 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4106 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4107 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4110 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4111 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4112 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4117 @node Sieve Commands
4118 @subsection Sieve Commands
4119 @cindex group sieve commands
4121 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4122 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4123 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4124 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4125 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4127 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4128 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4129 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4130 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4131 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4132 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4133 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4134 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4135 regenerate the Sieve script.
4137 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4138 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4139 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4140 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4141 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4142 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4143 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4144 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4145 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4146 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4149 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4150 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4155 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4161 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4162 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4163 @cindex generating sieve script
4164 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4165 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4169 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4170 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4171 @cindex updating sieve script
4172 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4173 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4174 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4179 @node Summary Buffer
4180 @chapter Summary Buffer
4181 @cindex summary buffer
4183 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4184 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4186 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4187 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4189 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4192 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4193 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4194 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4195 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4196 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4197 * Delayed Articles::
4198 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4199 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4200 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4201 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4202 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4203 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4204 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4205 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4206 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4207 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4208 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4209 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4210 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4211 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4212 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4213 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4214 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4215 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4216 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4217 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4218 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4219 or reselecting the current group.
4220 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4221 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4222 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4223 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4227 @node Summary Buffer Format
4228 @section Summary Buffer Format
4229 @cindex summary buffer format
4233 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4234 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4235 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4241 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4242 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4243 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4244 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4247 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4248 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4249 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4250 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4251 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4252 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4253 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4254 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4255 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4256 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4257 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4260 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4261 'mail-extract-address-components)
4264 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4265 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4266 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4267 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4270 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4271 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4273 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4274 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4275 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4276 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4277 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4279 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4280 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4281 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4282 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4283 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4284 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4286 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%) %s\n}.
4288 The following format specification characters and extended format
4289 specification(s) are understood:
4295 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4296 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4298 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4299 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4300 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4302 Full @code{From} header.
4304 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4306 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4307 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4309 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4310 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4311 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4312 may be more thorough.
4314 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4317 Number of lines in the article.
4319 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4320 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4322 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4324 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4327 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4328 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4330 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4331 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4333 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4334 for adopted articles.
4336 One space for each thread level.
4338 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4343 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4344 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4348 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4350 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4351 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4352 default level. If the difference between
4353 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4354 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4362 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4364 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4370 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4371 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4373 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4374 article has any children.
4380 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4381 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4383 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4384 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4385 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4386 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4387 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4388 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4391 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4392 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4393 There can only be one such area.
4395 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4396 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4397 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4398 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4399 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4400 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4402 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4403 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4405 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4408 @node To From Newsgroups
4409 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4413 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4414 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4415 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4416 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4417 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4421 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4422 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4423 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4427 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4428 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4431 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4432 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4435 @findex gnus-extra-header
4436 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4437 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4438 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4441 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4445 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4446 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4447 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4448 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4449 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4450 headers are used instead.
4454 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4455 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4456 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4457 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4460 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4461 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4462 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4463 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4465 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4469 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4471 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4472 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4473 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4474 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4478 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4479 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4486 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4487 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4490 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4491 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4493 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4494 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4495 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4496 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4498 Here are the elements you can play with:
4504 Unprefixed group name.
4506 Current article number.
4508 Current article score.
4512 Number of unread articles in this group.
4514 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4517 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4518 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4519 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4520 and no unselected ones.
4522 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4523 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4525 Subject of the current article.
4527 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4529 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4531 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4533 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4535 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4537 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4541 @node Summary Highlighting
4542 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4546 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4547 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4548 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4549 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4550 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4552 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4553 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4554 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4555 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4557 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4558 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4559 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4560 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4562 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4563 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4564 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4565 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4566 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4567 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4570 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4571 ((> score default) . bold))
4573 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4574 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4578 @node Summary Maneuvering
4579 @section Summary Maneuvering
4580 @cindex summary movement
4582 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4583 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4585 None of these commands select articles.
4590 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4591 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4592 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4593 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4594 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4598 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4599 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4600 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4601 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4602 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4605 @kindex G g (Summary)
4606 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4607 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4608 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4611 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4612 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4613 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4614 to the group buffer.
4616 Variables related to summary movement:
4620 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4621 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4622 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4623 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4624 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4625 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4626 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4627 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4628 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4629 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4630 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4631 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4632 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4633 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4635 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4636 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4637 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4638 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4639 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4640 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4641 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4643 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4645 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4646 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4647 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4648 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4649 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4651 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4652 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4653 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4654 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4655 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4656 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4657 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4658 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4661 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4662 the given number of lines from the top.
4667 @node Choosing Articles
4668 @section Choosing Articles
4669 @cindex selecting articles
4672 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4673 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4677 @node Choosing Commands
4678 @subsection Choosing Commands
4680 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4681 and they all select and display an article.
4683 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4684 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4688 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4689 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4690 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4691 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4696 @kindex G n (Summary)
4697 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4698 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4699 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4704 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4705 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4706 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4711 @kindex G N (Summary)
4712 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4713 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4718 @kindex G P (Summary)
4719 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4720 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4723 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4724 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4725 Go to the next article with the same subject
4726 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4729 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4730 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4731 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4732 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4736 @kindex G f (Summary)
4738 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4739 Go to the first unread article
4740 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4744 @kindex G b (Summary)
4746 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4747 Go to the article with the highest score
4748 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4753 @kindex G l (Summary)
4754 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4755 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4758 @kindex G o (Summary)
4759 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4761 @cindex article history
4762 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4763 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4764 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4765 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4766 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4767 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4772 @kindex G j (Summary)
4773 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4774 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4775 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4780 @node Choosing Variables
4781 @subsection Choosing Variables
4783 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4786 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4787 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4788 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4789 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4790 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4791 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4793 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4794 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4795 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4796 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4798 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4799 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4800 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4801 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4802 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4803 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4804 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4805 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4806 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4807 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4808 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4809 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4810 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4811 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4816 @node Paging the Article
4817 @section Scrolling the Article
4818 @cindex article scrolling
4823 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4824 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4825 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4826 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4827 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4830 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4831 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4832 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4835 @kindex RET (Summary)
4836 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4837 Scroll the current article one line forward
4838 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4841 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4842 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4843 Scroll the current article one line backward
4844 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4848 @kindex A g (Summary)
4850 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4851 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4852 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4853 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4854 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4855 the way it came from the server.
4857 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4858 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4859 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4862 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4867 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4872 @kindex A < (Summary)
4873 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4874 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4875 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4880 @kindex A > (Summary)
4881 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4882 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4886 @kindex A s (Summary)
4888 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4889 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4890 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4894 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4895 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4900 @node Reply Followup and Post
4901 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4904 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4905 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4906 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4907 * Canceling and Superseding::
4911 @node Summary Mail Commands
4912 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4914 @cindex composing mail
4916 Commands for composing a mail message:
4922 @kindex S r (Summary)
4924 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4925 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4926 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4927 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4928 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4933 @kindex S R (Summary)
4934 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4935 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4936 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4937 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4938 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4941 @kindex S w (Summary)
4942 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4943 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4944 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4945 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4946 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4949 @kindex S W (Summary)
4950 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4951 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4952 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4953 the process/prefix convention.
4956 @kindex S v (Summary)
4957 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
4958 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
4959 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
4960 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4961 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
4962 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
4966 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4967 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4968 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4969 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4970 Forward the current article to some other person
4971 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4972 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4973 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4974 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4975 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4976 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4977 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4978 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4979 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4984 @kindex S m (Summary)
4985 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4986 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4987 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
4988 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
4989 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4994 @kindex S i (Summary)
4995 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
4996 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
4997 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
4998 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5000 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5001 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5002 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5003 in question. The corresponding backend must have a request-post method
5004 for this to work though.
5007 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5008 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5009 @cindex bouncing mail
5010 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5011 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5012 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5013 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5014 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5015 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5016 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5017 very well fail, though.
5020 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5021 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5022 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5023 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5024 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5025 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5026 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5027 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5028 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5029 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5031 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5032 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5033 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5034 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5035 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
5037 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5038 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5041 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5042 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5043 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5044 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5045 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5048 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5049 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5050 @cindex crossposting
5051 @cindex excessive crossposting
5052 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5053 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5055 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5056 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5057 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5058 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5059 command understands the process/prefix convention
5060 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5064 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5065 Manual}, for more information.
5068 @node Summary Post Commands
5069 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5071 @cindex composing news
5073 Commands for posting a news article:
5079 @kindex S p (Summary)
5080 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5081 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5082 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5083 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5084 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5089 @kindex S f (Summary)
5090 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5091 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5092 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5096 @kindex S F (Summary)
5098 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5099 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5100 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5101 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5102 process/prefix convention.
5105 @kindex S n (Summary)
5106 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5107 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5108 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5111 @kindex S N (Summary)
5112 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5113 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5114 message through mail and include the original message
5115 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5116 the process/prefix convention.
5119 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5120 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5121 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5122 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5123 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5124 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5125 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5126 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5127 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5128 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5129 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5130 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5131 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
5134 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5135 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5137 @cindex making digests
5138 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5139 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5140 process/prefix convention.
5143 @kindex S u (Summary)
5144 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5145 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5146 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5147 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5150 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5151 Manual}, for more information.
5154 @node Summary Message Commands
5155 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5159 @kindex S y (Summary)
5160 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5161 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5162 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5163 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5164 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5169 @node Canceling and Superseding
5170 @subsection Canceling Articles
5171 @cindex canceling articles
5172 @cindex superseding articles
5174 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5175 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5177 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5179 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5181 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5182 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5183 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5184 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5185 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5186 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5188 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5189 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5192 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5193 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5194 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5196 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5197 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5198 your original article.
5200 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5202 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5203 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5204 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5207 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5208 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5209 have posted almost the same article twice.
5211 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5212 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5213 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5214 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5215 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5216 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5217 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5218 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5219 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5220 canceled/superseded.
5222 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5224 @node Delayed Articles
5225 @section Delayed Articles
5226 @cindex delayed sending
5227 @cindex send delayed
5229 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5230 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5231 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5232 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5235 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5238 @findex gnus-delay-article
5239 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5240 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5241 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5242 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5246 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5247 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5248 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5249 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5252 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5253 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5254 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5257 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5258 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5259 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5260 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5261 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5262 that means a time tomorrow.
5265 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5266 couple of variables:
5269 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5270 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5271 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5272 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5274 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5275 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5276 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5277 formats described above.
5279 @item gnus-delay-group
5280 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5281 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5282 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5283 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5285 @item gnus-delay-header
5286 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5287 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5288 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5289 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5292 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5293 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5294 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5295 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5296 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5298 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5299 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts}
5300 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5301 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5302 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5303 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} function.
5306 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5307 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5308 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5309 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} in
5310 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5311 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5312 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5313 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5315 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5316 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5317 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5318 forget to set that up :-)
5322 @node Marking Articles
5323 @section Marking Articles
5324 @cindex article marking
5325 @cindex article ticking
5328 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5330 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5331 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5332 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5334 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5337 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5338 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5339 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5343 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5347 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5348 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5349 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5353 @node Unread Articles
5354 @subsection Unread Articles
5356 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5361 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5362 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5364 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5365 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5366 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5367 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5368 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5369 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5370 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5373 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5374 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5376 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5377 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5378 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5379 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5383 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5384 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5386 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5391 @subsection Read Articles
5392 @cindex expirable mark
5394 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5399 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5400 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5401 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5404 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5405 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5408 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5409 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5410 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5413 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5414 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5417 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5418 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5421 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5422 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5425 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5426 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5429 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5430 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5433 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5434 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5437 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5438 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5442 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5443 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5444 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5448 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5449 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5451 One more special mark, though:
5455 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5456 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5458 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5459 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5460 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5461 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5467 @subsection Other Marks
5468 @cindex process mark
5471 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5477 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5478 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5479 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5480 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5481 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5484 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5485 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5486 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5487 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5489 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5490 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5491 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5493 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5494 Articles that are ``recently'' arrived in the group will be marked
5495 with an @samp{N} in the second column (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Most
5496 back end doesn't support the mark, in which case it's not shown.
5499 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5500 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5501 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5504 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5505 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5506 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5507 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5510 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5511 Articles that according to the back end haven't been seen by the user
5512 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5513 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all back ends support this
5514 mark, in which case it simply never appear.
5517 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5518 Articles that haven't been seen by the user before are marked with a
5519 @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5522 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5523 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5524 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5525 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5526 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5529 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5530 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5531 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5532 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5533 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5534 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5538 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5539 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5540 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5542 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5543 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5544 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5548 @subsection Setting Marks
5549 @cindex setting marks
5551 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5556 @kindex M c (Summary)
5557 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5558 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5559 @cindex mark as unread
5560 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5561 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5567 @kindex M t (Summary)
5568 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5569 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5570 @xref{Article Caching}.
5575 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5576 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5577 Mark the current article as dormant
5578 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5582 @kindex M d (Summary)
5584 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5585 Mark the current article as read
5586 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5590 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5591 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5592 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5597 @kindex M k (Summary)
5598 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5599 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5600 and then select the next unread article
5601 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5605 @kindex M K (Summary)
5606 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5607 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5608 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5609 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5612 @kindex M C (Summary)
5613 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5614 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5615 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5618 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5619 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5620 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5621 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5624 @kindex M H (Summary)
5625 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5626 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5627 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5630 @kindex M h (Summary)
5631 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5632 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5633 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5636 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5637 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5638 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5639 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5642 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5643 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5644 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5645 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5649 @kindex M e (Summary)
5651 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5652 Mark the current article as expirable
5653 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5656 @kindex M b (Summary)
5657 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5658 Set a bookmark in the current article
5659 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5662 @kindex M B (Summary)
5663 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5664 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5665 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5668 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5669 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5670 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5671 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5674 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5675 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5676 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5677 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5680 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5681 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5682 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5683 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5684 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5687 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5688 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5689 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5690 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5691 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5692 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5693 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5694 The default is @code{t}.
5697 @node Generic Marking Commands
5698 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5700 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5701 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5702 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5703 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5704 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5707 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5708 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5711 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5712 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5713 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5714 to list in this manual.
5716 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5717 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5718 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5719 article, you could say something like:
5722 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5723 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5724 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5730 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5731 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5735 @node Setting Process Marks
5736 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5737 @cindex setting process marks
5744 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5745 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5746 Mark the current article with the process mark
5747 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5748 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5752 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5753 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5754 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5755 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5758 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5759 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5760 Remove the process mark from all articles
5761 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5764 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5765 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5766 Invert the list of process marked articles
5767 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5770 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5771 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5772 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5773 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5776 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5777 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5778 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5779 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5782 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5783 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5784 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5787 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5788 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5789 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5790 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5793 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5794 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5795 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5796 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5799 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5800 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5801 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5802 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5805 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5806 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5807 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5810 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5811 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5812 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5813 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5816 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5817 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5818 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5821 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5822 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5823 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5824 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5827 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5828 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5829 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5830 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5833 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5834 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5835 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5836 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5839 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5840 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5841 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5842 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5846 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5847 set process marks based on article body contents.
5854 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5855 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5856 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5859 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5860 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5861 additional articles.
5867 @kindex / / (Summary)
5868 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5869 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5870 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
5874 @kindex / a (Summary)
5875 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5876 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5877 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
5881 @kindex / x (Summary)
5882 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5883 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5884 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5885 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
5890 @kindex / u (Summary)
5892 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5893 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5894 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5895 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5896 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5899 @kindex / m (Summary)
5900 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5901 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5902 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5905 @kindex / t (Summary)
5906 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5907 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5908 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5909 articles younger than that number of days.
5912 @kindex / n (Summary)
5913 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5914 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5915 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5916 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5919 @kindex / w (Summary)
5920 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5921 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5922 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5926 @kindex / v (Summary)
5927 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5928 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5929 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5932 @kindex / p (Summary)
5933 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter
5934 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
5935 group parameter predicate
5936 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter}). See @pxref{Group
5937 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
5941 @kindex M S (Summary)
5942 @kindex / E (Summary)
5943 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5944 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5945 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5948 @kindex / D (Summary)
5949 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5950 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5951 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5954 @kindex / * (Summary)
5955 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5956 Include all cached articles in the limit
5957 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5960 @kindex / d (Summary)
5961 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5962 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5963 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5966 @kindex / M (Summary)
5967 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5968 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5971 @kindex / T (Summary)
5972 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5973 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5976 @kindex / c (Summary)
5977 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5978 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5979 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5982 @kindex / C (Summary)
5983 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5984 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5985 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5986 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5989 @kindex / N (Summary)
5990 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
5991 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
5992 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
5995 @kindex / o (Summary)
5996 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
5997 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
5998 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6006 @cindex article threading
6008 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6009 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6010 hierarchical fashion.
6012 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6013 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6014 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6015 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6016 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6017 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6018 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6020 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6024 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6027 A tree-like article structure.
6030 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6033 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6034 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6035 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6036 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6037 called loose threads.
6039 @item thread gathering
6040 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6042 @item sparse threads
6043 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6044 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6050 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6051 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6055 @node Customizing Threading
6056 @subsection Customizing Threading
6057 @cindex customizing threading
6060 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6061 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6062 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6063 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6068 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6071 @cindex loose threads
6074 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6075 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6076 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6077 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6078 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6079 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6081 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6082 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6083 There are four possible values:
6087 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6088 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6089 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6090 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6091 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6096 @cindex adopting articles
6101 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6102 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6103 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6104 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6107 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6108 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6109 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6110 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6111 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6112 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6113 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6116 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6117 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6118 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6122 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6123 display them after one another.
6126 Don't gather loose threads.
6129 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6130 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6131 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6132 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6133 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6134 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6135 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6136 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6137 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6138 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6139 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6141 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6142 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6143 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6146 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6147 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6148 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6149 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6150 simplification is used.
6152 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6153 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6154 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6155 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6157 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6159 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6165 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6166 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6167 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6168 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6173 (mapconcat 'identity
6174 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6176 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6179 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6182 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6183 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6184 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6185 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6186 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6187 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6189 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6192 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6193 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6194 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6196 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6197 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6200 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6201 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6202 Remove excessive whitespace.
6205 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6208 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6209 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6210 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6211 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6212 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6213 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6214 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6215 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6217 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6218 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6219 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6220 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6221 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6222 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6223 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6224 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6225 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6229 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6230 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6231 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6232 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6234 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6235 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6236 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6239 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6243 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6244 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6250 @node Filling In Threads
6251 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6254 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6255 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6256 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6257 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6258 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6259 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6260 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6261 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6262 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6263 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
6264 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
6265 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
6267 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6268 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6269 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6271 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6272 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6273 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6274 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6275 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6276 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6277 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6278 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6279 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6280 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6281 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6282 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6283 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6284 @code{nil} by default.
6286 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6287 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6288 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6289 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6290 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6291 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6292 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6294 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6295 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6296 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6301 @node More Threading
6302 @subsubsection More Threading
6305 @item gnus-show-threads
6306 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6307 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6308 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6309 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6310 slower and more awkward.
6312 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6313 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6314 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6317 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6318 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6319 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6320 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6321 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6322 threads are expunged.
6324 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6325 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6326 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6329 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6330 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6331 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6332 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6333 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6334 result in a new thread.
6336 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6337 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6338 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6341 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6342 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6343 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6344 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6345 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6346 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6347 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6348 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6349 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6350 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6351 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6356 @node Low-Level Threading
6357 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6361 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6362 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6363 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6365 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6366 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6367 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6368 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6369 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6370 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6371 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6372 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6373 meaningful. Here's one example:
6376 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6378 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6379 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6381 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6383 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6390 @node Thread Commands
6391 @subsection Thread Commands
6392 @cindex thread commands
6398 @kindex T k (Summary)
6399 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6400 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6401 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6402 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6403 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6408 @kindex T l (Summary)
6409 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6410 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6411 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6412 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6415 @kindex T i (Summary)
6416 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6417 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6418 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6421 @kindex T # (Summary)
6422 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6423 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6424 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6427 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6428 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6429 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6430 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6433 @kindex T T (Summary)
6434 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6435 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6438 @kindex T s (Summary)
6439 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6440 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6441 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6444 @kindex T h (Summary)
6445 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6446 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6449 @kindex T S (Summary)
6450 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6451 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6454 @kindex T H (Summary)
6455 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6456 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6459 @kindex T t (Summary)
6460 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6461 Re-thread the current article's thread
6462 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6463 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6466 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6467 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6468 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6469 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6473 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6474 understand the numeric prefix.
6479 @kindex T n (Summary)
6481 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6483 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6484 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6485 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6488 @kindex T p (Summary)
6490 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6492 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6493 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6494 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6497 @kindex T d (Summary)
6498 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6499 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6502 @kindex T u (Summary)
6503 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6504 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6507 @kindex T o (Summary)
6508 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6509 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6512 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6513 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6514 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6515 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6516 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6517 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6518 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6519 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6520 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6521 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6522 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6523 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6527 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6528 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6530 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6531 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6532 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6533 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6534 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6535 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6536 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6537 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6538 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6539 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6540 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6542 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6543 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6544 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6545 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
6546 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6548 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6549 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6550 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6552 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6553 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6554 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6555 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6556 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6557 ascending article order.
6559 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6560 by number, you could do something like:
6563 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6564 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6565 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6566 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6569 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6570 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6571 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6572 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6573 which the articles arrived.
6575 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6579 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6581 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6582 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6585 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6586 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6587 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6588 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6591 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6592 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6593 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6594 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6595 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6596 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6597 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6598 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6599 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6600 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6601 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6602 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6603 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6605 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6609 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6610 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6611 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6616 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6617 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6618 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6619 @cindex article pre-fetch
6622 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6623 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6624 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6625 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6626 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6628 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6629 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6631 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6632 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6633 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6634 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6635 connection is blocked.
6637 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6638 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6639 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6640 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6642 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6643 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6644 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6645 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6648 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6651 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6652 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6653 happen automatically.
6655 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6656 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6657 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6658 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6659 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6660 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6661 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6663 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6664 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6665 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6666 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6667 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6668 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6669 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6670 data structure as the only parameter.
6672 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6675 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6676 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6677 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6678 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6681 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6684 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6685 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6686 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6688 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6689 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6690 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6691 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6695 Remove articles when they are read.
6698 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6701 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6703 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6704 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6705 @c from the next group.
6708 @node Article Caching
6709 @section Article Caching
6710 @cindex article caching
6713 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6714 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6715 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6716 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6717 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6719 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6721 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6722 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6723 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6724 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6725 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6726 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6727 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6728 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6730 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6731 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6732 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6733 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6734 as dormant, and don't worry.
6736 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6738 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6739 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6740 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6741 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6742 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6743 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6744 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6745 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6746 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6747 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6749 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6750 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6751 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6752 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6753 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6754 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6755 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6756 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6757 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6758 not then be downloaded by this command.
6760 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6761 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6762 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6763 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6764 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6765 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6767 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6768 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6769 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6770 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6771 variables, the group is not cached.
6773 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6774 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6775 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6776 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6777 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6778 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6779 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6780 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6781 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6785 @node Persistent Articles
6786 @section Persistent Articles
6787 @cindex persistent articles
6789 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6790 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6791 useful in my opinion.
6793 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6794 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6795 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6796 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6797 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6798 the expiry going on at the news server.
6800 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6801 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6802 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6808 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6809 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6812 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6813 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6814 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6815 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6819 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6821 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6822 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6823 interested in persistent articles:
6826 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6830 @node Article Backlog
6831 @section Article Backlog
6833 @cindex article backlog
6835 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6836 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6837 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6838 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6839 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6840 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6841 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6842 increase memory usage some.
6844 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6845 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6846 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6847 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6848 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6849 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6850 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6852 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6855 @node Saving Articles
6856 @section Saving Articles
6857 @cindex saving articles
6859 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6860 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6861 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6862 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6863 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6865 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6866 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6867 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6869 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6870 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6871 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6872 deleted before saving.
6878 @kindex O o (Summary)
6880 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6881 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6882 Save the current article using the default article saver
6883 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6886 @kindex O m (Summary)
6887 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6888 Save the current article in mail format
6889 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6892 @kindex O r (Summary)
6893 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6894 Save the current article in rmail format
6895 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6898 @kindex O f (Summary)
6899 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6900 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6901 Save the current article in plain file format
6902 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6905 @kindex O F (Summary)
6906 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6907 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6908 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6911 @kindex O b (Summary)
6912 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6913 Save the current article body in plain file format
6914 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6917 @kindex O h (Summary)
6918 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6919 Save the current article in mh folder format
6920 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6923 @kindex O v (Summary)
6924 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6925 Save the current article in a VM folder
6926 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6930 @kindex O p (Summary)
6932 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6933 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6934 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6937 @kindex O P (Summary)
6938 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
6939 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
6940 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
6941 external program Muttprint (see
6942 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
6943 options to use is controlled by the variable
6944 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
6948 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6949 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6950 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6951 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6952 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6953 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6954 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6955 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6956 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6957 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6958 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6959 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6963 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6964 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6965 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6966 functions below, or you can create your own.
6970 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6971 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6972 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6973 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6974 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6975 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6976 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6978 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6979 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6980 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6981 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6982 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6983 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6985 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6986 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6987 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6988 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6989 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6990 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6991 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6993 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
6994 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
6995 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
6996 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
6997 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6998 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7000 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7001 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7002 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7003 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7004 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7006 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7007 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7008 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7009 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7010 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7013 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7014 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7015 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7016 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7017 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7019 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7020 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7021 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7022 reader to use this setting.
7025 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7026 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7027 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7028 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7031 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7032 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7033 available functions that generate names:
7037 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7038 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7039 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7041 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7042 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7043 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7045 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7046 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7047 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7049 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7050 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7051 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7053 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7054 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7055 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7058 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7059 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7060 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7061 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7062 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7066 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7067 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7068 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7069 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7072 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7073 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7074 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7075 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7076 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7077 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7078 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7079 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7080 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7082 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7083 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7084 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7085 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7087 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7088 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7089 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7092 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7093 lots of mail groups called things like
7094 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7095 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7096 following will do just that:
7099 (defun my-save-name (group)
7100 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7101 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7103 (setq gnus-split-methods
7104 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7109 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7110 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7111 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7112 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7113 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7114 all the files in the top level directory
7115 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7116 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7117 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7118 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7120 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7121 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7122 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7123 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7124 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7127 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7131 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7132 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7133 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7136 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7137 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7138 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7139 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7142 @node Decoding Articles
7143 @section Decoding Articles
7144 @cindex decoding articles
7146 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7147 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7150 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7151 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7152 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7153 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7154 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7155 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7159 @cindex article series
7160 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7161 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7162 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7163 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7164 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7166 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7167 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7168 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7170 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7171 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7172 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7174 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7175 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7176 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7179 @node Uuencoded Articles
7180 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7182 @cindex uuencoded articles
7187 @kindex X u (Summary)
7188 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7189 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7190 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7193 @kindex X U (Summary)
7194 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7195 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7196 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7199 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7200 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7201 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7204 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7205 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7206 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7207 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7211 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7212 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7213 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7214 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7215 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7217 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7218 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7219 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7220 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7223 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7224 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7225 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7226 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7227 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7228 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7232 @node Shell Archives
7233 @subsection Shell Archives
7235 @cindex shell archives
7236 @cindex shared articles
7238 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7239 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7240 some commands to deal with these:
7245 @kindex X s (Summary)
7246 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7247 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7250 @kindex X S (Summary)
7251 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7252 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7255 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7256 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7257 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7260 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7261 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7262 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7263 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7267 @node PostScript Files
7268 @subsection PostScript Files
7274 @kindex X p (Summary)
7275 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7276 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7279 @kindex X P (Summary)
7280 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7281 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7282 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7285 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7286 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7287 View the current PostScript series
7288 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7291 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7292 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7293 View and save the current PostScript series
7294 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7299 @subsection Other Files
7303 @kindex X o (Summary)
7304 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7305 Save the current series
7306 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7309 @kindex X b (Summary)
7310 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7311 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7312 doesn't really work yet.
7316 @node Decoding Variables
7317 @subsection Decoding Variables
7319 Adjective, not verb.
7322 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7323 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7324 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7328 @node Rule Variables
7329 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7330 @cindex rule variables
7332 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7333 variables are of the form
7336 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7343 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7344 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7346 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7347 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7350 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7351 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7354 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7355 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7356 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7357 user and default view rules.
7359 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7360 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7361 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7366 @node Other Decode Variables
7367 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7370 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7372 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7373 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7374 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7375 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7376 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7380 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7381 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7384 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7385 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7386 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7389 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7390 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7391 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7392 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7393 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7396 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7397 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7398 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7400 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7401 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7402 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7403 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7404 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7407 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7408 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7409 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7411 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7412 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7413 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7414 looking for files to display.
7416 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7417 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7418 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7421 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7422 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7423 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7426 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7427 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7428 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7431 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7432 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7433 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7436 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7437 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7438 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7439 decoded articles as unread.
7441 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7442 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7443 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7444 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7446 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7447 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7448 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7450 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7451 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7453 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7454 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7455 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7456 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7458 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7459 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7460 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7461 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7462 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7463 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7464 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7465 simply dropped them.
7470 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7471 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7475 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7476 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7477 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7478 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7479 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7480 for you when you post the article.
7482 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7483 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7484 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7485 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7487 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7488 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7489 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7490 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7491 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7492 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7493 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7495 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7496 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7497 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7498 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7499 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7500 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7501 Default is @code{t}.
7507 @subsection Viewing Files
7508 @cindex viewing files
7509 @cindex pseudo-articles
7511 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7512 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7513 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7514 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7515 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7516 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7517 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7519 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7520 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7521 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7522 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7524 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7525 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7526 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7528 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7529 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7530 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7531 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7532 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7534 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7535 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7536 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7537 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7538 a list of parameters to that command.
7540 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7541 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7542 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7544 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7545 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7546 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7549 @node Article Treatment
7550 @section Article Treatment
7552 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7553 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7554 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7555 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7556 these articles easier.
7559 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7560 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7561 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7562 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7563 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7564 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7565 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7566 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7570 @node Article Highlighting
7571 @subsection Article Highlighting
7572 @cindex highlighting
7574 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7575 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7580 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7581 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7582 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7583 Do much highlighting of the current article
7584 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7585 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7588 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7589 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7590 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7591 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7592 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7593 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7594 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7595 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7596 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7597 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7598 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7599 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7602 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7603 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7604 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7606 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7609 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7611 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7612 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7613 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7615 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7616 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7617 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7619 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7620 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7621 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7622 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7623 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7624 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7626 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7627 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7628 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7630 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7631 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7632 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7634 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7635 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7636 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7637 that it's a citation.
7639 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7640 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7641 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7643 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7644 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7645 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7647 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7648 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7649 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7650 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7656 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7657 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7658 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7659 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7660 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7661 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7662 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7663 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7668 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7671 @node Article Fontisizing
7672 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7674 @cindex article emphasis
7676 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7677 @kindex W e (Summary)
7678 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7679 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7680 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7681 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7683 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7684 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7685 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7686 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7687 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7688 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7689 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7690 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7694 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7695 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7696 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7705 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7706 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7707 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7708 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7709 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7710 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7711 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7712 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7713 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7714 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7715 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7716 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7717 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7719 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7720 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7721 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7725 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7728 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7730 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7731 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7732 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7733 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7735 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7738 @node Article Hiding
7739 @subsection Article Hiding
7740 @cindex article hiding
7742 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7743 too much cruft in most articles.
7748 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7749 @findex gnus-article-hide
7750 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7751 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7752 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7755 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7756 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7757 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7761 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7762 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7763 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7764 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7767 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7768 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7769 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7773 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7774 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7775 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7776 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7777 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7778 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7779 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7780 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7784 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7785 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7786 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7787 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7792 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7793 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7794 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7795 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7796 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7797 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7798 articles that have signatures in them do:
7800 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7802 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7804 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7805 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7807 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7810 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7815 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7816 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7817 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7818 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7821 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7822 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7825 @cindex stripping advertisements
7826 @cindex advertisements
7827 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7828 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7829 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7830 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7831 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7832 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7833 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7834 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7835 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7836 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7840 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7841 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7842 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7843 customizing the hiding:
7847 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7848 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7849 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7850 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7851 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7852 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7853 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7858 Starting point of the hidden text.
7860 Ending point of the hidden text.
7862 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7864 Number of lines of hidden text.
7867 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7868 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7869 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7870 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7871 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7876 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7877 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7879 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7880 following two variables:
7883 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7884 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7885 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7886 50), hide the cited text.
7888 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7889 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7890 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7895 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7896 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7897 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7898 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7899 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7900 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7904 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7905 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7906 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7908 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7909 citation customization.
7911 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7915 @node Article Washing
7916 @subsection Article Washing
7918 @cindex article washing
7920 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7921 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7923 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7924 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7927 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7928 articles by default.
7933 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7934 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7938 @kindex W l (Summary)
7939 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7940 Remove page breaks from the current article
7941 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7945 @kindex W r (Summary)
7946 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7947 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7948 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7949 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7950 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7951 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7953 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7954 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7955 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7956 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7960 @kindex W t (Summary)
7962 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7963 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7964 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7967 @kindex W v (Summary)
7968 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7969 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7970 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7973 @kindex W o (Summary)
7974 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7975 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7978 @kindex W d (Summary)
7979 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7980 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7982 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7984 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7985 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7986 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7987 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7990 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7991 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7992 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7993 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7996 @kindex W w (Summary)
7997 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7998 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8000 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8004 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8005 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8006 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8009 @kindex W C (Summary)
8010 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8011 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8012 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8015 @kindex W c (Summary)
8016 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8017 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8018 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8019 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8020 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8023 @kindex W q (Summary)
8024 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8025 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8026 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8027 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8028 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8029 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
8030 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8031 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8032 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8035 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8036 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8037 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8038 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8039 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
8040 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8041 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8043 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8046 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8047 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8048 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8049 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8050 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8053 @kindex W h (Summary)
8054 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8055 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
8056 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
8057 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
8059 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8062 @kindex W f (Summary)
8064 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8065 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
8066 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
8067 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
8074 Look for and display any X-Face headers
8075 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
8076 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
8077 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
8078 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
8079 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
8080 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
8081 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
8082 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
8083 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
8084 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.} to view the
8085 face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the
8086 default action is to display the face before the @code{From} header.
8087 (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face support---that will
8088 make display somewhat faster. If there's no native X-Face support, Gnus
8089 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
8090 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux
8091 system look for packages with names like @code{netpbm} or
8092 @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you want to have this function in the display
8093 hook, it should probably come last.
8094 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not @code{xface}).
8097 @kindex W b (Summary)
8098 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8099 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8100 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8103 @kindex W B (Summary)
8104 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8105 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8106 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8109 @kindex W p (Summary)
8110 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8111 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8112 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8113 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8114 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8115 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8116 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8119 @kindex W s (Summary)
8120 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8121 Verify a signed (PGP, PGP/MIME or S/MIME) message
8122 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}).
8125 @kindex W W H (Summary)
8126 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
8127 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8128 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
8131 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8132 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8133 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8134 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8137 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8138 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8139 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8140 lines with a single empty line.
8141 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8144 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8145 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8146 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8147 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8150 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8151 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8152 Do all the three commands above
8153 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8156 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8157 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8158 Remove all blank lines
8159 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8162 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8163 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8164 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8165 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8168 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8169 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8170 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8171 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8175 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8178 @node Article Buttons
8179 @subsection Article Buttons
8182 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8183 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8184 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8185 button on these references.
8187 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8188 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
8189 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
8194 @item gnus-button-alist
8195 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8196 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8199 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8205 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8206 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8207 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
8210 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8211 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8212 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8215 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8216 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8217 avoid false matches.
8220 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8223 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8224 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8228 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8231 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8234 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8235 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8236 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8237 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8238 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8241 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8244 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8246 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8247 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8248 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8249 default values of the variables above.
8251 @item gnus-article-button-face
8252 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8253 Face used on buttons.
8255 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8256 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8257 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8261 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8265 @subsection Article Date
8267 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8268 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8269 when the article was sent.
8274 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8275 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8276 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8277 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8280 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8281 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8283 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8284 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8287 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8288 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8289 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8292 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8293 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8294 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8295 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8298 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8299 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8300 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8301 @findex format-time-string
8302 Display the date using a user-defined format
8303 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8304 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8305 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8306 for a list of possible format specs.
8309 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8310 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8311 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8312 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8313 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8314 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8317 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8320 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8321 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8324 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8325 into wonderful absurdities.
8327 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8330 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8333 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8334 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8338 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8339 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8340 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8341 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8342 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8343 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8344 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8348 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8349 preferred format automatically.
8352 @node Article Signature
8353 @subsection Article Signature
8355 @cindex article signature
8357 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8358 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8359 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8360 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8361 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8362 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8363 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8364 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8365 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8368 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8369 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8370 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8371 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8372 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8373 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8374 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8375 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8378 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8381 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8382 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8383 signature when displaying articles.
8387 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8390 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8393 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8394 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8396 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8397 in question is not a signature.
8400 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8401 listed above. Here's an example:
8404 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8405 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8408 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8409 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8410 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8411 signature after all.
8414 @node Article Miscellania
8415 @subsection Article Miscellania
8419 @kindex A t (Summary)
8420 @findex gnus-article-babel
8421 Translate the article from one language to another
8422 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8428 @section @sc{mime} Commands
8429 @cindex MIME decoding
8431 @cindex viewing attachments
8433 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8434 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8440 @kindex K v (Summary)
8441 View the @sc{mime} part.
8444 @kindex K o (Summary)
8445 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8448 @kindex K c (Summary)
8449 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8452 @kindex K e (Summary)
8453 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8456 @kindex K i (Summary)
8457 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8460 @kindex K | (Summary)
8461 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8464 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8469 @kindex K b (Summary)
8470 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8471 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8475 @kindex K m (Summary)
8476 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8477 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8478 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8479 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8480 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8483 @kindex X m (Summary)
8484 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8485 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8486 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8487 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8490 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8491 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
8492 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8493 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8496 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8497 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8498 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8501 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8502 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8503 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8505 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8506 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8507 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8508 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
8509 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
8510 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8513 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8514 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8515 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8522 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8523 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8524 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8525 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8528 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8531 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8535 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8536 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8537 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8538 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8539 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8540 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8543 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8544 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8545 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8546 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8547 displayed. This variable overrides
8548 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8550 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8551 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8552 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8554 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8555 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8556 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8557 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8558 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8559 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8560 save all jpegs into some directory).
8562 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8565 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8566 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8568 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8569 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8570 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8571 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8572 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8575 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8576 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8577 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8579 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8580 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8581 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8582 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8584 Ready-made functions include@*
8585 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8586 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8587 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8588 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8589 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8590 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8591 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8592 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8593 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8594 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8595 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8596 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8598 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8599 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8601 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8602 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8603 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8606 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8607 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8608 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8609 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8613 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8622 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8623 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8624 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8625 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8626 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8627 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8628 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8630 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8631 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8632 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8633 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8635 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8636 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8637 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8638 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8639 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8640 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8641 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8642 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8644 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8645 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8646 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8647 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8648 quoted-printable header encoding.
8650 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8651 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8652 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8656 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8659 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8660 means encode all charsets),
8662 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8663 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8664 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8671 @cindex coding system aliases
8672 @cindex preferred charset
8674 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8676 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8677 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8680 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8681 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8684 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8685 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8687 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8690 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8693 This will almost do the right thing.
8695 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8699 (codepage-setup 1251)
8700 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8704 @node Article Commands
8705 @section Article Commands
8712 @kindex A P (Summary)
8713 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8714 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8715 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8716 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
8717 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
8718 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
8723 @node Summary Sorting
8724 @section Summary Sorting
8725 @cindex summary sorting
8727 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8728 can't really see why you'd want that.
8733 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8734 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8735 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8738 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8739 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8740 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8743 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8744 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8745 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8748 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8749 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8750 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8753 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8754 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8755 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8758 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8759 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8760 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8763 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8764 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8765 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8768 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8769 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8770 Sort using the default sorting method
8771 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8774 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8775 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8776 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8777 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8778 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8782 @node Finding the Parent
8783 @section Finding the Parent
8784 @cindex parent articles
8785 @cindex referring articles
8790 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8791 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8792 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8793 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8794 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8795 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8796 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8797 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8798 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8800 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8801 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8802 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8803 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8804 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8808 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8809 @kindex A R (Summary)
8810 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8811 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8814 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8815 @kindex A T (Summary)
8816 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8817 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8818 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8819 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8820 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8821 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8822 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8824 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8825 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8826 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8827 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8828 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8829 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8832 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8833 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8835 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8836 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8837 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8838 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8839 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8840 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8841 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8844 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8845 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8846 by giving this command a prefix.
8848 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8849 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
8850 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8851 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8852 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8853 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8856 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8857 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8858 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8861 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8862 then ask Deja if that fails:
8865 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8867 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8870 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
8871 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox}
8872 and @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8873 @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder} and @code{nnimap}1 are only able to locate
8874 articles that have been posted to the current group. (Anything else
8875 would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at
8879 @node Alternative Approaches
8880 @section Alternative Approaches
8882 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8883 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8886 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8887 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8892 @subsection Pick and Read
8893 @cindex pick and read
8895 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8896 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8897 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8898 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8900 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8901 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8902 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8903 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8904 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8905 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8907 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8912 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8913 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8914 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8915 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8916 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8917 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8918 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8919 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8922 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8923 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8924 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8925 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8929 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8930 Unpick the thread or article
8931 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8932 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8933 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8934 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8935 the thread or article at that line.
8939 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8940 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8941 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8942 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8943 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8944 will still be visible when you are reading.
8948 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8949 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8950 which is mapped to the same function
8951 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8953 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8956 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8959 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8960 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8962 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8963 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8964 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8966 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8967 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8968 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8969 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8970 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8971 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8972 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8976 @subsection Binary Groups
8977 @cindex binary groups
8979 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8980 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8981 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8982 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8983 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8984 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8985 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8988 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8989 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8990 command, when you have turned on this mode
8991 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8993 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8994 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8998 @section Tree Display
9001 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9002 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9003 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9004 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9007 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9010 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9011 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9012 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9014 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9015 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9016 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9017 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9018 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9020 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9021 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9022 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9023 default is @code{modeline}.
9025 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9026 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9027 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9028 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9029 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9030 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9031 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9037 The name of the poster.
9039 The @code{From} header.
9041 The number of the article.
9043 The opening bracket.
9045 The closing bracket.
9050 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9052 Variables related to the display are:
9055 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9056 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9057 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9058 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9059 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9060 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9062 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9063 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9064 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9065 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9069 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9070 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9071 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9072 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9073 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9074 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9075 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9076 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9077 other windows displayed next to it.
9079 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9080 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9081 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9082 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9083 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9084 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9085 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9089 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9092 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9102 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9106 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9107 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9109 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9111 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9116 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9117 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9118 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9121 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9122 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9123 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9124 (gnus-add-configuration
9128 (summary 0.75 point)
9133 @xref{Window Layout}.
9136 @node Mail Group Commands
9137 @section Mail Group Commands
9138 @cindex mail group commands
9140 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9141 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9143 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9144 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9149 @kindex B e (Summary)
9150 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9151 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9152 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9153 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9154 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9157 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9158 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9159 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9160 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9161 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9162 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9165 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9166 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9167 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9168 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9169 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9170 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9173 @kindex B m (Summary)
9175 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9176 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9177 Move the article from one mail group to another
9178 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9179 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9182 @kindex B c (Summary)
9184 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9185 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9186 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9187 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9188 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9191 @kindex B B (Summary)
9192 @cindex crosspost mail
9193 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9194 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9195 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9196 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9197 be properly updated.
9200 @kindex B i (Summary)
9201 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9202 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9203 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9204 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9207 @kindex B r (Summary)
9208 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9209 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9210 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9211 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9212 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9213 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9214 (which is the default).
9218 @kindex B w (Summary)
9220 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9221 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9222 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9223 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9224 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9225 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9228 @kindex B q (Summary)
9229 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9230 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9231 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9232 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9235 @kindex B t (Summary)
9236 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9237 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9238 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9241 @kindex B p (Summary)
9242 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9243 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9244 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9245 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9246 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9247 article from your news server (or rather, from
9248 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9249 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9250 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9251 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9252 just not have arrived yet.
9256 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9257 @cindex moving articles
9258 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9259 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9260 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9261 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9262 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9263 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9264 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9267 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9268 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9269 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9270 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9274 @node Various Summary Stuff
9275 @section Various Summary Stuff
9278 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9279 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9280 * Summary Generation Commands::
9281 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9285 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9286 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9287 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9289 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9290 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9291 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9292 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9293 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9294 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9297 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9298 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9299 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9300 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9301 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9303 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9304 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9305 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9308 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9309 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9310 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9311 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9312 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9313 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9314 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9315 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9316 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9317 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9319 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9320 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9321 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9322 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9323 list of articles to be selected.
9325 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9326 the list in one particular group:
9329 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9330 (if (string= group "some.group")
9331 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9335 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9336 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9337 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9338 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9339 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9340 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9341 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9342 buffers. For example:
9345 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9346 '(message-use-followup-to
9347 (gnus-visible-headers .
9348 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9354 @node Summary Group Information
9355 @subsection Summary Group Information
9360 @kindex H f (Summary)
9361 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9362 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9363 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9364 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9365 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9366 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9367 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9368 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9369 be used for fetching the file.
9372 @kindex H d (Summary)
9373 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9374 Give a brief description of the current group
9375 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9376 rereading the description from the server.
9379 @kindex H h (Summary)
9380 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9381 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9382 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9385 @kindex H i (Summary)
9386 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9387 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9391 @node Searching for Articles
9392 @subsection Searching for Articles
9397 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9398 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9399 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9400 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9403 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9404 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9405 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9406 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9410 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9411 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9412 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9413 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9414 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9415 search backward instead.
9417 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9418 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9421 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9422 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9423 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9424 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9427 @node Summary Generation Commands
9428 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9433 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9434 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9435 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9438 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9439 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9440 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9441 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9446 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9447 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9453 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9454 @kindex A D (Summary)
9455 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9456 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9457 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9458 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9459 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9460 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9461 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9462 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9466 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9467 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9468 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9469 several documents into one biiig group
9470 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9471 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9472 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9473 command understands the process/prefix convention
9474 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9477 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9478 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9479 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9480 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9481 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9482 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9486 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9487 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9488 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9491 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9492 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9493 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9494 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9497 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9498 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9499 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9500 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9505 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9506 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9507 @cindex summary exit
9508 @cindex exiting groups
9510 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9511 group and return you to the group buffer.
9517 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9519 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9520 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9521 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9522 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9523 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9524 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9525 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9526 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9527 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9528 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9529 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9533 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9535 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9536 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9537 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9541 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9543 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9544 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9545 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9546 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9549 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9550 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9551 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9552 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9555 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9556 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9557 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9558 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9561 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9562 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9563 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9564 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9565 all articles, both read and unread.
9569 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9570 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9571 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9572 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9573 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9574 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9575 articles, both read and unread.
9578 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9579 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9580 Exit the group and go to the next group
9581 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9584 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9585 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9586 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9587 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9590 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9591 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9592 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9593 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9594 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9595 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9598 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9599 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9600 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9601 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9603 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9604 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9605 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9606 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9607 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9608 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9609 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9610 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9611 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9612 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9613 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9614 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9616 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9618 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9619 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9620 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9621 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9622 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9623 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9624 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9625 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9626 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9629 @node Crosspost Handling
9630 @section Crosspost Handling
9634 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9635 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9636 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9637 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9638 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9639 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9642 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9643 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9644 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9645 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9646 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9648 @cindex cross-posting
9651 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9652 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9653 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9654 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9655 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9656 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9657 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9658 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9659 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9660 the cross reference mechanism.
9662 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9663 @cindex overview.fmt
9664 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9665 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9666 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9667 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9668 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9669 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9672 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9673 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9674 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9679 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9682 @node Duplicate Suppression
9683 @section Duplicate Suppression
9685 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9686 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9687 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9688 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9693 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9694 is evil and not very common.
9697 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9698 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9701 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9702 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9705 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9708 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9709 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9711 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9712 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9713 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9714 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9715 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9716 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9717 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9720 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9721 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9722 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9723 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9724 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9728 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9729 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9730 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9732 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9733 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9734 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9735 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9736 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9737 session are suppressed.
9739 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9740 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9741 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9742 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9744 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9745 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9746 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9747 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9750 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9751 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9752 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9753 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9754 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9755 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9756 to you to figure out, I think.
9761 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
9762 The formats that are supported are PGP (plain text, RFC 1991 format),
9763 PGP/MIME (RFC 2015/3156) and S/MIME, however you need some external
9764 programs to get things to work:
9768 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9769 gpg.el as well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG). @xref{Using GPG}.
9772 To verify or decrypt S/MIME message, you need to install OpenSSL.
9773 OpenSSL 0.9.6 or newer is recommended.
9777 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
9778 manual. @xref{Security, ,Security, message, The Message Manual}.
9781 @item mm-verify-option
9782 @vindex mm-verify-option
9783 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9784 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9785 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9787 @item mm-decrypt-option
9788 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9789 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9790 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9791 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9796 @section Mailing List
9798 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
9799 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
9800 possibly using @kbd{A M} in the summary buffer, or say:
9803 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
9806 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
9811 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
9812 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
9813 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
9816 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
9817 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
9818 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
9821 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
9822 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
9823 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
9827 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
9828 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
9829 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
9832 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
9833 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9834 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
9837 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
9838 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9839 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
9843 @node Article Buffer
9844 @chapter Article Buffer
9845 @cindex article buffer
9847 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9848 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9849 tell Gnus otherwise.
9852 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9853 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9854 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9855 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9856 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9860 @node Hiding Headers
9861 @section Hiding Headers
9862 @cindex hiding headers
9863 @cindex deleting headers
9865 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9866 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9868 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9869 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9870 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9871 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9872 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9873 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9874 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9875 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9876 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9878 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9882 @item gnus-visible-headers
9883 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9884 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9885 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9886 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9888 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9889 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9892 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9895 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9898 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9899 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9900 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9901 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9902 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9903 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9905 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9906 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9909 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9912 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9915 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9916 variable will have no effect.
9920 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9921 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9922 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9923 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9924 the headers are to be displayed.
9926 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9927 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9930 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9933 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9934 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9936 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9937 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9938 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9939 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9940 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9941 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9942 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9945 These conditions are:
9948 Remove all empty headers.
9950 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9951 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9953 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9956 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9959 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
9960 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
9962 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9965 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9967 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9970 To include these three elements, you could say something like;
9973 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9974 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9977 This is also the default value for this variable.
9984 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9985 while people stand around yawning.
9987 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9988 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9990 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9991 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9992 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9994 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9995 @findex gnus-display-mime
9996 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9997 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9998 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9999 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10001 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10005 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10006 @item RET (Article)
10007 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10008 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10009 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
10011 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10012 @item M-RET (Article)
10014 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10015 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10017 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10019 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10020 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10022 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10024 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10025 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10027 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10029 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10030 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10032 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10033 @item C-o (Article)
10034 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10035 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10036 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10037 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10038 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10039 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10041 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10043 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10044 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
10046 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10048 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10049 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10050 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10051 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10052 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10055 @findex gnus-mime-internalize-part
10057 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10058 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10059 (@code{gnus-mime-internalize-part}).
10061 @findex gnus-mime-externalize-part
10063 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10064 (@code{gnus-mime-externalize-part}).
10066 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10068 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10070 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10072 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10073 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10077 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10078 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
10081 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10082 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10083 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10084 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10085 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10086 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10087 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10088 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10089 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10091 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10093 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10096 @node Customizing Articles
10097 @section Customizing Articles
10098 @cindex article customization
10100 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10101 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10102 called automatically when you select the articles.
10104 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10105 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10106 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10107 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10109 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10110 for sensible values.
10114 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10117 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10120 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10123 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10126 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10130 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10131 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10132 regexps in the list.
10135 A list where the first element is not a string:
10137 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10138 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10139 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10143 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10148 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10149 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10150 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10151 considered to contain just a single part.
10153 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10154 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10155 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10156 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10157 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10158 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10159 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10161 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10162 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10163 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10164 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10167 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10168 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10169 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10170 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10171 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10172 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10173 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10174 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10175 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10176 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10177 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
10178 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10179 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10180 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10181 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10182 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10183 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10184 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10185 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10186 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10187 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10188 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10189 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10190 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10191 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10192 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10193 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10194 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10195 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10196 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10197 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10198 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10199 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10200 @item gnus-treat-translate
10201 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10204 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10205 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10206 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10207 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10208 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10212 @node Article Keymap
10213 @section Article Keymap
10215 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10216 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10217 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10218 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10221 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10226 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10227 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10228 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10231 @kindex DEL (Article)
10232 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10233 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10236 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10237 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10238 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10239 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10240 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10243 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10244 @findex gnus-article-mail
10245 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10246 given a prefix, include the mail.
10249 @kindex s (Article)
10250 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10251 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10252 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10255 @kindex ? (Article)
10256 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10257 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10258 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10261 @kindex TAB (Article)
10262 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10263 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10264 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10267 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10268 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10269 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10275 @section Misc Article
10279 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10280 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10281 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10282 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10285 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10286 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10288 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10289 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10291 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10292 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10293 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10294 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10295 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10296 the contents of the article buffer.
10298 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10299 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10300 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10302 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10303 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10304 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10305 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10307 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10308 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10309 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10310 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10311 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10317 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10318 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10319 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10324 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10327 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10330 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10331 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10332 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10335 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10338 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10341 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10346 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10350 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10352 @item gnus-break-pages
10353 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10354 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10355 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10356 paging will not be done.
10358 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10359 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10360 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10365 @node Composing Messages
10366 @chapter Composing Messages
10367 @cindex composing messages
10370 @cindex sending mail
10376 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10377 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10378 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10379 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
10380 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10381 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10384 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10385 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
10386 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10387 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10388 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10389 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10390 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10391 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
10394 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10395 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10401 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10404 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10405 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10406 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10407 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10409 @item gnus-add-to-list
10410 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10411 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10412 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10417 @node Posting Server
10418 @section Posting Server
10420 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10421 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10423 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10425 @vindex gnus-post-method
10427 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
10428 select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
10429 you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
10430 However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
10431 just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
10432 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
10433 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10436 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10439 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10440 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10441 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10442 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10444 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10445 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10447 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10448 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10451 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10452 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10455 @node Mail and Post
10456 @section Mail and Post
10458 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10462 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10463 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10464 @cindex mailing lists
10466 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10467 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10468 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10469 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10470 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10471 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10472 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10473 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10474 still a pain, though.
10478 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10479 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10480 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10483 @findex ispell-message
10485 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10488 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10489 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10492 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10496 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10497 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10499 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10502 Modify to suit your needs.
10505 @node Archived Messages
10506 @section Archived Messages
10507 @cindex archived messages
10508 @cindex sent messages
10510 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10511 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10512 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10513 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10516 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10517 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
10518 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10521 (nnfolder "archive"
10522 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10523 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10524 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10525 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10528 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10529 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10530 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10531 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10534 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10535 '(nnfolder "archive"
10536 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10537 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10538 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10541 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10543 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10544 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10545 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10547 This variable can be used to do the following:
10552 Messages will be saved in that group.
10554 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10555 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10556 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10557 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10558 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10559 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10560 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10561 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10565 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10567 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10568 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10571 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10576 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10578 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10581 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10583 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10586 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10588 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10589 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10590 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10591 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10594 More complex stuff:
10596 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10597 '((if (message-news-p)
10602 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10603 messages in one file per month:
10606 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10607 '((if (message-news-p)
10609 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10612 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10613 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10615 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10616 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10617 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10618 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10619 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10620 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10621 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10622 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10623 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10624 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10626 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10627 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10628 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10629 this will disable archiving.
10632 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10633 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10634 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10635 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10636 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
10639 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
10640 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
10641 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
10644 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
10645 but the latter is the preferred method.
10647 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10648 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10649 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
10654 @node Posting Styles
10655 @section Posting Styles
10656 @cindex posting styles
10659 All them variables, they make my head swim.
10661 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
10662 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
10663 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
10666 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
10667 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
10668 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
10669 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
10670 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
10675 (signature "Peace and happiness")
10676 (organization "What me?"))
10678 (signature "Death to everybody"))
10679 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
10680 (organization "Emacs is it")))
10683 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
10684 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
10685 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
10686 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
10687 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
10688 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
10689 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
10690 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
10692 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
10693 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
10694 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
10695 next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
10696 the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
10697 will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
10698 variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
10699 @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
10700 then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
10702 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
10703 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
10704 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
10705 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
10706 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
10707 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
10708 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
10709 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
10710 result is thrown away.
10712 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
10713 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
10714 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
10715 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
10716 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
10717 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
10719 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
10720 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
10721 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
10723 @findex message-mail-p
10724 @findex message-news-p
10726 So here's a new example:
10729 (setq gnus-posting-styles
10731 (signature-file "~/.signature")
10733 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
10734 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
10736 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
10737 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
10738 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
10740 (signature my-news-signature))
10741 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
10742 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
10743 ((posting-from-work-p)
10744 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
10745 (address "user@@bar.foo")
10746 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
10747 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
10749 (From (save-excursion
10750 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
10751 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
10753 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
10756 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
10757 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
10758 if you fill many roles.
10765 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
10766 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
10767 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
10768 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
10769 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
10771 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
10772 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
10773 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
10774 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
10775 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
10779 @vindex nndraft-directory
10780 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10781 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10782 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10783 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10784 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10785 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10787 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10788 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10791 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10792 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10793 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10794 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10795 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10796 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10797 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10798 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10799 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10800 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10801 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10802 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10803 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10804 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10806 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10807 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10808 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10810 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10811 @kindex D e (Draft)
10812 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10813 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10814 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10816 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10819 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10820 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10821 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10822 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10823 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10824 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10825 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10828 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10829 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10830 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10833 @node Rejected Articles
10834 @section Rejected Articles
10835 @cindex rejected articles
10837 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10838 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10839 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10840 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10842 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
10843 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10844 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10845 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
10846 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10848 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10849 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10850 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10856 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
10857 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
10858 verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
10860 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10861 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10865 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10866 (setq mml1991-use 'gpg)
10867 (setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
10870 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10871 to 700, for your own safety.
10873 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10874 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10878 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10881 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10882 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10885 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10888 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security
10889 menu or @kbd{C-c C-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME,
10890 @kbd{C-c C-m s s} to sign your message using S/MIME. There's also
10891 @kbd{C-c C-m c p} to encrypt your message with PGP/MIME and @kbd{C-c
10892 C-m c s} to encrypt using S/MIME. @xref{Security, ,Security, message,
10893 The Message Manual}.
10895 Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
10896 you've typed it correctly.
10898 @node Select Methods
10899 @chapter Select Methods
10900 @cindex foreign groups
10901 @cindex select methods
10903 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10904 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10905 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10906 personal mail group.
10908 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10909 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10910 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10911 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10912 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10913 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
10915 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10916 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
10918 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
10921 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10922 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10923 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10924 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10925 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10927 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10930 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10931 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10932 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10933 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10934 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
10935 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10936 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10937 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10941 @node Server Buffer
10942 @section Server Buffer
10944 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10945 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10946 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10947 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10948 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10949 back end represents a virtual server.
10951 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
10952 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10953 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
10954 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10956 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10957 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10958 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10959 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10960 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10961 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10962 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10964 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10965 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10968 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10969 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10970 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10971 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10972 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10973 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10974 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10977 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10978 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10981 @node Server Buffer Format
10982 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10983 @cindex server buffer format
10985 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10986 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10987 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10988 variable, with some simple extensions:
10993 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
10996 The name of this server.
10999 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11002 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11005 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11006 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11007 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11008 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11018 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11021 @node Server Commands
11022 @subsection Server Commands
11023 @cindex server commands
11029 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11030 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11034 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11035 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11038 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11039 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11040 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11044 @findex gnus-server-exit
11045 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11049 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11050 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11054 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11055 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11059 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11060 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11064 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11065 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11069 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11070 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11071 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11076 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11077 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11078 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11079 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11084 @node Example Methods
11085 @subsection Example Methods
11087 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11090 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11093 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11099 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11100 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11103 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11104 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11106 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11107 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11111 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11114 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11115 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11117 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11118 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11119 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11123 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11126 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11129 Here's the method for a public spool:
11133 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11134 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11140 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11141 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11142 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11143 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11144 should probably look something like this:
11148 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11149 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11150 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11151 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11154 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11155 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11156 configuration to the example above:
11159 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11162 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11163 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11164 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11168 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11169 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11170 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11171 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11174 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11175 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11176 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11177 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11180 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11181 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11183 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11184 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11186 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11187 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11188 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11190 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11192 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11193 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11194 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11195 will contain the following:
11205 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11206 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11207 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11210 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11211 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11212 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11215 @node Server Variables
11216 @subsection Server Variables
11218 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11219 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11220 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11221 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11222 won't change the "derived" variables.
11224 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11225 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11226 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11227 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11228 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11229 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11230 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11231 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11232 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11236 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11237 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11238 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11242 @node Servers and Methods
11243 @subsection Servers and Methods
11245 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11246 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11247 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11248 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11252 @node Unavailable Servers
11253 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11255 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11256 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11257 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11258 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11259 actually the case or not.
11261 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11262 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11263 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11264 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11265 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11266 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11267 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11268 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11270 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11271 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11273 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11274 with the following commands:
11280 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11281 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11282 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11286 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11287 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11288 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11292 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11293 Mark the current server as unreachable
11294 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11297 @kindex M-o (Server)
11298 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11299 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11300 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11303 @kindex M-c (Server)
11304 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11305 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11306 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11310 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11311 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11312 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11318 @section Getting News
11319 @cindex reading news
11320 @cindex news back ends
11322 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11323 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11324 or it can read from a local spool.
11327 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11328 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11333 @subsection @sc{nntp}
11336 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11337 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11338 server as the, uhm, address.
11340 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11341 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11342 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11343 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11345 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11346 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11347 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11349 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11354 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11355 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11356 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11358 @cindex authentification
11359 @cindex nntp authentification
11360 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11361 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11362 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11363 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11364 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11365 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11366 present in this hook.
11368 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11369 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11370 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11371 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11372 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11373 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11374 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11375 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11376 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11377 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11378 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11379 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11383 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11386 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11388 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11389 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11390 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11391 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11392 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11393 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11394 @samp{force} is explained below.
11398 Here's an example file:
11401 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11402 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11405 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11406 have to be first, for instance.
11408 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11409 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11410 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11411 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11412 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11413 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11414 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11416 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11417 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11423 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11424 previously mentioned.
11426 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11428 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11429 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11430 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11431 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11432 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11435 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11436 '(("innd" (ding))))
11439 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11441 The default value is
11444 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11445 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11446 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11449 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11450 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11452 @item nntp-maximum-request
11453 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11454 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11455 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11456 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11457 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11458 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11459 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11461 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11462 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11463 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11464 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11465 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11466 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11467 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11468 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11469 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11470 no timeouts are done.
11472 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11473 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11474 @c @cindex PPP connections
11475 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11476 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11477 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11478 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11479 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11480 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11481 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11482 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11483 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11484 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11486 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11487 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11488 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11489 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11490 @c described above.
11492 @item nntp-server-hook
11493 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11494 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11497 @item nntp-buggy-select
11498 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11499 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11501 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11502 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
11503 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
11504 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
11507 @item nntp-xover-commands
11508 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
11511 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
11512 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
11516 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
11517 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
11518 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
11519 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
11520 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
11521 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
11522 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
11523 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
11524 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
11525 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
11526 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
11528 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
11529 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
11530 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
11532 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11533 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11534 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
11535 server closes connection.
11537 @item nntp-record-commands
11538 @vindex nntp-record-commands
11539 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
11540 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
11541 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
11542 that doesn't seem to work.
11544 @item nntp-open-connection-function
11545 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
11546 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
11547 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
11548 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
11549 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
11550 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
11551 indirect ones (two pre-made).
11553 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
11554 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
11555 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
11556 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
11557 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
11558 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
11559 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
11562 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
11567 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
11568 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
11569 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
11573 @node Direct Functions
11574 @subsubsection Direct Functions
11575 @cindex direct connection functions
11577 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
11578 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
11579 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
11580 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11583 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
11584 @item nntp-open-network-stream
11585 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
11588 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
11589 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
11590 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
11591 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
11592 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
11593 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
11594 define a server as follows:
11597 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
11599 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
11601 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
11602 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
11603 (nntp-port-number "snews")
11604 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
11607 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
11608 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
11609 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
11610 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
11611 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
11612 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
11613 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
11614 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
11618 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11619 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
11620 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
11623 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
11624 session, which is not a good idea.
11628 @node Indirect Functions
11629 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
11630 @cindex indirect connection functions
11632 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
11633 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
11634 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
11635 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
11636 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
11637 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11640 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11641 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11642 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
11643 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
11644 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
11646 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11649 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
11650 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
11651 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
11652 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
11655 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11656 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11657 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
11658 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
11660 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11663 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
11664 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
11665 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
11668 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
11669 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
11670 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
11671 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
11673 @item nntp-via-user-password
11674 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
11675 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
11677 @item nntp-via-envuser
11678 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
11679 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
11680 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
11681 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
11683 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
11684 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
11685 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
11686 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
11693 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
11698 @item nntp-via-user-name
11699 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
11700 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
11702 @item nntp-via-address
11703 @vindex nntp-via-address
11704 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
11709 @node Common Variables
11710 @subsubsection Common Variables
11712 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
11713 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
11718 @item nntp-pre-command
11719 @vindex nntp-pre-command
11720 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
11721 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
11722 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
11723 wrapper for instance.
11726 @vindex nntp-address
11727 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
11729 @item nntp-port-number
11730 @vindex nntp-port-number
11731 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
11733 @item nntp-end-of-line
11734 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
11735 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
11736 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
11737 using a non native connection function.
11739 @item nntp-telnet-command
11740 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
11741 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
11742 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
11743 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
11745 @item nntp-telnet-switches
11746 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
11747 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
11754 @subsection News Spool
11758 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
11759 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
11760 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
11763 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
11764 anything else) as the address.
11766 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
11767 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
11768 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
11769 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
11773 @item nnspool-inews-program
11774 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
11775 Program used to post an article.
11777 @item nnspool-inews-switches
11778 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
11779 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
11781 @item nnspool-spool-directory
11782 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
11783 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
11784 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
11786 @item nnspool-nov-directory
11787 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
11788 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
11789 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
11791 @item nnspool-lib-dir
11792 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
11793 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
11795 @item nnspool-active-file
11796 @vindex nnspool-active-file
11797 The path to the active file.
11799 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
11800 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
11801 The path to the group descriptions file.
11803 @item nnspool-history-file
11804 @vindex nnspool-history-file
11805 The path to the news history file.
11807 @item nnspool-active-times-file
11808 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
11809 The path to the active date file.
11811 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
11812 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
11813 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
11816 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11817 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11819 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
11820 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
11821 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
11827 @section Getting Mail
11828 @cindex reading mail
11831 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
11835 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
11836 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
11837 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
11838 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
11839 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
11840 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
11841 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
11842 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
11843 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
11844 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
11845 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
11846 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
11847 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
11848 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
11852 @node Mail in a Newsreader
11853 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
11855 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
11856 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
11857 of a culture shock.
11859 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
11860 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
11862 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
11863 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
11864 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
11865 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
11867 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
11869 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
11870 deleted? How awful!
11872 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
11873 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
11874 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
11875 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
11878 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
11879 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
11880 they want to treat a message.
11882 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11883 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11884 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11885 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11886 archived somewhere else.
11888 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11889 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11890 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11891 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11892 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11894 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11895 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11896 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11898 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11899 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11902 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11903 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11904 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11905 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11906 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11908 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11909 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11910 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11911 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11912 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11913 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11917 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11918 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11920 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11921 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11922 and things will happen automatically.
11924 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11925 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11928 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11931 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
11932 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11933 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11934 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11935 like any other group.
11937 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11940 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11941 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11942 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11946 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11947 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11948 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11951 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11952 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11953 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11956 @node Splitting Mail
11957 @subsection Splitting Mail
11958 @cindex splitting mail
11959 @cindex mail splitting
11961 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11962 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11963 to be split into groups.
11966 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11967 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11968 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11969 ("mail.other" "")))
11972 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11973 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11974 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11975 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11976 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11977 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11978 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11981 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11984 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11985 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11986 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11987 mail belongs in that group.
11989 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11990 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11991 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11992 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11993 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11994 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11996 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11997 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11998 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11999 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12000 thinks should carry this mail message.
12002 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12003 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12004 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12005 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12007 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12008 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12009 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12010 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12011 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12013 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12016 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12017 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12018 links. If that's the case for you, set
12019 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12020 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12022 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12023 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12024 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12025 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12026 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12027 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12030 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12031 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12032 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12033 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12034 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12035 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12036 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12037 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12038 month's rent money.
12042 @subsection Mail Sources
12044 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12045 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12049 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12050 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12051 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12055 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12056 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12058 @cindex mail server
12061 @cindex mail source
12063 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12064 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12069 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12072 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12073 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12074 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12077 The following mail source types are available:
12081 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12087 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12088 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
12091 An example file mail source:
12094 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12097 Or using the default path:
12103 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12104 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12105 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12108 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12112 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12115 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12119 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12122 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12124 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12127 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12131 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
12132 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
12133 That is, mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in the
12134 group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12135 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12136 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus
12137 to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you
12138 want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12144 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12148 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12152 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12153 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12154 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12155 predicate are considered.
12159 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12163 An example directory mail source:
12166 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12171 Get mail from a POP server.
12177 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12178 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12181 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12182 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12183 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12184 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12185 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12188 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12192 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12196 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12197 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12200 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12203 The valid format specifier characters are:
12207 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12208 included in this string.
12211 The name of the server.
12214 The port number of the server.
12217 The user name to use.
12220 The password to use.
12223 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12224 corresponding keywords.
12227 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12228 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12231 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12232 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12235 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12236 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12239 @item :authentication
12240 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12241 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12246 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12247 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12249 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12250 default user name, and default fetcher:
12256 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12259 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12260 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12263 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12266 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12270 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12271 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12272 contains exactly one mail.
12278 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12279 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12282 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12283 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12285 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12286 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12287 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12290 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12291 from locking problems).
12295 Two example maildir mail sources:
12298 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12299 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12303 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12308 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12309 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12310 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12311 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12314 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12315 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12321 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12322 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12325 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12326 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12329 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12333 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12337 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12338 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12339 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12340 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12342 @item :authentication
12343 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12344 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12345 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12346 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12349 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12350 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12351 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12357 The valid format specifier characters are:
12361 The name of the server.
12364 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12367 The port number of the server.
12370 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12371 corresponding keywords.
12374 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12375 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12378 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12379 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12380 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12381 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
12382 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12383 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
12386 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12387 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12388 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12389 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
12392 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12393 after finishing the fetch.
12397 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12400 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12402 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12406 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
12407 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
12409 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
12412 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12413 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12415 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
12421 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12422 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
12425 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
12429 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
12433 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
12434 folder after finishing the fetch.
12438 An example webmail source:
12441 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
12443 :password "secret")
12448 @item Common Keywords
12449 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
12455 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
12456 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
12460 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
12465 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
12466 useful when you use local mail and news.
12471 @subsubsection Function Interface
12473 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
12474 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
12475 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
12476 consider the following mail-source setting:
12479 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
12480 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
12483 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
12484 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
12485 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
12486 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
12487 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
12489 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
12492 @node Mail Source Customization
12493 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
12495 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
12496 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
12500 @item mail-source-crash-box
12501 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
12502 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
12503 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
12505 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
12506 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
12507 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
12509 @item mail-source-directory
12510 @vindex mail-source-directory
12511 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
12512 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
12513 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
12516 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12517 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12518 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
12519 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
12520 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
12521 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
12523 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
12524 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
12525 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
12527 @item mail-source-movemail-program
12528 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
12529 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
12530 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
12535 @node Fetching Mail
12536 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
12538 @vindex mail-sources
12539 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
12540 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
12541 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
12542 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
12544 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
12545 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
12548 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
12549 mail server, you'd say something like:
12554 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12555 :password "secret")))
12558 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
12562 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
12563 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12566 :password "secret")))
12570 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
12571 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
12572 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
12573 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
12574 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
12575 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
12579 @node Mail Back End Variables
12580 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
12582 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
12586 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12587 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12588 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
12589 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
12591 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
12592 @item nnmail-split-hook
12593 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
12594 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
12595 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
12596 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
12597 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
12598 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
12599 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
12600 in the buffer will show up in any files.
12601 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
12604 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12605 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12606 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12607 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12608 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
12609 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
12610 starting to handle the new mail) and
12611 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
12612 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
12613 default file modes the new mail files get:
12616 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12617 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
12619 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12620 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
12623 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
12624 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
12625 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
12626 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
12627 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
12628 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
12629 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
12631 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
12632 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
12633 @findex delete-file
12634 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
12636 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12637 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12638 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
12639 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
12640 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
12645 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
12646 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
12647 @cindex mail splitting
12648 @cindex fancy mail splitting
12650 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
12651 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
12652 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
12653 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
12654 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
12655 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
12657 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
12660 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
12661 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
12662 ;; from real errors.
12663 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
12665 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
12666 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
12667 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
12668 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
12669 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
12670 ;; Other mailing lists...
12671 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
12672 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
12673 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
12674 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
12675 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
12676 ;; message was really cross-posted.
12677 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
12678 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
12680 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
12681 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
12685 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
12686 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
12687 the five possible split syntaxes:
12692 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
12693 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
12697 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
12698 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
12699 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
12700 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
12701 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
12702 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
12703 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
12704 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
12707 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12708 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
12709 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
12710 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
12713 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12714 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
12717 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
12718 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
12721 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
12722 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
12723 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
12724 function should return a @var{split}.
12727 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
12728 body of the messages:
12731 (defun split-on-body ()
12733 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
12734 (goto-char (point-min))
12735 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
12739 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
12740 when the @code{:} function is run.
12743 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12744 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
12745 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
12749 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
12753 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
12754 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
12755 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
12756 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
12757 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
12759 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
12760 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
12761 are expanded as specified by the variable
12762 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
12763 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
12766 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
12767 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
12768 when all this splitting is performed.
12770 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
12771 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
12772 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
12775 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
12778 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
12779 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
12781 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
12782 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
12783 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
12784 groupings 1 through 9.
12786 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
12787 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
12788 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
12789 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
12790 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
12791 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
12792 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
12793 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
12794 it once per thread.
12796 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
12797 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
12798 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
12801 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12802 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
12803 ;; other splits go here
12807 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
12808 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
12809 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
12810 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
12811 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
12812 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
12813 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
12814 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
12815 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
12816 unless the group name matches the regexp
12817 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
12818 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
12819 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
12820 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
12821 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12822 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
12823 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
12824 messages goes into the new group.
12827 @node Group Mail Splitting
12828 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
12829 @cindex mail splitting
12830 @cindex group mail splitting
12832 @findex gnus-group-split
12833 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
12834 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
12835 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
12836 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
12837 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
12838 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
12839 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
12840 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
12842 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
12843 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
12844 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
12845 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
12847 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
12848 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
12849 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
12850 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
12851 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
12852 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
12853 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
12855 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
12856 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
12857 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
12858 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
12859 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
12860 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
12861 @code{gnus-group-split}.
12863 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
12864 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
12865 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
12866 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
12867 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
12868 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
12869 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
12870 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
12871 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
12872 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
12873 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
12874 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
12875 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
12877 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
12882 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
12883 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
12885 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
12886 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
12887 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
12888 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
12890 ((split-spec . catch-all))
12893 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
12894 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
12895 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
12898 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
12899 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
12900 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
12904 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
12905 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
12906 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
12910 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
12913 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
12914 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
12915 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
12916 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
12917 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
12918 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
12919 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
12920 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
12921 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
12923 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
12924 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
12925 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
12926 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
12927 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
12928 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
12929 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
12930 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
12931 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12933 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12934 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12935 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12936 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12937 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12938 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12941 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12944 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12945 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12946 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12947 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12948 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12951 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12952 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12953 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12954 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12956 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12957 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12958 @cindex incorporating old mail
12959 @cindex import old mail
12961 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12962 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12963 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12966 Doing so can be quite easy.
12968 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12969 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12970 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12971 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12972 your @code{nnml} groups.
12978 Go to the group buffer.
12981 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12982 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12985 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12988 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12989 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12992 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12993 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12996 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12997 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12998 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12999 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13000 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13002 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13003 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13004 using the new mail back end.
13007 @node Expiring Mail
13008 @subsection Expiring Mail
13009 @cindex article expiry
13011 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13012 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13013 different approach to mail reading.
13015 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13016 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13017 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13018 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13019 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13020 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13023 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13024 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
13025 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13026 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13027 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13028 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13029 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13030 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13032 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13033 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
13034 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
13035 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
13036 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
13037 column in the summary buffer.
13039 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13040 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13041 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13042 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13045 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13047 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13048 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13049 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13052 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13053 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13054 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13055 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13056 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13058 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13059 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13062 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13063 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13066 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13067 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13069 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13070 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13071 don't really mix very well.
13073 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13074 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13075 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13076 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13079 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13080 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13081 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13082 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13085 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13087 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13089 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13091 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13093 ((string= group "important")
13099 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13100 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13102 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13103 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13104 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13107 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13108 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13110 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13111 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13112 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
13113 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
13114 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
13115 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
13116 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
13117 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
13118 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
13119 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
13120 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
13121 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
13124 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13126 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13129 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13130 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13131 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13132 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13133 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13136 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13137 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13138 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13139 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13140 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13143 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13144 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13145 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13146 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13147 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13148 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13150 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13151 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13152 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13153 easier for procmail users.
13155 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13156 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13157 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13158 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13159 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13160 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13161 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13162 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13163 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13164 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13165 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13166 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13167 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13170 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13172 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13173 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13174 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13175 auto-expire turned on.
13179 @subsection Washing Mail
13180 @cindex mail washing
13181 @cindex list server brain damage
13182 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13184 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13185 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13186 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13187 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13188 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13189 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13191 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13192 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13193 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13196 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13197 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13198 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13199 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13202 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13203 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13204 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13205 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13206 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13209 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13210 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13211 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13212 Emacs running on MS machines.
13216 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13217 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13218 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13219 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13222 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13223 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13224 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13225 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13227 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13228 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13229 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13230 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13231 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13232 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13233 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13236 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13237 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13240 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13241 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13244 This can also be done non-destructively with
13245 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13247 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13248 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13249 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13251 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13252 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13254 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13255 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13256 @code{References} headers.
13260 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13261 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13262 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13266 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13267 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13268 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13275 @subsection Duplicates
13277 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13278 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13279 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13280 @cindex duplicate mails
13281 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13282 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13283 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13284 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13285 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13286 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13287 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13288 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13289 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13290 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13291 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13292 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13293 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13295 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13296 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13297 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13298 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13300 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13303 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13304 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13308 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13309 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13310 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13311 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13312 (any mail "mail.misc")
13319 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13320 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13325 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13326 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13327 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13328 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13329 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13332 @node Not Reading Mail
13333 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13335 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13336 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13337 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13339 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13340 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13341 mail, which should help.
13343 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13344 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13345 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13346 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13347 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13348 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13349 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13350 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13351 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13352 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13353 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13355 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13356 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13360 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13361 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13363 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13364 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13365 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13367 There are five different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13368 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13369 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
13370 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
13373 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13374 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13375 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13376 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13377 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13378 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13382 @node Unix Mail Box
13383 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13385 @cindex unix mail box
13387 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13388 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13389 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13390 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13391 which group it belongs in.
13393 Virtual server settings:
13396 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
13397 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13398 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
13401 @item nnmbox-active-file
13402 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13403 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
13404 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
13406 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
13407 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13408 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
13409 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
13414 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
13418 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13419 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13420 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
13421 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
13422 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
13424 Virtual server settings:
13427 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
13428 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13429 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
13431 @item nnbabyl-active-file
13432 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13433 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
13434 @file{~/.rmail-active}
13436 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13437 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13438 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
13444 @subsubsection Mail Spool
13446 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
13448 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
13449 format. It should be used with some caution.
13451 @vindex nnml-directory
13452 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
13453 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
13454 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
13455 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
13457 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
13460 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
13461 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
13462 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
13463 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
13464 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
13465 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
13466 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
13467 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
13469 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
13470 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
13471 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
13472 back end when it comes to reading mail.
13474 @cindex self contained nnml servers
13475 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
13476 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13477 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13478 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
13479 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
13480 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
13481 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
13482 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
13485 Virtual server settings:
13488 @item nnml-directory
13489 @vindex nnml-directory
13490 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
13491 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
13494 @item nnml-active-file
13495 @vindex nnml-active-file
13496 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
13497 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
13499 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
13500 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
13501 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13502 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
13504 @item nnml-get-new-mail
13505 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13506 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
13509 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
13510 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
13511 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13512 default is @code{nil}.
13514 @item nnml-nov-file-name
13515 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
13516 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
13518 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13519 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13520 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
13522 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
13523 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
13524 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13525 default is @code{nil}.
13527 @item nnml-marks-file-name
13528 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
13529 The name of the @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
13533 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
13534 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
13535 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
13536 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
13537 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
13538 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
13539 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
13544 @subsubsection MH Spool
13546 @cindex mh-e mail spool
13548 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
13549 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
13550 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
13551 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
13553 Virtual server settings:
13556 @item nnmh-directory
13557 @vindex nnmh-directory
13558 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
13559 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13562 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
13563 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13564 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
13568 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
13569 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
13570 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
13571 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
13572 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
13573 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
13574 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
13579 @subsubsection Mail Folders
13581 @cindex mbox folders
13582 @cindex mail folders
13584 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
13585 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
13586 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
13589 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
13590 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
13591 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13592 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13593 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
13594 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
13595 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
13596 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
13597 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
13598 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
13599 @code{nnfolder} directory).
13601 Virtual server settings:
13604 @item nnfolder-directory
13605 @vindex nnfolder-directory
13606 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
13607 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13610 @item nnfolder-active-file
13611 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
13612 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
13614 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13615 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13616 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13617 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
13619 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
13620 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13621 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
13624 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13625 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13626 @cindex backup files
13627 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
13628 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
13629 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
13630 your @file{.emacs} file:
13633 (defun turn-off-backup ()
13634 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
13636 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
13639 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13640 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13641 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
13642 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
13643 extract some information from it before removing it.
13645 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13646 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13647 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13648 default is @code{nil}.
13650 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13651 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13652 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
13654 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
13655 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
13656 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
13657 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13659 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13660 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13661 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13662 default is @code{nil}.
13664 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13665 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13666 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
13668 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
13669 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
13670 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
13671 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13676 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
13677 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
13678 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
13679 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
13680 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
13681 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
13684 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
13685 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
13687 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
13688 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
13689 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
13690 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
13691 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
13693 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
13694 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
13695 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
13696 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
13697 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
13698 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
13699 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
13700 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
13703 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
13704 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
13705 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
13706 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
13711 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
13712 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
13713 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
13714 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
13715 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
13716 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
13717 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
13718 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
13719 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
13720 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
13721 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
13722 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
13723 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
13728 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
13729 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
13730 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
13731 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
13732 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
13733 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
13734 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
13735 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
13736 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
13737 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
13738 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
13739 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
13740 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
13741 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
13743 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
13744 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
13749 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
13750 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
13751 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
13752 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
13753 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
13754 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
13755 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
13756 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
13757 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
13758 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
13759 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
13760 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
13761 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
13762 provided by the active file and overviews.
13764 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
13765 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
13766 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
13767 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
13768 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
13771 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
13772 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
13777 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
13778 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
13779 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
13780 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
13781 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
13782 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
13783 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
13787 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
13788 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
13789 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
13790 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
13791 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
13792 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
13793 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
13794 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
13795 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
13797 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
13798 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
13799 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
13800 friendly mail back end all over.
13805 @node Browsing the Web
13806 @section Browsing the Web
13808 @cindex browsing the web
13812 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
13813 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
13814 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
13815 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
13816 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
13817 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
13818 even know what a news group is.
13820 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
13821 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
13822 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
13823 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
13824 you mad in the end.
13826 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
13829 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
13830 interfaces to these sources.
13833 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
13834 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
13835 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
13836 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
13837 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
13838 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
13841 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
13843 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
13844 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
13845 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
13846 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
13847 though, you should be ok.
13849 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
13850 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
13851 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
13852 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
13853 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
13855 @node Archiving Mail
13856 @subsection Archiving Mail
13857 @cindex archiving mail
13858 @cindex backup of mail
13860 Some of the back ends, notably nnml and nnfolder, now actually store
13861 the article marks with each group. For these servers, archiving and
13862 restoring a group while preserving marks is fairly simple.
13864 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
13865 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @code{.newsrc.eld} deity
13868 To archive an entire @code{nnml} or @code{nnfolder} server, take a
13869 recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need to shut down
13870 Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or similar. You
13871 restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and adding a server
13872 definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The @ref{Article
13873 Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things might interfer
13874 with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus before you
13877 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml} or
13878 @code{nnfolder} groups, while preserving marks. For @code{nnml}, you
13879 copy all files in the group's directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need
13880 to copy both the base folder file itself (@code{FOO}, say), and the
13881 marks file (@code{FOO.mrk} in this example). Restoring the group is
13882 done with @kbd{G m} from the Group buffer. The last step makes Gnus
13883 notice the new directory.
13886 @subsection Web Searches
13890 @cindex InReference
13891 @cindex Usenet searches
13892 @cindex searching the Usenet
13894 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
13895 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
13896 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
13897 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
13898 searches without having to use a browser.
13900 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
13901 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
13902 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
13903 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
13904 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
13906 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
13907 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
13908 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
13909 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
13910 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
13911 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
13912 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
13913 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
13914 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
13915 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
13918 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
13919 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
13920 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
13921 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
13922 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
13923 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
13925 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
13926 to use @code{nnweb}.
13928 Virtual server variables:
13933 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
13934 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
13938 @vindex nnweb-search
13939 The search string to feed to the search engine.
13941 @item nnweb-max-hits
13942 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
13943 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
13946 @item nnweb-type-definition
13947 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
13948 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
13949 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
13954 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
13958 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
13961 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
13964 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
13968 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
13975 @subsection Slashdot
13979 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
13980 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
13981 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
13983 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
13984 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
13987 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13988 '((nnslashdot "")))
13991 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
13992 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
13993 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
13994 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
13995 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
13998 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
13999 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14001 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14002 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14003 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14004 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14005 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14006 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14009 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14012 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14013 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14014 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14015 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14016 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14017 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14018 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14020 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14021 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14022 The login name to use when posting.
14024 @item nnslashdot-password
14025 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14026 The password to use when posting.
14028 @item nnslashdot-directory
14029 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14030 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14031 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14033 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14034 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14035 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14036 news articles and comments. The default is
14037 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14039 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14040 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14041 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14043 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14045 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14046 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14047 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14049 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14051 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14052 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14053 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14055 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14056 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14057 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14058 updated. The default is 0.
14065 @subsection Ultimate
14067 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14069 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14070 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14071 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14072 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14074 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14075 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14076 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14077 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14078 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14079 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14080 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14082 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14085 @item nnultimate-directory
14086 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14087 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14088 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14093 @subsection Web Archive
14095 @cindex Web Archive
14097 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14098 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14099 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14100 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14103 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14104 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14105 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14106 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14107 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14108 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14109 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14111 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14114 @item nnwarchive-directory
14115 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14116 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14117 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14119 @item nnwarchive-login
14120 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14121 The account name on the web server.
14123 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14124 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14125 The password for your account on the web server.
14133 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14134 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14135 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14138 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14139 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14142 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14145 @item nnrss-directory
14146 @vindex nnrss-directory
14147 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14148 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14152 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14153 the summary buffer.
14156 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14157 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14159 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14161 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14162 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14165 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14168 (require 'browse-url)
14170 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14172 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14175 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14176 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14178 (browse-url (cdr url))
14179 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14181 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14182 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14183 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14184 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14187 @node Customizing w3
14188 @subsection Customizing w3
14194 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14195 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14196 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14198 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14199 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14200 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14203 (eval-after-load "w3"
14205 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14206 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14207 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14208 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14210 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14213 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14214 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14222 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14223 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14224 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14225 specify the network address of the server.
14227 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14228 POP can, it can hence be viewed as POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14229 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14230 protocol. (@sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp} because news
14231 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.)
14233 If you want to use @sc{imap} as POP++, use an imap entry in
14234 mail-sources. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the @sc{imap}
14235 server and store them on the local disk. This is not the usage
14236 described in this section. @xref{Mail Sources}.
14238 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14239 entry in gnus-secondary-select-methods. With this, Gnus will
14240 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14241 usage explained in this section.
14243 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14244 might look something like this:
14247 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14248 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14249 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14251 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14252 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14253 ; a UW server running on localhost
14255 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14256 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14257 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14258 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14259 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14260 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14261 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14262 (nnimap-stream network))
14263 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14265 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14266 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14267 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14270 (Note that for SSL/TLS to work, you need the external library
14271 @samp{ssl.el}, see below.)
14273 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14278 @item nnimap-address
14279 @vindex nnimap-address
14281 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14282 server name if not specified.
14284 @item nnimap-server-port
14285 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14286 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14288 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
14291 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14292 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14295 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14296 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14297 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14298 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14299 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14300 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14301 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14303 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14304 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14305 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14308 Example server specification:
14311 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14312 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14313 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14316 @item nnimap-stream
14317 @vindex nnimap-stream
14318 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14319 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14320 of SSL/TLS. (IMAP over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
14321 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
14323 Example server specification:
14326 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14327 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14330 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14334 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Requires the
14335 @samp{imtest} program.
14337 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14339 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14340 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14343 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
14344 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
14345 library @samp{ssl.el}.
14347 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14349 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14352 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14353 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
14354 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
14355 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
14356 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
14357 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
14358 restrictions on IMAP commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
14359 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
14360 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14363 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14364 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14365 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14366 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
14367 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14368 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14369 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14370 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
14371 distribution, for instance).
14373 @vindex imap-shell-program
14374 @vindex imap-shell-host
14375 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14376 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14378 @item nnimap-authenticator
14379 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14381 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14382 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14384 Example server specification:
14387 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14388 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14391 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
14395 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
14396 external program @code{imtest}.
14398 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
14401 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
14402 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
14404 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
14406 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
14408 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
14411 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
14413 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
14414 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
14415 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
14416 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
14417 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
14418 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
14421 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
14422 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
14423 running in circles yet?
14425 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
14426 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
14429 The possible options are:
14434 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
14437 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
14438 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
14439 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
14440 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
14442 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
14447 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
14448 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
14450 If non-nil, marks dormant articles as ticked (as well), for other IMAP
14451 clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will naturally still (only) be
14452 marked as ticked. This is to make dormant articles stand out, just
14453 like ticked articles, in other IMAP clients. (In other words, Gnus has
14454 two ``Tick'' marks and IMAP has only one.)
14456 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
14457 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
14460 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
14461 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14462 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
14463 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14466 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
14467 as ticked for other users.
14469 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
14471 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
14473 This variable contain the IMAP search command sent to server when
14474 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
14475 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
14476 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
14478 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
14479 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
14480 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
14481 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
14483 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
14484 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14486 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14487 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14488 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14494 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14495 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14496 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14501 @node Splitting in IMAP
14502 @subsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14503 @cindex splitting imap mail
14505 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14506 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14507 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14508 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14509 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14513 Here are the variables of interest:
14517 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14518 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14520 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14522 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14523 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14525 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14527 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14528 @cindex splitting, inbox
14530 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14532 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14533 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14537 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14538 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14541 No nnmail equivalent.
14543 @item nnimap-split-rule
14544 @cindex Splitting, rules
14545 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14547 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14550 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14551 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14552 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14553 Neither did I, we need examples.
14556 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14558 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14559 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14560 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14563 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14564 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14565 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
14567 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14568 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14572 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14575 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14576 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14577 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14578 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14580 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14581 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14582 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14583 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
14584 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14585 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14587 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14588 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14589 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14591 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14592 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14593 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14595 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
14597 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14598 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14599 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14602 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14603 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14604 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14605 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14606 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14607 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14610 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14611 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14612 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14613 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14614 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14615 group/function elements.
14617 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14619 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14621 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14623 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14624 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14626 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14627 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14628 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14631 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14632 @cindex splitting, fancy
14633 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14634 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14636 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14637 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14638 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14640 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14641 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14642 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14643 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14648 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14649 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14652 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14656 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14657 @subsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14658 @cindex editing imap acls
14659 @cindex Access Control Lists
14660 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14662 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14664 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14665 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14666 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14669 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14670 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14671 editing window with detailed instructions.
14673 Some possible uses:
14677 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14678 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14679 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14681 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14682 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14683 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14687 @node Expunging mailboxes
14688 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
14692 @cindex Manual expunging
14694 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14696 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
14697 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14698 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14700 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14705 @node Other Sources
14706 @section Other Sources
14708 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
14709 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
14713 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
14714 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
14715 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
14716 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
14717 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
14721 @node Directory Groups
14722 @subsection Directory Groups
14724 @cindex directory groups
14726 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
14727 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
14730 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
14731 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
14732 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
14733 back end to read directories. Big deal.
14735 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
14736 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
14737 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
14738 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
14739 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
14741 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
14743 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
14744 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
14745 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
14746 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
14749 @node Anything Groups
14750 @subsection Anything Groups
14753 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
14754 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
14755 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
14758 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
14759 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
14760 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
14761 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
14762 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
14763 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
14764 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
14765 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
14766 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
14767 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
14770 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
14771 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
14772 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
14773 in the article buffer, just as usual.
14775 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
14776 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
14777 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
14778 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
14780 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
14781 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
14782 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
14783 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
14784 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
14785 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
14786 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
14787 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
14792 @item nneething-map-file-directory
14793 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
14794 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
14795 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
14797 @item nneething-exclude-files
14798 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
14799 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
14800 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
14802 @item nneething-include-files
14803 @vindex nneething-include-files
14804 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
14805 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
14807 @item nneething-map-file
14808 @vindex nneething-map-file
14809 Name of the map files.
14813 @node Document Groups
14814 @subsection Document Groups
14816 @cindex documentation group
14819 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
14820 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
14827 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
14832 The standard Unix mbox file.
14834 @cindex MMDF mail box
14836 The MMDF mail box format.
14839 Several news articles appended into a file.
14842 @cindex rnews batch files
14843 The rnews batch transport format.
14844 @cindex forwarded messages
14847 Forwarded articles.
14850 Netscape mail boxes.
14853 MIME multipart messages.
14855 @item standard-digest
14856 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
14859 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
14862 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
14863 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
14864 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
14867 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
14868 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
14869 group. And that's it.
14871 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
14872 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
14873 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
14874 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
14875 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
14876 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
14877 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
14878 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
14879 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
14880 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
14882 Virtual server variables:
14885 @item nndoc-article-type
14886 @vindex nndoc-article-type
14887 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
14888 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
14889 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
14890 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail},
14891 @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman} or @code{guess}.
14893 @item nndoc-post-type
14894 @vindex nndoc-post-type
14895 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
14896 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
14901 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
14905 @node Document Server Internals
14906 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
14908 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
14909 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
14910 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
14911 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
14913 First, here's an example document type definition:
14917 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
14918 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
14921 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
14922 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
14923 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
14924 types can be defined with very few settings:
14927 @item first-article
14928 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
14929 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
14932 @item article-begin
14933 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
14934 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
14936 @item head-begin-function
14937 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
14940 @item nndoc-head-begin
14941 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
14944 @item nndoc-head-end
14945 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
14946 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
14948 @item body-begin-function
14949 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
14953 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
14956 @item body-end-function
14957 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
14961 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
14964 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
14965 regexp will be totally ignored.
14969 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
14970 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
14971 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
14972 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
14973 something that's palatable for Gnus:
14976 @item prepare-body-function
14977 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
14978 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
14979 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
14981 @item article-transform-function
14982 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
14983 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
14984 body of the article.
14986 @item generate-head-function
14987 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
14988 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
14989 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
14990 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
14994 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
14999 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15000 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15001 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15002 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15003 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15004 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15005 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15006 (subtype digest guess))
15009 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15010 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15011 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15012 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15013 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15015 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15016 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15017 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15018 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15019 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
15020 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15021 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15022 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15023 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15024 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15032 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15033 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15034 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15036 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15037 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15038 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15041 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15042 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15043 that interested in doing things properly.
15045 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15046 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15049 First some terminology:
15054 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15055 get news and/or mail from.
15058 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15059 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15062 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15066 @item message packets
15067 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15068 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15069 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15071 @item response packets
15072 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15073 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15074 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15084 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15085 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15086 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15087 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15090 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15093 You put the packet in your home directory.
15096 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15097 the native or secondary server.
15100 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15101 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15104 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15108 You transfer this packet to the server.
15111 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15114 You then repeat until you die.
15118 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15119 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15122 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15123 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15124 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15128 @node SOUP Commands
15129 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15131 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15135 @kindex G s b (Group)
15136 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15137 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15138 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15139 process/prefix convention.
15142 @kindex G s w (Group)
15143 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15144 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15147 @kindex G s s (Group)
15148 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15149 Send all replies from the replies packet
15150 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15153 @kindex G s p (Group)
15154 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
15155 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
15158 @kindex G s r (Group)
15159 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
15160 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
15163 @kindex O s (Summary)
15164 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
15165 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
15166 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
15167 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15172 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
15177 @item gnus-soup-directory
15178 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
15179 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
15180 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
15182 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
15183 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
15184 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
15185 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
15187 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
15188 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
15189 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
15190 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
15192 @item gnus-soup-packer
15193 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
15194 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15195 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
15197 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
15198 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
15199 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15200 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15202 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
15203 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
15204 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
15206 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15207 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15208 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
15209 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
15215 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
15218 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
15219 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
15220 you can read them at leisure.
15222 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
15226 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
15227 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
15228 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
15229 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
15231 @item nnsoup-directory
15232 @vindex nnsoup-directory
15233 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
15234 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
15236 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
15237 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
15238 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
15239 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
15241 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
15242 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
15243 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
15244 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
15245 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
15247 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
15248 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
15249 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
15250 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
15252 @item nnsoup-active-file
15253 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
15254 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
15255 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
15256 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
15257 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
15259 @item nnsoup-packer
15260 @vindex nnsoup-packer
15261 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
15262 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
15264 @item nnsoup-unpacker
15265 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
15266 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
15267 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15269 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
15270 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
15271 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
15274 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
15275 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
15276 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
15279 @item nnsoup-always-save
15280 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
15281 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
15287 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
15289 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
15290 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
15291 more for that to happen.
15293 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
15294 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
15295 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
15298 In specific, this is what it does:
15301 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
15302 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
15305 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
15306 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
15307 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
15310 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
15311 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
15312 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
15315 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
15316 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
15317 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
15319 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
15325 @item nngateway-address
15326 @vindex nngateway-address
15327 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
15329 @item nngateway-header-transformation
15330 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
15331 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
15332 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
15333 transformation should be called, and defaults to
15334 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
15335 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
15338 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
15339 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
15340 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
15343 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
15346 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
15349 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
15352 The following pre-defined functions exist:
15354 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15357 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15358 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15359 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
15361 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15363 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15364 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15365 @code{nngateway-address}.
15370 (setq gnus-post-method
15372 "mail2news@@replay.com"
15373 (nngateway-header-transformation
15374 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
15382 So, to use this, simply say something like:
15385 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
15390 @node Combined Groups
15391 @section Combined Groups
15393 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
15397 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
15398 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
15402 @node Virtual Groups
15403 @subsection Virtual Groups
15405 @cindex virtual groups
15406 @cindex merging groups
15408 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
15411 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
15412 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
15413 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
15415 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
15416 regexp to match component groups.
15418 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
15419 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
15420 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
15421 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
15422 the virtual group.)
15424 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
15425 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
15428 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
15431 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
15432 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
15434 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
15435 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
15436 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
15437 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
15440 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
15443 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
15444 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
15445 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
15447 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
15448 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
15449 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
15450 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
15451 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
15453 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
15454 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
15455 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
15457 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
15458 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
15459 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
15460 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15461 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
15462 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
15463 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
15464 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
15465 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
15466 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
15467 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
15469 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
15470 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
15471 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
15472 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
15473 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
15474 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
15475 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
15477 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
15478 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
15482 @node Kibozed Groups
15483 @subsection Kibozed Groups
15487 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
15488 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
15489 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
15490 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
15492 @kindex G k (Group)
15493 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
15496 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
15497 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
15498 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
15499 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
15501 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
15502 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
15503 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
15505 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
15506 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
15507 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
15508 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
15509 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
15510 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
15511 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
15512 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
15514 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
15515 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
15516 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
15517 Stranger things have happened.
15519 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
15520 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
15522 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
15523 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
15524 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
15525 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
15526 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
15527 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
15529 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
15530 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
15533 @node Gnus Unplugged
15534 @section Gnus Unplugged
15539 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
15541 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
15542 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
15543 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
15544 read news. Believe it or not.
15546 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
15547 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
15548 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
15549 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
15550 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
15552 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
15553 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
15554 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
15555 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
15556 reading news on a machine.
15558 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
15562 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
15563 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
15567 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
15568 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15575 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
15577 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
15580 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
15581 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
15582 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
15583 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
15584 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
15585 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
15586 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
15587 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
15588 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
15589 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
15594 @subsection Agent Basics
15596 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
15598 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
15599 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
15600 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
15601 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
15603 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
15604 connected to the net continuously.
15606 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
15607 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
15609 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
15614 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
15615 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
15616 already fetched while in this mode.
15619 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
15620 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
15621 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
15622 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
15623 Source Specifiers}).
15626 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
15627 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
15628 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
15629 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
15630 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
15633 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
15634 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
15635 then you read the news offline.
15638 And then you go to step 2.
15641 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
15647 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
15648 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
15649 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
15650 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
15651 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
15652 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
15655 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
15662 @node Agent Categories
15663 @subsection Agent Categories
15665 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
15666 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
15667 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
15668 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
15669 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
15670 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
15671 you're interested in the articles anyway.
15673 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
15674 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
15675 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
15676 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
15677 managing categories.
15680 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
15681 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
15682 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
15686 @node Category Syntax
15687 @subsubsection Category Syntax
15689 A category consists of two things.
15693 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
15694 are eligible for downloading; and
15697 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
15698 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
15699 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
15702 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
15703 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
15704 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
15705 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
15707 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
15708 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
15709 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
15711 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
15712 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
15713 operators sprinkled in between.
15715 Perhaps some examples are in order.
15717 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
15718 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
15724 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
15725 short (for some value of ``short'').
15727 Here's a more complex predicate:
15736 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
15737 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
15740 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
15741 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
15742 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
15744 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
15745 you want to do, you can write your own.
15749 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
15750 lines; default 100.
15753 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
15754 lines; default 200.
15757 True iff the article has a download score less than
15758 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
15761 True iff the article has a download score greater than
15762 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
15765 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
15766 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
15767 checksum and sees whether articles match.
15776 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
15777 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
15778 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
15781 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
15782 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
15783 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
15784 something along the lines of the following:
15787 (defun my-article-old-p ()
15788 "Say whether an article is old."
15789 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
15790 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
15793 with the predicate then defined as:
15796 (not my-article-old-p)
15799 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
15800 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
15801 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
15802 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
15805 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
15806 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
15807 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
15810 and simply specify your predicate as:
15816 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
15817 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
15818 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
15819 just don't give a damn.
15821 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
15822 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
15823 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
15824 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
15825 parameters like so:
15828 (agent-predicate . short)
15831 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
15832 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
15833 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
15835 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
15838 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
15841 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
15842 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
15843 predicate is assumed to be a list.
15846 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
15847 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
15848 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
15849 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
15850 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
15851 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
15853 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
15854 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
15855 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
15856 if it's to be specific to that group.
15858 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
15865 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
15866 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
15872 Category specification
15876 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15882 Group Parameter specification
15885 (agent-score ("from"
15886 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15891 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
15897 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
15904 Category specification
15907 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
15913 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
15917 Group Parameter specification
15920 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
15923 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
15928 Use @code{normal} score files
15930 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
15931 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
15932 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
15933 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
15935 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
15936 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
15937 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
15938 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
15942 Category Specification
15949 Group Parameter specification
15952 (agent-score . file)
15957 @node Category Buffer
15958 @subsubsection Category Buffer
15960 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
15961 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
15962 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
15964 The following commands are available in this buffer:
15968 @kindex q (Category)
15969 @findex gnus-category-exit
15970 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
15973 @kindex k (Category)
15974 @findex gnus-category-kill
15975 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
15978 @kindex c (Category)
15979 @findex gnus-category-copy
15980 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
15983 @kindex a (Category)
15984 @findex gnus-category-add
15985 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
15988 @kindex p (Category)
15989 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
15990 Edit the predicate of the current category
15991 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
15994 @kindex g (Category)
15995 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
15996 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
15997 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16000 @kindex s (Category)
16001 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16002 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16003 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16006 @kindex l (Category)
16007 @findex gnus-category-list
16008 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16012 @node Category Variables
16013 @subsubsection Category Variables
16016 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16017 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16018 Hook run in category buffers.
16020 @item gnus-category-line-format
16021 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16022 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16023 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16027 The name of the category.
16030 The number of groups in the category.
16033 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16034 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16035 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16037 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16038 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16039 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16041 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16042 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16043 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16045 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16046 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16047 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16050 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16051 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16052 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16058 @node Agent Commands
16059 @subsection Agent Commands
16061 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16062 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16063 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16067 * Group Agent Commands::
16068 * Summary Agent Commands::
16069 * Server Agent Commands::
16072 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
16073 following incantation:
16075 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
16077 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
16082 @node Group Agent Commands
16083 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16087 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16088 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16089 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16090 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16093 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16094 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16095 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16098 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16099 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16100 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16101 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16104 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16105 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
16106 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
16107 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
16110 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16111 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16112 Add the current group to an Agent category
16113 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16114 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16117 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16118 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16119 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16120 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16121 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16124 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16125 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16126 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16132 @node Summary Agent Commands
16133 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16137 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16138 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16139 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16142 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16143 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16144 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16145 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16148 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16149 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16150 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16153 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16154 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16155 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16158 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16159 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16160 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16161 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
16166 @node Server Agent Commands
16167 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
16171 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
16172 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
16173 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
16174 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
16177 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
16178 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
16179 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
16180 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
16186 @subsection Agent Expiry
16188 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
16189 @findex gnus-agent-expire
16190 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
16191 @cindex Agent expiry
16192 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
16195 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
16196 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
16197 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
16198 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
16199 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
16200 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
16202 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
16203 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
16204 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
16205 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
16206 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
16209 @node Agent and IMAP
16210 @subsection Agent and IMAP
16212 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
16213 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
16214 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
16215 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
16217 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
16218 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
16219 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
16220 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
16222 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
16223 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
16224 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
16225 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
16226 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
16228 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16229 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
16230 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
16231 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
16232 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
16233 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
16235 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
16236 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
16237 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
16238 in the group buffer by default.
16240 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
16241 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
16246 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
16249 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
16253 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
16254 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
16255 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
16256 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
16257 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
16258 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
16259 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
16260 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
16263 @node Outgoing Messages
16264 @subsection Outgoing Messages
16266 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
16267 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
16268 after posting, and edit them at will.
16270 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
16271 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
16272 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
16273 messages in the draft group.
16277 @node Agent Variables
16278 @subsection Agent Variables
16281 @item gnus-agent-directory
16282 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
16283 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
16284 @file{~/News/agent/}.
16286 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
16287 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
16288 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
16289 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
16290 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
16293 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16294 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16295 Hook run when connecting to the network.
16297 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16298 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16299 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
16304 @node Example Setup
16305 @subsection Example Setup
16307 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
16308 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
16309 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
16312 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
16313 ;;; from your ISP's server.
16314 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
16316 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
16317 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
16318 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
16320 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
16321 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
16323 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
16327 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
16328 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
16331 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
16332 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
16333 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
16334 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
16335 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
16338 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
16339 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
16340 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
16341 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
16342 back all the killed groups.)
16344 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
16345 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
16346 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
16349 @node Batching Agents
16350 @subsection Batching Agents
16352 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
16353 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
16354 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
16358 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
16362 @node Agent Caveats
16363 @subsection Agent Caveats
16365 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
16366 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
16370 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
16375 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
16376 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
16382 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
16383 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
16390 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
16391 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
16392 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
16395 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
16396 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
16397 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
16398 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
16399 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
16401 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
16402 before generating the summary buffer.
16404 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
16405 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
16406 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
16408 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
16409 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
16410 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
16411 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
16414 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
16415 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
16416 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
16417 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
16418 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
16419 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
16420 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
16421 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
16422 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
16423 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
16424 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
16425 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
16426 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
16427 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
16428 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
16429 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
16430 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
16434 @node Summary Score Commands
16435 @section Summary Score Commands
16436 @cindex score commands
16438 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
16439 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
16440 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
16441 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
16442 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
16444 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
16445 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
16446 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
16447 score file the current one.
16449 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
16454 @kindex V s (Summary)
16455 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
16456 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
16459 @kindex V S (Summary)
16460 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
16461 Display the score of the current article
16462 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
16465 @kindex V t (Summary)
16466 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
16467 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
16468 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
16471 @kindex V R (Summary)
16472 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
16473 Run the current summary through the scoring process
16474 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
16475 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
16476 effect you're having.
16479 @kindex V c (Summary)
16480 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
16481 Make a different score file the current
16482 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
16485 @kindex V e (Summary)
16486 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
16487 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
16488 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
16492 @kindex V f (Summary)
16493 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
16494 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
16495 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
16498 @kindex V F (Summary)
16499 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16500 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
16501 after editing score files.
16504 @kindex V C (Summary)
16505 @findex gnus-score-customize
16506 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
16507 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
16511 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
16516 @kindex V m (Summary)
16517 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
16518 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
16519 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
16522 @kindex V x (Summary)
16523 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
16524 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
16525 expunge all articles below this score
16526 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
16529 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
16530 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
16533 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
16534 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
16538 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
16539 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
16541 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
16542 keys are available:
16546 Score on the author name.
16549 Score on the subject line.
16552 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
16555 Score on the @code{References} line.
16561 Score on the number of lines.
16564 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
16567 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
16568 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
16569 @file{ADAPT} files.)
16578 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
16584 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
16585 what headers you are scoring on.
16597 Substring matching.
16600 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
16629 Greater than number.
16634 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
16635 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
16636 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
16640 Temporary score entry.
16643 Permanent score entry.
16646 Immediately scoring.
16651 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
16652 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
16653 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
16654 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
16656 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
16657 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
16658 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
16659 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
16660 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
16662 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
16663 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
16664 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
16665 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
16666 current score file.
16668 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
16669 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
16670 pretend they are keymaps or not.
16673 @node Group Score Commands
16674 @section Group Score Commands
16675 @cindex group score commands
16677 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
16682 @kindex W f (Group)
16683 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16684 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
16685 all the time. This command will flush the cache
16686 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
16690 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
16692 @findex gnus-batch-score
16693 @cindex batch scoring
16695 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
16699 @node Score Variables
16700 @section Score Variables
16701 @cindex score variables
16705 @item gnus-use-scoring
16706 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
16707 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
16708 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
16710 @item gnus-kill-killed
16711 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
16712 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
16713 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
16714 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
16715 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
16716 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
16717 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
16719 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
16720 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
16721 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
16722 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
16723 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
16725 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
16726 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
16727 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
16728 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
16730 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16731 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16732 @cindex score cache
16733 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
16734 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
16735 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
16736 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
16737 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
16738 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
16741 @item gnus-save-score
16742 @vindex gnus-save-score
16743 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
16744 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
16745 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
16747 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
16748 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
16749 across group visits.
16751 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16752 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16753 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
16754 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
16755 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
16756 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
16757 manually entered data.
16759 @item gnus-summary-default-score
16760 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
16761 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
16763 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
16764 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
16765 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
16766 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
16767 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
16768 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
16770 @item gnus-score-over-mark
16771 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
16772 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
16773 default. Default is @samp{+}.
16775 @item gnus-score-below-mark
16776 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
16777 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
16778 default. Default is @samp{-}.
16780 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16781 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16782 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
16783 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
16785 Predefined functions available are:
16788 @item gnus-score-find-single
16789 @findex gnus-score-find-single
16790 Only apply the group's own score file.
16792 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
16793 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
16794 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
16795 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
16796 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
16797 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
16798 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
16799 then a regexp match is done.
16801 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
16802 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
16804 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
16805 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
16806 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
16807 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
16809 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16810 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16811 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
16812 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
16813 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
16817 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
16818 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
16819 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
16820 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
16821 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
16822 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
16823 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
16826 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
16827 overall score file, you could use the value
16829 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
16830 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
16833 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
16834 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
16835 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
16836 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
16837 are expired. It's 7 by default.
16839 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16840 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16841 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
16842 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
16843 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
16844 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
16845 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
16848 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16849 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16850 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
16852 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
16853 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
16854 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
16855 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
16856 threading---according to the current value of
16857 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
16858 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
16859 simplified in this manner.
16864 @node Score File Format
16865 @section Score File Format
16866 @cindex score file format
16868 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
16869 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
16870 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
16872 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
16876 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
16878 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
16880 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
16882 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
16887 (mark-and-expunge -10)
16891 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
16892 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
16893 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
16894 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
16898 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
16899 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
16901 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
16902 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
16903 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
16905 Six keys are supported by this alist:
16910 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
16911 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
16912 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
16913 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
16914 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
16915 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
16916 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
16917 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
16918 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
16919 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
16920 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
16921 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
16922 to articles that matches these score entries.
16924 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
16925 score entry has one to four elements.
16929 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
16930 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
16934 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
16935 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
16936 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
16937 is successful. If this element is not present, the
16938 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
16939 instead. This is 1000 by default.
16942 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
16943 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
16944 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
16945 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
16946 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
16949 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
16950 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
16951 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
16952 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
16955 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
16956 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
16957 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
16958 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
16959 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
16960 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
16961 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
16962 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
16963 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
16964 instead, if you feel like.
16967 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
16968 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
16970 These predicates are true if
16973 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
16976 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
16977 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
16984 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
16985 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
16986 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
16987 it's not. I think.)
16989 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
16990 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
16991 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
16992 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
16995 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
16996 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
16997 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
16998 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
16999 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17000 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17001 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17005 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17006 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17007 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17008 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17009 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17010 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17011 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17012 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17015 @item Head, Body, All
17016 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17020 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17021 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17022 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17023 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17024 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17025 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17026 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17030 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17031 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17032 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17033 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17034 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17035 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17036 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17037 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17038 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17039 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17040 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17044 @cindex Score File Atoms
17046 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17047 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17050 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17051 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17053 @item mark-and-expunge
17054 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17055 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
17058 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
17059 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
17060 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
17061 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
17062 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
17065 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
17066 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
17069 @item exclude-files
17070 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
17071 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
17075 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
17076 ignored when handling global score files.
17079 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
17080 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
17081 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
17082 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
17085 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
17086 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
17087 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
17088 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
17090 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
17094 (mark-and-expunge -100)
17097 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
17098 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
17099 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
17100 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
17101 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
17103 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
17104 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
17105 scoring rules exist.
17108 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
17109 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
17110 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
17111 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
17112 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
17113 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
17114 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17115 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
17116 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
17117 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
17118 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
17122 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
17123 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
17124 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
17125 file for a number of groups.
17128 @cindex local variables
17129 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
17130 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
17131 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
17132 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
17133 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
17137 @node Score File Editing
17138 @section Score File Editing
17140 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
17141 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
17142 with a mode for that.
17144 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
17145 additional commands:
17150 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
17151 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
17152 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
17153 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
17156 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
17157 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
17158 Insert the current date in numerical format
17159 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
17160 you were wondering.
17163 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
17164 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
17165 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
17166 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
17167 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
17172 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
17174 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
17175 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
17177 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
17178 e} to begin editing score files.
17181 @node Adaptive Scoring
17182 @section Adaptive Scoring
17183 @cindex adaptive scoring
17185 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
17186 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
17187 stupidity, to be precise.
17189 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
17190 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
17191 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
17192 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
17193 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17194 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
17195 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
17196 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
17197 variable to @code{(word line)}.
17199 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17200 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
17201 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
17202 might look something like this:
17205 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
17206 '((gnus-unread-mark)
17207 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
17208 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
17209 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
17210 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
17211 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
17212 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
17213 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
17214 (gnus-ancient-mark)
17215 (gnus-low-score-mark)
17216 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
17219 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
17220 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
17221 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
17222 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
17223 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
17224 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
17227 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
17228 will be applied to each article.
17230 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
17231 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
17232 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
17233 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
17235 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
17236 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
17237 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
17238 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
17240 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
17241 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
17242 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
17243 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
17245 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
17246 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
17247 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
17248 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
17249 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
17250 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
17252 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
17253 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
17254 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
17255 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
17256 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
17257 aspirins afterwards.)
17259 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
17260 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
17261 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
17263 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
17264 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
17265 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
17267 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
17268 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
17269 let you use different rules in different groups.
17271 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
17272 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
17273 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
17276 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
17277 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
17278 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
17279 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
17280 the length of the match is less than
17281 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
17282 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
17285 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17286 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
17287 headers. If you adapt on words, the
17288 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
17289 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
17292 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17293 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
17294 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
17295 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
17296 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
17299 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
17300 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
17301 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
17302 score with 30 points.
17304 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
17305 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
17306 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
17307 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
17308 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
17310 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
17311 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
17312 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
17313 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
17314 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
17316 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
17317 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
17318 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
17319 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
17321 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
17322 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
17323 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
17324 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
17326 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
17327 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
17328 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
17329 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
17330 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
17332 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
17333 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
17334 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
17336 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
17337 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
17338 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
17339 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
17342 @node Home Score File
17343 @section Home Score File
17345 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
17346 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
17347 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
17348 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
17350 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
17351 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
17352 could perhaps use the same home score file.
17354 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
17355 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
17360 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
17364 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
17365 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
17369 A list. The elements in this list can be:
17373 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
17374 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
17377 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
17378 the home score file.
17381 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
17384 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
17389 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
17392 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17393 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
17396 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
17397 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
17399 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
17401 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17402 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
17405 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
17406 Other functions include
17409 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
17410 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
17411 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
17412 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
17416 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
17417 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
17418 their own home score files:
17421 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17422 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
17423 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
17424 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
17425 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
17428 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
17429 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
17430 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
17431 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
17432 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
17434 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
17435 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
17436 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
17437 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
17438 precedence over this variable.
17441 @node Followups To Yourself
17442 @section Followups To Yourself
17444 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
17445 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
17446 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
17447 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
17448 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
17449 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
17453 @item gnus-score-followup-article
17454 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
17455 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
17458 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
17459 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
17460 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
17464 @vindex message-sent-hook
17465 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
17466 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
17468 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
17472 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
17473 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
17477 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17478 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17481 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
17482 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
17487 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
17491 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
17492 is system-dependent.
17495 @node Scoring On Other Headers
17496 @section Scoring On Other Headers
17497 @cindex scoring on other headers
17499 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
17500 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
17501 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
17502 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
17503 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
17505 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
17506 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
17507 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
17508 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
17509 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
17511 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17514 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
17515 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
17518 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
17519 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
17520 time if you have much mail.
17522 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
17523 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
17529 @section Scoring Tips
17530 @cindex scoring tips
17536 @cindex scoring crossposts
17537 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
17538 the @code{Xref} header.
17540 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
17543 @item Multiple crossposts
17544 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
17545 more than, say, 3 groups:
17548 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
17552 @item Matching on the body
17553 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
17554 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
17555 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
17556 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
17557 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
17558 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
17559 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
17562 @item Marking as read
17563 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
17564 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
17565 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
17569 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
17571 @item Negated character classes
17572 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
17573 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
17574 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
17578 @node Reverse Scoring
17579 @section Reverse Scoring
17580 @cindex reverse scoring
17582 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
17583 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
17584 like this in your score file:
17588 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
17593 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
17594 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
17597 @node Global Score Files
17598 @section Global Score Files
17599 @cindex global score files
17601 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
17602 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
17603 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
17605 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
17606 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
17607 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
17609 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
17610 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
17611 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
17612 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
17613 files are applicable to which group.
17615 To use the score file
17616 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
17617 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
17621 (setq gnus-global-score-files
17622 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
17623 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
17626 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
17628 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
17629 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
17630 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
17631 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
17633 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
17634 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
17636 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
17637 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
17638 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
17639 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
17640 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
17641 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
17643 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
17649 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
17651 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
17653 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
17655 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
17656 lowered out of existence.
17658 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
17659 articles completely.
17662 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
17663 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
17664 old articles for a long time.
17667 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
17668 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
17669 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
17670 holding our breath yet?
17674 @section Kill Files
17677 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
17678 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
17679 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
17681 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
17682 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
17683 files into score files.
17685 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
17686 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
17687 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
17688 that isn't a very good idea.
17690 Normal kill files look like this:
17693 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17694 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
17698 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
17699 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
17701 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
17702 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
17705 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
17710 @kindex M-k (Summary)
17711 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
17712 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
17715 @kindex M-K (Summary)
17716 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
17717 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
17720 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
17725 @kindex M-k (Group)
17726 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
17727 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
17730 @kindex M-K (Group)
17731 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
17732 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
17735 Kill file variables:
17738 @item gnus-kill-file-name
17739 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
17740 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
17741 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
17742 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
17743 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
17744 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
17746 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17747 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17748 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
17749 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
17752 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
17753 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
17754 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
17755 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
17756 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
17757 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
17758 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
17759 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
17760 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
17762 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17763 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17764 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
17769 @node Converting Kill Files
17770 @section Converting Kill Files
17772 @cindex converting kill files
17774 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
17775 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
17776 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
17779 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
17780 You can fetch it from
17781 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
17783 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
17784 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
17785 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
17793 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
17794 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
17795 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
17796 news articles generated every day.
17798 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
17799 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
17800 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
17801 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
17802 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
17803 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
17804 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
17805 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
17808 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
17809 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
17812 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
17813 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
17814 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
17815 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
17819 @node Using GroupLens
17820 @subsection Using GroupLens
17822 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
17824 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
17825 better bit in town at the moment.
17827 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
17831 @item gnus-use-grouplens
17832 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
17833 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
17834 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
17836 @item grouplens-pseudonym
17837 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
17838 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
17839 with the Better Bit Bureau.
17841 @item grouplens-newsgroups
17842 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
17843 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
17847 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
17848 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
17849 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
17850 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
17851 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
17852 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
17855 @node Rating Articles
17856 @subsection Rating Articles
17858 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
17859 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
17860 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
17861 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
17864 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
17869 @kindex r (GroupLens)
17870 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
17871 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
17874 @kindex k (GroupLens)
17875 @findex grouplens-score-thread
17876 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
17877 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
17878 threads in rec.humor.
17882 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
17883 the score of the article you're reading.
17888 @kindex n (GroupLens)
17889 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
17890 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
17893 @kindex , (GroupLens)
17894 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
17895 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
17899 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
17900 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
17903 @node Displaying Predictions
17904 @subsection Displaying Predictions
17906 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
17907 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
17908 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
17909 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
17910 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
17912 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
17913 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
17914 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
17915 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
17916 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
17917 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
17918 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
17919 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
17920 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
17921 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
17922 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
17923 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
17924 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
17926 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
17927 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
17928 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
17929 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
17931 The following are valid values for that variable.
17934 @item prediction-spot
17935 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
17938 @item confidence-interval
17939 A numeric confidence interval.
17941 @item prediction-bar
17942 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
17944 @item confidence-bar
17945 Numerical confidence.
17947 @item confidence-spot
17948 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
17950 @item prediction-num
17951 Plain-old numeric value.
17953 @item confidence-plus-minus
17954 Prediction +/- confidence.
17959 @node GroupLens Variables
17960 @subsection GroupLens Variables
17964 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
17965 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
17966 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
17967 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
17970 @item grouplens-bbb-host
17971 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
17974 @item grouplens-bbb-port
17975 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
17977 @item grouplens-score-offset
17978 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
17979 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
17982 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
17983 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
17984 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
17989 @node Advanced Scoring
17990 @section Advanced Scoring
17992 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
17993 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
17994 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
17995 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
17996 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
17998 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18002 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18003 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18004 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18008 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18009 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18011 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18012 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18013 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18014 non-@code{nil} value.
18016 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18017 operator, and various match operators.
18024 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18025 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18026 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18031 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18032 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18033 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18038 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18039 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18043 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18044 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18045 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18046 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18047 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18048 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18049 the ancestry you want to go.
18051 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18052 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18053 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18054 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18055 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
18058 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
18059 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
18061 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
18062 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
18065 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
18066 when he's talking about Gnus:
18070 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18071 ("subject" "Gnus"))
18077 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
18081 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18088 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
18089 really don't want to read what he's written:
18093 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18094 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
18098 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
18099 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
18100 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
18107 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
18108 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
18109 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
18110 ("body" "white.*socks"))
18114 The possibilities are endless.
18117 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
18118 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
18120 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
18121 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
18122 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
18123 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
18124 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
18125 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
18126 @samp{subject}) first.
18128 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
18129 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
18140 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
18141 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
18147 ("subject" "Gnus")))
18154 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
18155 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
18160 @section Score Decays
18161 @cindex score decays
18164 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
18165 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
18166 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
18167 use them in any sensible way.
18169 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
18170 @findex gnus-decay-score
18171 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
18172 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
18173 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
18174 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
18175 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
18176 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
18177 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
18178 definition of that function:
18181 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
18183 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
18184 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
18187 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
18189 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
18191 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
18194 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
18195 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
18196 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
18197 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
18201 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
18204 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
18207 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
18211 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
18212 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
18213 the new score, which should be an integer.
18215 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
18216 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
18221 @include message.texi
18222 @chapter Emacs MIME
18223 @include emacs-mime.texi
18225 @include sieve.texi
18233 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
18234 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
18235 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
18236 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
18237 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
18238 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
18239 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
18240 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
18241 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
18242 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
18243 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
18244 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
18245 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
18246 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
18247 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
18248 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
18249 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
18250 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
18254 @node Process/Prefix
18255 @section Process/Prefix
18256 @cindex process/prefix convention
18258 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
18259 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
18261 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
18262 command to be performed on.
18266 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
18267 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
18268 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
18269 with the current one.
18271 @vindex transient-mark-mode
18272 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
18273 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
18275 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
18276 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
18279 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
18280 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
18282 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
18285 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
18286 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
18287 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
18288 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
18290 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
18291 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
18292 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
18293 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
18294 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
18295 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
18296 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
18297 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
18299 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
18300 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
18301 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
18302 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
18303 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
18307 @section Interactive
18308 @cindex interaction
18312 @item gnus-novice-user
18313 @vindex gnus-novice-user
18314 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
18315 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
18316 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
18317 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
18320 @item gnus-expert-user
18321 @vindex gnus-expert-user
18322 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
18323 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
18324 matter how strange.
18326 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
18327 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
18328 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
18329 is @code{t} by default.
18331 @item gnus-interactive-exit
18332 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
18333 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18338 @node Symbolic Prefixes
18339 @section Symbolic Prefixes
18340 @cindex symbolic prefixes
18342 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
18343 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
18344 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
18345 rule of 900 to the current article.
18347 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
18348 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
18349 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
18350 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
18351 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
18352 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
18353 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
18355 @kindex M-i (Summary)
18356 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
18357 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
18358 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
18359 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
18360 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
18361 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
18362 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
18363 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
18365 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
18366 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
18367 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
18369 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
18373 @node Formatting Variables
18374 @section Formatting Variables
18375 @cindex formatting variables
18377 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
18378 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
18379 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
18380 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
18381 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
18384 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
18385 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
18386 lots of percentages everywhere.
18389 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
18390 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
18391 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
18392 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
18393 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
18394 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
18395 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
18396 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
18399 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
18400 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
18401 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
18402 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
18403 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
18404 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
18405 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
18406 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
18408 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
18409 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
18411 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
18412 @findex gnus-update-format
18413 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
18414 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
18415 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
18416 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
18420 @node Formatting Basics
18421 @subsection Formatting Basics
18423 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
18424 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
18425 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
18427 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
18428 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
18429 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
18430 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
18431 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
18434 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
18435 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
18436 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
18437 less than 4 characters wide.
18439 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
18440 @samp{%&user-date;}.
18442 @node Mode Line Formatting
18443 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
18445 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
18446 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
18447 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
18448 with the following two differences:
18453 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
18456 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
18457 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
18458 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
18459 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
18460 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
18461 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
18462 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
18467 @node Advanced Formatting
18468 @subsection Advanced Formatting
18470 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
18471 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
18472 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
18473 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
18475 These are the valid modifiers:
18480 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
18484 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
18489 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
18492 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
18497 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
18500 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
18503 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
18506 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
18510 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
18511 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
18512 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
18513 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
18514 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
18515 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
18516 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
18518 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
18519 last operation, padding.
18521 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
18522 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
18523 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
18524 @xref{Compilation}.
18527 @node User-Defined Specs
18528 @subsection User-Defined Specs
18530 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
18531 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
18532 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
18533 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
18534 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
18535 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
18536 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
18537 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
18538 should protect against that.
18540 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
18541 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
18543 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
18544 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
18545 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
18546 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
18550 @node Formatting Fonts
18551 @subsection Formatting Fonts
18553 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
18554 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
18555 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
18556 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
18559 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
18560 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
18561 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
18562 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
18563 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
18564 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
18566 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
18567 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
18568 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
18569 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
18570 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
18571 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
18572 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
18573 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
18575 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
18578 ;; Create three face types.
18579 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
18580 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
18582 ;; We want the article count to be in
18583 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
18584 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
18585 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
18587 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
18588 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
18590 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
18591 (setq gnus-group-line-format
18592 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
18595 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
18596 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
18598 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
18599 mode-line variables.
18601 @node Positioning Point
18602 @subsection Positioning Point
18604 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
18605 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
18606 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
18608 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
18610 @findex gnus-goto-colon
18611 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
18612 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
18614 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
18615 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
18616 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
18621 @subsection Tabulation
18623 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
18624 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
18625 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
18626 about lining up the following text afterwards.
18628 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
18629 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
18631 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18632 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
18633 This is the soft tabulator.
18635 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18636 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
18637 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
18640 @node Wide Characters
18641 @subsection Wide Characters
18643 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
18644 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
18645 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
18647 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
18648 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
18649 these coutries, that's not true.
18651 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
18652 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
18653 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
18654 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
18658 @node Window Layout
18659 @section Window Layout
18660 @cindex window layout
18662 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
18664 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
18665 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
18666 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
18667 @code{t} by default.
18669 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
18670 glitches. Use at your own peril.
18672 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
18673 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
18674 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
18677 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
18678 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
18679 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18683 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
18684 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
18685 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
18686 possible names is listed below.
18688 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
18689 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
18692 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18696 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
18697 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
18698 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
18699 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
18700 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
18701 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
18702 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
18703 size spec per split.
18705 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
18706 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
18707 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
18708 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
18709 present) gets focus.
18711 Here's a more complicated example:
18714 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
18715 (summary 0.25 point)
18716 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
18720 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
18721 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
18722 occupy, not a percentage.
18724 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
18725 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
18726 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
18727 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
18728 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
18731 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
18734 (article (horizontal 1.0
18739 (summary 0.25 point)
18744 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
18745 @code{horizontal} thingie?
18747 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
18748 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
18749 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
18750 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
18751 the screen is to be given to this strip.
18753 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
18754 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
18755 lines from the splits.
18757 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
18761 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
18762 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
18763 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
18764 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
18765 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
18766 size = number | frame-params
18767 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
18770 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
18771 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
18772 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
18773 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
18775 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
18776 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
18777 @cindex window height
18778 @cindex window width
18779 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
18780 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
18781 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
18782 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
18783 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
18784 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
18786 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
18787 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
18788 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
18789 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
18791 @findex gnus-configure-frame
18792 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
18793 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
18794 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
18795 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
18796 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
18797 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
18798 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
18799 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
18800 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
18801 configuration list.
18804 (gnus-configure-frame
18808 (article 0.3 point))
18816 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
18817 @code{frame} split:
18820 (gnus-configure-frame
18823 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
18825 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
18826 (user-position . t)
18827 (left . -1) (top . 1))
18832 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
18833 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
18834 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
18835 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
18836 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
18837 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
18838 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
18839 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
18841 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
18842 be found in its default value.
18844 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
18845 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
18846 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
18850 (message (horizontal 1.0
18851 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
18853 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
18858 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
18859 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
18860 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
18865 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
18866 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
18867 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
18868 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
18869 (name . "Message"))
18870 (message 1.0 point))))
18873 @findex gnus-add-configuration
18874 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
18875 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
18876 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
18877 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
18880 (gnus-add-configuration
18881 '(article (vertical 1.0
18883 (summary .25 point)
18887 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
18888 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
18889 Gnus has been loaded.
18891 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
18892 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
18893 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
18894 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
18895 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
18897 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
18898 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
18899 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
18902 @subsection Example Window Configurations
18906 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
18907 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
18922 (gnus-add-configuration
18925 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18927 (summary 0.16 point)
18930 (gnus-add-configuration
18933 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18934 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
18940 @node Faces and Fonts
18941 @section Faces and Fonts
18946 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
18947 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
18948 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
18953 @section Compilation
18954 @cindex compilation
18955 @cindex byte-compilation
18957 @findex gnus-compile
18959 Remember all those line format specification variables?
18960 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
18961 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
18962 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
18963 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
18964 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
18967 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
18968 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
18969 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
18970 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
18971 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
18972 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
18973 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
18977 @section Mode Lines
18980 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
18981 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
18982 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
18983 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
18984 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
18985 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
18986 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
18989 @cindex display-time
18991 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
18992 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
18993 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
18994 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
18995 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
18996 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
18997 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
18998 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19001 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19003 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19004 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19006 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19007 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19008 (length display-time-string)))))
19011 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19012 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19013 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19014 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19015 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19018 @node Highlighting and Menus
19019 @section Highlighting and Menus
19021 @cindex highlighting
19024 @vindex gnus-visual
19025 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19026 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19027 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19030 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19031 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19034 @item group-highlight
19035 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19036 @item summary-highlight
19037 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19038 @item article-highlight
19039 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19041 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
19043 Create menus in the group buffer.
19045 Create menus in the summary buffers.
19047 Create menus in the article buffer.
19049 Create menus in the browse buffer.
19051 Create menus in the server buffer.
19053 Create menus in the score buffers.
19055 Create menus in all buffers.
19058 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
19059 buffers, you could say something like:
19062 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
19065 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
19068 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
19071 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
19072 in all Gnus buffers.
19074 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
19077 @item gnus-mouse-face
19078 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
19079 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
19080 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
19084 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
19088 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
19089 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
19090 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
19092 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
19093 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
19094 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
19096 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
19097 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
19098 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
19100 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
19101 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
19102 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
19104 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
19105 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
19106 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
19108 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
19109 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
19110 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
19121 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
19122 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
19123 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
19124 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
19125 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
19129 @vindex gnus-carpal
19130 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
19131 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
19132 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
19137 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19138 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19139 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
19141 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
19142 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
19143 Face used on buttons.
19145 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
19146 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
19147 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
19149 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19150 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
19151 Buttons in the group buffer.
19153 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19154 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
19155 Buttons in the summary buffer.
19157 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19158 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
19159 Buttons in the server buffer.
19161 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19162 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
19163 Buttons in the browse buffer.
19166 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
19167 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
19168 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
19176 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
19177 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
19178 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
19179 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
19180 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
19182 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
19183 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
19184 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
19186 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
19187 been idle for thirty minutes:
19190 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
19193 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
19197 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
19200 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
19201 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
19202 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19204 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
19205 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
19206 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
19207 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
19209 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
19210 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
19211 @var{idle} minutes.
19213 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
19214 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
19217 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
19218 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
19219 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
19221 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
19222 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
19223 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
19224 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
19226 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
19227 your @file{.gnus} file:
19229 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
19231 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
19234 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
19235 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
19236 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
19237 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
19238 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
19239 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
19240 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
19241 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
19242 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
19243 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
19244 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
19246 @findex gnus-demon-init
19247 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
19248 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
19249 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
19250 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
19251 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
19253 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
19254 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
19255 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
19264 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
19265 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
19267 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
19268 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
19269 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
19270 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
19273 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
19274 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
19275 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
19276 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
19278 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
19279 this will make spam disappear.
19281 There are some variables to customize, of course:
19284 @item gnus-use-nocem
19285 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
19286 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
19289 @item gnus-nocem-groups
19290 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
19291 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
19292 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
19293 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
19295 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
19296 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
19297 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
19298 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
19299 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
19300 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
19302 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
19303 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
19305 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
19306 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
19307 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
19308 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
19309 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
19310 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
19311 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
19312 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
19313 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
19314 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
19316 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
19317 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
19320 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
19323 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
19324 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
19327 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
19330 The specs are applied left-to-right.
19333 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
19334 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
19336 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
19337 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
19338 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
19339 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
19341 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
19342 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
19345 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
19347 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
19355 This might be dangerous, though.
19357 @item gnus-nocem-directory
19358 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
19359 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
19360 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
19362 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19363 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19364 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
19365 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
19366 might then see old spam.
19368 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
19369 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
19370 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
19371 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
19372 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
19375 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19376 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19377 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
19378 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
19382 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
19383 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
19384 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
19385 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
19392 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
19393 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
19394 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
19396 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
19397 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
19398 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
19399 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
19400 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
19401 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
19402 @code{undo} function.
19404 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
19405 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
19406 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
19407 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
19408 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
19409 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
19410 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
19411 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
19412 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
19413 never be totally undoable.
19415 @findex gnus-undo-mode
19416 @vindex gnus-use-undo
19418 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
19419 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
19420 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
19421 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
19426 @section Moderation
19429 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
19430 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
19431 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
19434 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
19438 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
19441 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
19443 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
19448 You split your incoming mail by matching on
19449 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
19450 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
19453 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
19454 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
19457 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
19458 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
19462 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
19465 (setq gnus-moderated-list
19466 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
19470 @node XEmacs Enhancements
19471 @section XEmacs Enhancements
19474 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
19478 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
19479 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
19480 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
19481 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
19494 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
19495 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
19496 over your shoulder as you read news.
19499 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
19500 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
19501 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
19502 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
19503 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
19508 @subsubsection Picon Basics
19510 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
19519 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
19520 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
19521 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
19522 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
19523 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
19524 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
19525 @code{GIF} formats.
19528 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19529 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
19530 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
19531 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
19532 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
19534 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19535 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
19536 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
19537 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
19538 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
19539 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19542 @node Picon Requirements
19543 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
19545 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
19546 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
19547 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
19548 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
19550 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19551 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
19552 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
19553 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
19554 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
19555 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
19558 @subsubsection Easy Picons
19560 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
19561 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
19564 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
19565 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
19568 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
19569 containing the Picons databases.
19571 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
19574 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19575 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
19580 @subsubsection Hard Picons
19588 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
19589 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
19590 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
19591 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
19592 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
19597 @item gnus-picons-database
19598 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19599 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
19600 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
19601 subdirectories. This is only useful if
19602 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
19603 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
19605 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19606 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19607 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
19608 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
19609 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
19610 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
19611 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19613 @item gnus-picons-display-where
19614 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19615 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
19616 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
19617 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
19618 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
19619 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
19620 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
19622 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19623 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19624 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
19629 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
19630 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
19632 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
19633 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
19636 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19638 @item gnus-article-display-picons
19639 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19640 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
19641 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
19643 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
19644 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
19645 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
19646 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
19652 @node Picon Useless Configuration
19653 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
19661 The following variables offer further control over how things are
19662 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
19663 don't need to worry about.
19667 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
19668 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
19669 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19670 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
19672 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
19673 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
19674 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
19675 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
19677 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
19678 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
19679 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19680 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
19681 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
19683 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19684 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19685 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
19686 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
19687 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
19688 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
19689 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
19690 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
19692 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19693 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19694 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
19695 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
19696 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
19698 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19699 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19700 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
19701 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
19702 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
19703 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
19704 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
19706 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19707 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19708 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
19709 Defaults to @code{nil}.
19711 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
19712 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
19713 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
19714 Defaults to @code{t}.
19716 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19717 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19718 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
19719 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
19721 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
19722 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
19723 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
19725 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19726 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19727 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
19728 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
19730 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
19731 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
19733 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19734 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19735 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
19736 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
19737 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
19738 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
19739 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
19740 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
19751 @subsection Smileys
19756 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
19761 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
19762 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
19764 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
19765 @file{.gnus.el} file:
19768 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
19771 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
19772 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
19773 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
19774 text and maps that to file names.
19776 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
19777 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
19778 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
19779 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
19780 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
19781 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
19783 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
19784 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
19786 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
19787 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
19788 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
19790 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
19791 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
19795 @item smiley-data-directory
19796 @vindex smiley-data-directory
19797 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
19799 @item smiley-flesh-color
19800 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
19801 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
19803 @item smiley-features-color
19804 @vindex smiley-features-color
19805 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19807 @item smiley-tongue-color
19808 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
19809 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
19811 @item smiley-circle-color
19812 @vindex smiley-circle-color
19813 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19815 @item smiley-mouse-face
19816 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
19817 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
19823 @subsection Toolbar
19833 @item gnus-use-toolbar
19834 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
19835 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
19836 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
19837 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
19839 @item gnus-group-toolbar
19840 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
19841 The toolbar in the group buffer.
19843 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
19844 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
19845 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
19847 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19848 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19849 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
19855 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
19858 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19859 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19860 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
19861 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
19862 unusual directory structure.
19864 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19865 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19866 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
19867 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
19869 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19870 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19871 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
19872 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
19873 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
19874 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
19876 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19877 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19878 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
19892 @node Fuzzy Matching
19893 @section Fuzzy Matching
19894 @cindex fuzzy matching
19896 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
19897 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
19899 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
19900 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
19901 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
19903 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
19904 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
19905 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
19906 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
19907 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
19910 @node Thwarting Email Spam
19911 @section Thwarting Email Spam
19915 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
19917 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
19918 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
19919 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
19920 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
19921 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
19922 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
19923 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
19924 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
19927 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
19928 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
19929 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
19930 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
19931 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
19932 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
19936 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
19937 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
19939 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
19940 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
19941 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
19942 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
19943 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
19944 part of the mail address.)
19947 (setq message-default-news-headers
19948 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
19951 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
19952 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
19957 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
19958 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
19959 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
19965 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
19966 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
19967 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
19968 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
19970 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
19971 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
19972 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
19973 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
19974 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
19975 your fancy split rule in this way:
19980 (to "larsi" "misc")
19984 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
19985 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
19986 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
19987 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
19988 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
19990 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
19991 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
19992 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
19993 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
19994 cosmic balance somewhat.
19996 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
19997 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
19998 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
19999 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
20002 @node Various Various
20003 @section Various Various
20009 @item gnus-home-directory
20010 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
20011 defaults to @file{~/}.
20013 @item gnus-directory
20014 @vindex gnus-directory
20015 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
20016 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
20017 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
20019 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
20020 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
20021 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
20022 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
20024 @item gnus-default-directory
20025 @vindex gnus-default-directory
20026 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
20027 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
20028 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
20029 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
20030 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
20031 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
20034 @vindex gnus-verbose
20035 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
20036 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
20037 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
20038 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
20039 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
20041 @item gnus-verbose-backends
20042 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
20043 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
20044 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
20046 @item nnheader-max-head-length
20047 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
20048 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
20049 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
20050 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
20051 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
20052 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
20053 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
20054 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
20055 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
20057 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
20058 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
20059 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
20060 read when doing the operation described above.
20062 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
20063 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
20065 @cindex invalid characters in file names
20066 @cindex characters in file names
20067 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
20068 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
20069 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
20072 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
20076 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
20077 Windows (phooey) systems.
20079 @item gnus-hidden-properties
20080 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
20081 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
20082 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
20083 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
20085 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
20086 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
20087 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
20088 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
20089 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
20091 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
20092 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
20093 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
20095 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
20096 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
20098 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
20099 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
20100 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
20101 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
20104 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
20112 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
20113 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
20115 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
20117 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
20123 Not because of victories @*
20126 but for the common sunshine,@*
20128 the largess of the spring.
20132 but for the day's work done@*
20133 as well as I was able;@*
20134 not for a seat upon the dais@*
20135 but at the common table.@*
20140 @chapter Appendices
20143 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
20144 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
20145 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
20146 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
20147 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
20148 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
20149 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
20150 * Frequently Asked Questions::
20158 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
20159 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
20161 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
20162 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
20163 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
20164 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
20165 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
20167 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
20168 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
20169 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
20170 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
20171 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
20172 appropriate name, don't you think?)
20174 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
20175 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
20176 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
20177 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
20180 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
20181 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
20182 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
20183 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
20184 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
20185 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
20186 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
20187 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
20188 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
20192 @node Gnus Versions
20193 @subsection Gnus Versions
20194 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
20196 @cindex September Gnus
20197 @cindex Quassia Gnus
20199 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
20200 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
20201 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
20203 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
20204 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
20206 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
20207 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
20209 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
20210 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
20212 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
20213 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
20216 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
20218 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
20219 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
20220 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
20221 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
20222 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
20223 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
20226 @node Other Gnus Versions
20227 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
20230 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
20231 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
20232 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
20233 @sc{mime} capabilities.
20235 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
20236 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
20237 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
20238 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
20245 What's the point of Gnus?
20247 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
20248 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
20249 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
20250 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
20251 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
20252 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
20253 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
20254 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
20255 keep track of millions of people who post?
20257 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
20258 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
20259 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
20260 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
20261 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
20262 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
20263 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
20264 every one of you to explore and invent.
20266 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
20267 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
20270 @node Compatibility
20271 @subsection Compatibility
20273 @cindex compatibility
20274 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
20275 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
20276 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
20281 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
20285 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
20288 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
20291 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
20292 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
20293 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
20294 important variables have their values copied into their global
20295 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
20296 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
20298 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
20299 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
20300 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
20301 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
20302 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
20306 @cindex highlighting
20307 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
20308 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
20309 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
20310 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
20311 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
20312 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
20315 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
20316 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
20317 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
20318 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
20320 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
20321 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
20322 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
20323 to stop doing it the old way.
20325 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
20327 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
20329 @cindex reporting bugs
20331 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
20332 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
20333 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
20335 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
20336 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
20337 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
20338 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
20343 @subsection Conformity
20345 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
20346 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
20353 There are no known breaches of this standard.
20357 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
20359 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
20360 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
20361 We do have some breaches to this one.
20367 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
20368 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
20369 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
20370 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
20371 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
20376 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
20377 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
20378 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
20379 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
20383 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
20384 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
20389 @subsection Emacsen
20395 Gnus should work on :
20403 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
20407 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
20408 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
20411 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
20412 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
20413 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
20417 @node Gnus Development
20418 @subsection Gnus Development
20420 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
20421 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
20422 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
20423 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
20424 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
20425 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
20426 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
20427 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
20429 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
20430 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
20431 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
20432 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
20433 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
20436 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
20437 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
20438 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
20439 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
20440 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
20442 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
20443 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
20444 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
20445 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
20446 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
20447 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
20448 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
20449 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
20450 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
20451 can't be assumed to do so.
20456 @subsection Contributors
20457 @cindex contributors
20459 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
20460 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
20461 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
20462 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
20463 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
20464 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
20465 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
20466 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
20467 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
20468 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
20470 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
20476 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
20479 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
20480 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
20481 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
20482 functionality and stuff.
20485 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
20486 well as numerous other things).
20489 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
20492 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
20495 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
20498 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
20501 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
20502 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
20505 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
20508 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
20509 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20512 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
20515 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
20518 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
20521 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
20524 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
20525 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
20528 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
20531 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
20534 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
20537 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
20541 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
20544 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
20547 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
20550 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
20551 well as autoconf support.
20555 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
20556 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
20558 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
20567 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
20571 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
20581 Alexei V. Barantsev,
20596 Massimo Campostrini,
20601 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
20602 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
20606 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
20609 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
20615 Michael Welsh Duggan,
20620 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
20624 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
20632 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
20634 Michelangelo Grigni,
20638 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
20640 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
20642 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
20649 François Felix Ingrand,
20650 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
20651 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
20653 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
20664 Peter Skov Knudsen,
20665 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
20667 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
20668 Thor Kristoffersen,
20671 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
20689 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
20690 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
20697 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
20702 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
20706 John McClary Prevost,
20712 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
20717 Christian von Roques,
20720 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
20727 Philippe Schnoebelen,
20729 Randal L. Schwartz,
20743 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
20748 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
20764 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
20769 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
20770 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
20771 (550kB and counting).
20773 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
20776 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
20777 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
20781 @subsection New Features
20782 @cindex new features
20785 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
20786 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
20787 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
20788 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
20789 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
20792 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
20793 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
20794 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
20797 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
20799 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
20804 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
20805 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
20808 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
20809 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
20812 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
20815 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
20816 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
20817 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
20820 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
20821 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
20822 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
20823 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20826 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
20827 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20830 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
20831 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
20832 (@pxref{The Active File}).
20835 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
20836 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
20839 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
20840 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
20841 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20844 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
20845 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
20846 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
20849 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
20850 the @file{.emacs} file.
20853 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
20854 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
20857 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
20858 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
20861 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
20862 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20865 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
20866 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
20869 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
20870 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20873 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
20876 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
20877 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
20880 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
20881 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
20884 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
20885 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
20888 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
20891 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
20892 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20895 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
20899 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
20903 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
20904 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
20907 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
20913 @node September Gnus
20914 @subsubsection September Gnus
20918 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
20922 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
20927 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
20928 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
20932 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
20933 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
20937 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
20941 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
20942 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
20945 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
20949 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20952 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
20955 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
20958 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
20962 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
20963 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
20966 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
20970 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
20974 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
20978 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
20982 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
20985 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
20986 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
20989 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
20993 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
20994 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
20997 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
21000 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
21001 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
21002 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
21005 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
21009 The Gnus cache is much faster.
21012 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
21016 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
21017 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
21020 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
21021 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
21024 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
21025 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
21028 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
21029 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
21030 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
21033 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
21034 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
21037 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
21040 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
21043 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
21046 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
21049 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
21050 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
21053 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
21057 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
21060 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
21065 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
21068 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
21072 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
21075 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
21079 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
21082 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
21085 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
21086 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
21089 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
21090 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
21094 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
21095 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
21098 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
21102 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
21103 buffer to allow easier treatment.
21106 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
21109 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
21113 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
21117 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
21118 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
21121 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
21125 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
21126 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
21129 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
21130 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
21133 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
21137 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
21140 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
21143 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
21149 @subsubsection Red Gnus
21151 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
21155 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
21162 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
21165 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
21166 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
21169 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
21170 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
21174 Article washing status can be displayed in the
21175 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
21178 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
21181 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
21182 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
21185 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
21189 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
21190 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
21194 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
21195 Server Internals}).
21198 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
21202 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
21205 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
21206 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
21209 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
21210 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
21211 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
21214 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
21215 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
21218 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
21219 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
21222 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
21226 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
21227 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
21230 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
21231 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
21234 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
21238 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
21241 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
21245 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
21246 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
21249 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
21250 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
21253 A new command for reading collections of documents
21254 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
21255 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
21258 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
21262 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
21263 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
21266 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
21267 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
21268 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
21271 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
21272 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
21276 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
21280 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
21284 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
21289 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
21293 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
21297 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
21298 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
21301 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
21307 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
21309 New features in Gnus 5.6:
21314 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
21315 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
21316 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
21319 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
21320 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
21321 group, which is created automatically.
21324 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
21328 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
21331 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
21332 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
21335 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
21339 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
21342 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
21343 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
21346 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
21349 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
21350 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
21353 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
21354 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
21357 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
21358 control over simplification.
21361 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
21364 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
21368 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
21371 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
21374 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
21375 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
21376 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
21379 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
21380 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
21383 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
21387 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
21388 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
21391 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
21392 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
21395 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
21399 A history of where mails have been split is available.
21402 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
21405 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
21406 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
21409 A new function for citing in Message has been
21410 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
21413 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
21416 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
21420 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
21421 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
21424 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
21425 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
21428 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
21431 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
21435 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
21436 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
21438 New features in Gnus 5.8:
21443 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
21444 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
21446 If you used procmail like in
21449 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
21450 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
21451 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
21452 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
21455 this now has changed to
21459 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
21463 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
21464 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
21467 Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
21468 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
21471 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
21472 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
21475 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
21476 called to position point.
21479 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
21480 summary buffers and NOV files.
21483 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
21484 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
21487 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
21488 subtly different manner.
21491 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
21492 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
21493 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
21496 Gnus can now read IMAP mail via @code{nnimap}.
21504 @section The Manual
21508 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21509 either @code{texi2dvi}
21511 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21512 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21514 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21516 The following conventions have been used:
21521 This is a @samp{string}
21524 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21527 This is a @file{file}
21530 This is a @code{symbol}
21534 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21538 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21541 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21544 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21547 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21548 ever get them confused.
21552 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21553 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21554 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21555 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21556 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21557 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21558 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21564 @node On Writing Manuals
21565 @section On Writing Manuals
21567 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21568 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21569 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21570 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21571 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21572 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21575 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21576 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21577 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21580 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21581 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21586 @section Terminology
21588 @cindex terminology
21593 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21594 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21595 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21596 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21597 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21601 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21602 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21603 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21604 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21608 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21612 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21617 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of back ends, both news and mail
21618 back ends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21619 is all done by the back ends.
21623 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
21624 default, way of getting news.
21628 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21629 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
21634 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21635 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21639 A message that has been posted as news.
21642 @cindex mail message
21643 A message that has been mailed.
21647 A mail message or news article
21651 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21656 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21661 A line from the head of an article.
21665 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21666 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21670 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
21671 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21672 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21673 normal @sc{head} format.
21677 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21678 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21679 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21680 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21681 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21682 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21684 @item killed groups
21685 @cindex killed groups
21686 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21687 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21689 @item zombie groups
21690 @cindex zombie groups
21691 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21694 @cindex active file
21695 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21696 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21697 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21700 @cindex bogus groups
21701 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21702 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21703 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21706 @cindex activating groups
21707 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21708 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21709 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21713 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21715 @item select method
21716 @cindex select method
21717 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
21720 @item virtual server
21721 @cindex virtual server
21722 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21723 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21724 whole is a virtual server.
21728 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21729 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21732 @item ephemeral groups
21733 @cindex ephemeral groups
21734 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21735 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21736 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21739 @cindex solid groups
21740 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21741 group buffer are solid groups.
21743 @item sparse articles
21744 @cindex sparse articles
21745 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21746 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21750 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21751 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21755 @cindex thread root
21756 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21757 articles in the thread.
21761 An article that has responses.
21765 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21769 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21770 specified by RFC 1153.
21776 @node Customization
21777 @section Customization
21778 @cindex general customization
21780 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21781 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21782 for some quite common situations.
21785 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21786 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21787 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21788 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21792 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21793 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21795 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21796 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21797 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21801 @item gnus-read-active-file
21802 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21803 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21804 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21805 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21806 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21808 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21809 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21810 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21811 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21815 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21816 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21818 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21819 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21820 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21824 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21825 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21826 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21827 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21828 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21830 @item gnus-visible-headers
21831 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21832 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21833 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21834 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21836 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21838 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21839 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21840 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21843 @item gnus-use-full-window
21844 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21845 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21846 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21847 want to read them anyway.
21849 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21850 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21853 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21854 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21855 lines, which might save some time.
21859 @node Little Disk Space
21860 @subsection Little Disk Space
21863 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21864 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21868 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21869 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21870 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21871 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21874 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21875 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21876 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21877 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21880 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21881 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21882 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21883 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21884 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21890 @subsection Slow Machine
21891 @cindex slow machine
21893 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21894 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21896 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21897 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21899 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21900 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21901 summary buffer faster.
21905 @node Troubleshooting
21906 @section Troubleshooting
21907 @cindex troubleshooting
21909 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21917 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21920 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21921 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21925 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21926 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21927 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21928 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21931 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21935 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21936 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21937 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21938 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21939 something like that.
21942 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21945 @cindex reporting bugs
21947 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21949 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21950 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21951 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21952 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21954 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21955 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21956 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21957 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21960 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21961 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21962 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21963 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21964 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21965 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21967 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21968 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21969 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21973 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
21974 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
21976 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21977 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21979 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21980 @cindex ding mailing list
21981 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21982 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21986 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21987 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21989 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21990 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21991 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21992 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21995 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21996 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21997 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21998 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21999 and general methods of operation.
22002 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
22003 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
22004 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
22005 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
22006 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
22007 * Group Info:: The group info format.
22008 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
22009 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
22010 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
22014 @node Gnus Utility Functions
22015 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
22016 @cindex Gnus utility functions
22017 @cindex utility functions
22019 @cindex internal variables
22021 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
22022 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
22023 Below is a list of the most common ones.
22027 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
22028 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
22029 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
22031 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
22032 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
22033 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
22035 @item gnus-group-real-name
22036 @findex gnus-group-real-name
22037 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
22040 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
22041 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
22042 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
22043 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
22045 @item gnus-get-info
22046 @findex gnus-get-info
22047 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
22049 @item gnus-group-unread
22050 @findex gnus-group-unread
22051 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
22055 @findex gnus-active
22056 The active entry for @var{group}.
22058 @item gnus-set-active
22059 @findex gnus-set-active
22060 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
22062 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
22063 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
22064 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
22067 @item gnus-continuum-version
22068 @findex gnus-continuum-version
22069 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
22070 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
22073 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
22074 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
22075 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
22077 @item gnus-news-group-p
22078 @findex gnus-news-group-p
22079 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
22081 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22082 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22083 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
22085 @item gnus-server-to-method
22086 @findex gnus-server-to-method
22087 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
22089 @item gnus-server-equal
22090 @findex gnus-server-equal
22091 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
22093 @item gnus-group-native-p
22094 @findex gnus-group-native-p
22095 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
22097 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
22098 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
22099 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
22101 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
22102 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
22103 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
22105 @item group-group-find-parameter
22106 @findex group-group-find-parameter
22107 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
22108 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
22110 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
22111 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
22112 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
22114 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
22115 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
22116 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
22118 @item gnus-check-backend-function
22119 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
22120 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
22121 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
22124 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
22128 @item gnus-read-method
22129 @findex gnus-read-method
22130 Prompts the user for a select method.
22135 @node Back End Interface
22136 @subsection Back End Interface
22138 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
22139 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
22140 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
22141 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
22142 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
22143 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
22145 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
22146 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
22147 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
22148 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
22149 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
22150 been opened, the function should fail.
22152 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
22153 name. Take this example:
22157 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
22158 (nntp-port-number 4324))
22161 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
22162 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
22164 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
22165 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
22166 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
22168 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
22169 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
22170 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
22172 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
22173 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
22174 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
22175 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
22176 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
22177 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
22180 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
22181 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
22182 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
22183 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
22186 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
22187 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
22188 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
22189 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
22190 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
22191 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
22192 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
22193 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
22194 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
22195 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
22197 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
22198 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
22199 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
22200 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
22201 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
22202 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
22203 of numbers as long as possible.
22205 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
22208 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
22211 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
22212 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
22213 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
22214 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
22215 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
22216 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
22220 @node Required Back End Functions
22221 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
22225 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
22227 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
22228 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
22229 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
22230 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
22232 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
22233 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
22234 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
22235 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
22237 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
22238 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
22239 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
22240 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
22241 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
22242 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
22243 number, do maximum fetches.
22245 Here's an example HEAD:
22248 221 1056 Article retrieved.
22249 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
22250 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
22251 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
22252 Subject: Re: Something very droll
22253 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
22254 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
22256 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
22257 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
22258 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
22262 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
22263 these in the data buffer.
22265 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
22269 head = error / valid-head
22270 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
22271 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
22272 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
22273 header = <text> eol
22276 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
22277 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
22281 nov-buffer = *nov-line
22282 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
22283 field = <text except TAB>
22286 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
22290 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
22292 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
22293 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
22295 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
22296 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
22297 server. In fact, it should do so.
22299 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
22300 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
22303 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
22305 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
22306 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
22309 There should be no data returned.
22312 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
22314 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
22315 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
22316 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
22317 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
22319 There should be no data returned.
22322 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
22324 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
22325 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
22326 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
22327 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
22329 There should be no data returned.
22332 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
22334 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
22336 There should be no data returned.
22339 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
22341 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
22342 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
22343 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
22344 it would be nice if that were possible.
22346 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
22347 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
22348 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22349 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22350 into its article buffer.
22352 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22353 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22354 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22355 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22356 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22357 on successful article retrieval.
22360 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22362 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22363 making @var{group} the current group.
22365 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22368 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22371 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22374 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22375 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22376 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22377 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22378 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22379 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22380 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22381 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22384 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22385 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22386 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22390 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22392 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22393 a no-op on most back ends.
22395 There should be no data returned.
22398 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22400 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22403 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22406 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22407 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22410 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22411 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22414 active-file = *active-line
22415 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22417 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22420 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22421 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22422 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22425 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22427 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22428 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22429 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22430 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22431 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22432 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22434 There should be no result data from this function.
22439 @node Optional Back End Functions
22440 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
22444 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22446 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22447 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22448 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22450 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22451 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22452 former is in the same format as the data from
22453 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22454 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22457 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22461 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22463 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
22464 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
22465 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22466 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22467 should return the (altered) group info.
22469 There should be no result data from this function.
22472 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22474 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22475 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22476 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22477 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22478 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22479 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22480 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22481 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22483 There should be no result data from this function.
22486 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22488 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22489 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22490 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22491 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22492 propagate the mark information to the server.
22494 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22497 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22500 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
22501 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
22502 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
22503 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
22504 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
22505 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
22506 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
22507 possible, not limit itself to these.
22509 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22510 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22511 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22512 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22514 An example action list:
22517 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22518 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22519 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22522 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22523 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22525 There should be no result data from this function.
22527 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22529 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
22530 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22531 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22532 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
22533 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22535 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22536 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22537 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22540 There should be no result data from this function.
22543 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22545 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22546 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
22547 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
22548 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22549 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
22550 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22551 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22553 There should be no result data from this function.
22556 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22558 The result data from this function should be a description of
22562 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22564 description = <text>
22567 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22569 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22570 groups available on the server.
22573 description-buffer = *description-line
22577 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22579 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22580 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
22581 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
22582 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
22583 in the active buffer format.
22585 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
22586 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
22587 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
22588 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
22589 many groups, so nnml and the like are probably safe. But for back ends
22590 like nntp, where the groups have been created by the server, it is quite
22591 likely that there can be many groups.
22594 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22596 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22598 There should be no return data.
22601 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22603 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22604 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22605 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
22606 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22607 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22610 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22613 There should be no result data returned.
22616 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22619 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22620 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22622 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22623 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22624 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22625 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22626 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22627 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22629 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22630 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22633 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22634 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22636 There should be no data returned.
22639 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22641 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22642 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22643 this function in short order.
22645 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22646 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22648 There should be no data returned.
22651 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22653 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22654 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22656 There should be no data returned.
22659 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22661 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22662 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22663 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22665 There should be no data returned.
22668 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22670 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22671 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22673 There should be no data returned.
22678 @node Error Messaging
22679 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22681 @findex nnheader-report
22682 @findex nnheader-get-report
22683 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22684 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22685 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
22686 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22687 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22688 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22691 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22693 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22696 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22697 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22698 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
22699 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22701 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
22702 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
22703 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22706 @node Writing New Back Ends
22707 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
22709 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22710 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22711 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22712 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22713 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22716 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22717 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22718 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22720 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22721 package called @code{nnoo}.
22723 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
22724 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
22730 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22731 parameters. For instance:
22734 (nnoo-declare nndir
22738 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22739 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22742 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22743 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22744 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22746 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22747 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
22748 a function in those back ends.
22751 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22752 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22753 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22756 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22757 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22758 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22760 @item nnoo-define-basics
22761 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
22765 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22769 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22770 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22771 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
22773 @item nnoo-map-functions
22774 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
22775 functions from the parent back ends.
22778 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22779 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22780 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22783 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22784 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22785 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22786 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22789 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
22790 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22791 haven't already been defined.
22797 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22801 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22802 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22803 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22808 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
22811 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22812 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22816 (require 'nnheader)
22820 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22822 (nnoo-declare nndir
22825 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22826 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22827 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22829 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22830 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22833 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
22835 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22836 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22837 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22839 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22840 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22842 ;;; Interface functions.
22844 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22846 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22847 (setq nndir-directory
22848 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22850 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22851 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22852 (push `(nndir-current-group
22853 ,(file-name-nondirectory
22854 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22856 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22857 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22859 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22861 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22862 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22863 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22864 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22865 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22869 nnmh-status-message
22871 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22877 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22878 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22880 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22881 @findex gnus-declare-backend
22882 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
22883 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22884 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22886 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
22887 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22892 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22895 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
22897 The abilities can be:
22901 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22903 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
22905 This back end supports both mail and news.
22907 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
22910 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22911 articles and groups.
22913 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22914 true for almost all back ends.
22915 @item prompt-address
22916 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22917 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
22918 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22922 @node Mail-like Back Ends
22923 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
22925 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
22926 back ends is the heavy dependence by the mail back ends on common
22927 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22928 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22931 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22932 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22933 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22936 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22937 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22940 This function takes four parameters.
22944 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
22947 @item exit-function
22948 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22950 @item temp-directory
22951 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22954 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22955 performed for one group only.
22958 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
22959 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22960 find the article number assigned to this article.
22962 The function also uses the following variables:
22963 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22964 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
22965 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22966 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22970 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22971 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22975 @node Score File Syntax
22976 @subsection Score File Syntax
22978 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22979 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22980 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22982 Here's a typical score file:
22986 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22993 BNF definition of a score file:
22996 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22997 element = rule / atom
22998 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22999 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
23000 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
23001 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
23003 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
23004 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
23005 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
23006 date-header = "date"
23007 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
23008 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23009 score = "nil" / <integer>
23010 date = "nil" / <natural number>
23011 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
23012 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
23013 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
23014 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
23015 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
23016 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23017 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
23018 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
23019 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
23020 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
23021 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
23022 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
23023 exclude-files / read-only / touched
23024 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
23025 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
23026 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
23027 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
23028 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
23029 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
23030 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
23031 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
23032 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
23033 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
23034 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
23035 eval = "eval" space <form>
23036 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
23039 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
23042 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
23043 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
23044 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
23045 one looong line, then that's ok.
23047 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
23048 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23052 @subsection Headers
23054 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
23055 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
23056 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
23057 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
23059 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
23060 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
23061 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
23062 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
23063 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
23064 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
23065 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
23067 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
23068 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
23069 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
23070 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
23071 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
23073 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
23074 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
23080 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
23081 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
23083 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
23084 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
23085 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
23086 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
23088 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
23092 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
23095 is transformed into
23098 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
23101 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
23102 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
23105 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
23108 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
23109 is slightly tricky:
23112 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
23118 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
23121 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
23127 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
23134 and is equal to the previous range.
23136 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
23137 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
23138 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
23142 range = simple-range / normal-range
23143 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
23144 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
23145 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
23146 number *[ " " contents ]
23149 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
23150 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
23151 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
23152 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
23153 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
23158 @subsection Group Info
23160 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
23161 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
23162 describes the group.
23164 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
23165 second is a more complex one:
23168 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
23170 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
23171 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
23173 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
23176 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
23177 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
23178 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
23179 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
23180 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
23181 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
23182 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
23183 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
23184 this section is about.
23186 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
23187 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
23188 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
23190 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
23193 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
23194 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
23195 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23196 group = quote <string> quote
23197 ralevel = rank / level
23198 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23199 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
23200 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23202 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
23203 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
23204 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
23205 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
23208 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
23209 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
23212 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
23213 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
23216 @item gnus-info-group
23217 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
23218 @findex gnus-info-group
23219 @findex gnus-info-set-group
23220 Get/set the group name.
23222 @item gnus-info-rank
23223 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
23224 @findex gnus-info-rank
23225 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
23226 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
23228 @item gnus-info-level
23229 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
23230 @findex gnus-info-level
23231 @findex gnus-info-set-level
23232 Get/set the group level.
23234 @item gnus-info-score
23235 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
23236 @findex gnus-info-score
23237 @findex gnus-info-set-score
23238 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
23240 @item gnus-info-read
23241 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
23242 @findex gnus-info-read
23243 @findex gnus-info-set-read
23244 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
23246 @item gnus-info-marks
23247 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
23248 @findex gnus-info-marks
23249 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
23250 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
23252 @item gnus-info-method
23253 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
23254 @findex gnus-info-method
23255 @findex gnus-info-set-method
23256 Get/set the group select method.
23258 @item gnus-info-params
23259 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
23260 @findex gnus-info-params
23261 @findex gnus-info-set-params
23262 Get/set the group parameters.
23265 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
23266 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
23268 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
23269 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
23270 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
23271 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
23274 @node Extended Interactive
23275 @subsection Extended Interactive
23276 @cindex interactive
23277 @findex gnus-interactive
23279 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
23280 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
23281 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
23284 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
23285 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
23290 The best thing to do would have been to implement
23291 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
23292 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
23293 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
23294 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
23295 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
23296 @code{interactive}.
23298 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
23303 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
23304 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
23308 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
23309 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
23310 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
23313 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
23317 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
23321 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
23327 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
23328 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
23332 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
23333 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
23334 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
23336 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
23337 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
23338 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
23339 Gnus, that's very useful.
23341 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
23342 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
23343 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
23344 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
23345 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
23346 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
23347 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
23348 following function:
23351 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
23355 (,function ,@@args))
23359 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
23360 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
23361 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23364 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23365 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23366 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23368 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23369 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23370 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23373 @node Various File Formats
23374 @subsection Various File Formats
23377 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23378 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23382 @node Active File Format
23383 @subsubsection Active File Format
23385 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23386 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23389 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23392 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23393 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23394 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23395 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23396 no.general 1000 900 y
23399 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23402 active = *group-line
23403 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
23404 group = <non-white-space string>
23406 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23407 low-number = <positive integer>
23408 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23411 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23412 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23415 @node Newsgroups File Format
23416 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23418 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23419 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23420 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23423 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23424 Here's the definition:
23428 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23429 group = <non-white-space string>
23431 description = <string>
23436 @node Emacs for Heathens
23437 @section Emacs for Heathens
23439 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23440 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23441 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
23442 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23443 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23444 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23445 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23449 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23450 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23455 @subsection Keystrokes
23459 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23462 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23465 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23466 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23467 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23468 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23469 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23470 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23472 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23473 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23474 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23475 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23476 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23477 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23478 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23480 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23481 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
23482 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23483 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23484 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23485 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23486 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23488 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23489 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23490 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23491 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23492 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23498 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23500 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23501 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23502 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23503 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23505 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23506 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23507 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23508 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23509 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23510 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23511 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23514 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23515 write the following:
23518 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23521 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23522 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23523 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23526 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23527 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23528 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23529 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23530 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23532 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23533 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23534 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23538 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23542 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23545 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23546 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23549 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23552 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23553 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23556 @include gnus-faq.texi
23577 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
23578 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
23579 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
23580 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
23581 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref