1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Red Gnus 0.45 Manual
11 @setchapternewpage odd
15 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright]{book}
16 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
17 \usepackage{pagestyle}
19 \fontfamily{bembo}\selectfont
24 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
25 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
27 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
29 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
30 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
32 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
33 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
35 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\textbf{\textsf{#1}}}}
36 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
37 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``\gnustt{#1}''}
38 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
39 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
40 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
41 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
42 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
43 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
44 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
45 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}
46 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
47 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
48 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
50 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
51 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
52 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
53 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
54 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
55 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
56 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
57 \newcommand{\gnusnot}{$\neg$}
58 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
59 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
60 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
62 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-head.eps,height=1cm}}}
63 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
64 \marginpar[\hspace{2.5cm}\gnushead]{\gnushead}
67 \newcommand{\gnuscleardoublepage}{\ifodd\count0\mbox{}\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}\mbox{}\clearpage\else\clearpage\fi}
69 \newcommand{\gnuspagechapter}[1]{
76 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[2]{
78 \ifdim \gnusdimen = 0pt\setcounter{page}{1}\pagestyle{gnus}\pagenumbering{arabic} \gnusdimen 1pt\fi
80 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
81 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#2}
84 \begin{picture}(500,500)(0,0)
85 \put(0,0){\makebox(480,350)[tr]{#1}}
86 \put(40,300){\makebox(500,50)[bl]{{\Huge\bf{#2}}}}
91 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\mbox{}\vspace*{-\itemsep}\vspace*{-\parsep}\item#1}
93 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
94 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
98 \newenvironment{codelist}%
103 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
109 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
114 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
119 \newenvironment{samplist}%
124 \newenvironment{varlist}%
129 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
134 \newlength\gnusheadtextwidth
135 \setlength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{\headtextwidth}
136 \addtolength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{1cm}
138 \newpagestyle{gnuspreamble}%
143 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\mbox{}}\textbf{\hfill\roman{page}}}
147 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\roman{page}\hfill\mbox{}}}
156 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
158 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
163 \newpagestyle{gnusindex}%
168 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\gnuschaptername\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
172 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
180 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
182 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
192 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}} \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
196 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
204 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
206 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
211 \pagenumbering{roman}
212 \pagestyle{gnuspreamble}
222 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
223 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
225 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
227 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\\
230 \hspace*{-1cm}\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=15cm}
233 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
240 \thispagestyle{empty}
242 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
244 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
245 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
246 are preserved on all copies.
248 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
249 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
250 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
251 permission notice identical to this one.
253 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
254 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
263 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
265 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
267 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
268 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
269 are preserved on all copies.
272 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
273 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
274 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
275 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
278 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
279 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
280 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
281 permission notice identical to this one.
283 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
284 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
290 @title Red Gnus 0.45 Manual
292 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
295 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
296 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
302 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
303 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
304 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
305 permission notice identical to this one.
307 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
308 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
317 @top The Red Gnus Newsreader
321 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
322 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
323 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
335 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
336 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
338 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
339 being accused of plagiarism:
341 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
342 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
343 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
344 even read news with it!
346 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
347 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
348 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
349 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
350 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
357 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
358 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
359 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
360 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
361 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
362 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
363 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
364 * Various:: General purpose settings.
365 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
366 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
367 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
368 * Key Index:: Key Index.
372 @chapter Starting Gnus
377 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
378 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
381 @findex gnus-other-frame
382 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
383 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
384 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
386 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
390 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
391 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
392 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
393 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
394 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
395 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
396 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
397 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
398 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
399 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
400 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
404 @node Finding the News
405 @section Finding the News
408 @vindex gnus-select-method
410 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
411 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
412 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
413 native method. All groups that are not fetched with this method are
416 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
417 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
420 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
423 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
426 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
429 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
430 certainly be much faster.
432 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
434 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
435 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
436 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
437 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
438 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
439 that fails as well, Gnus will will try to use the machine that is
440 running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
442 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
443 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
444 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
445 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
447 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
448 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
449 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
450 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
451 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
452 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
454 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
456 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
457 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
458 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
459 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
460 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
461 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
463 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
465 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
466 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
467 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
468 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
469 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
470 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
473 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
474 would typically set this variable to
477 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
482 @section The First Time
483 @cindex first time usage
485 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
486 be subscribed by default.
488 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
489 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
490 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
491 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
494 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
495 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is here
496 defined as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
498 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
499 help you with most common problems.
501 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
502 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
506 @node The Server is Down
507 @section The Server is Down
508 @cindex server errors
510 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
511 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
512 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
514 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
515 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
516 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
517 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
518 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
519 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
520 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
522 @findex gnus-no-server
523 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
525 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
526 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
527 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
528 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
529 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
530 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
535 @section Slave Gnusae
538 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
539 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
540 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
541 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
543 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
546 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
547 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
548 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
549 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
550 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
551 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
552 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
554 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
555 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
556 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
557 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
558 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
559 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
560 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
561 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
563 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
564 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
567 @node Fetching a Group
568 @section Fetching a Group
569 @cindex fetching a group
571 @findex gnus-fetch-group
572 It it sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
573 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
574 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
575 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
576 It takes the group name as a parameter.
584 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
585 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
586 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
587 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
588 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
589 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
590 is @code{t} by default.
593 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
594 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
595 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
599 @node Checking New Groups
600 @subsection Checking New Groups
602 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
603 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
604 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
605 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
606 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
607 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
608 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
609 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
610 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
611 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
613 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
614 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
615 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
616 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
617 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
618 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
619 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
620 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
621 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
622 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
623 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
625 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
626 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
627 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
628 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
629 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
630 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
633 @node Subscription Methods
634 @subsection Subscription Methods
636 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
637 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
638 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
640 This variable should contain a function. Some handy pre-fab values
645 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
646 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
647 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
648 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
649 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
651 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
652 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
653 Subscribe all new groups randomly.
655 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
656 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
657 Subscribe all new groups alphabetically.
659 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
660 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
661 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
662 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
663 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
664 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
665 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
666 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
667 up. Or something like that.
669 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
670 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
671 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
672 you about @strong{all} new groups.
674 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
675 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
680 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
681 A closely related variable is
682 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
683 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
684 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
685 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
688 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above to
689 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
690 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
693 @node Filtering New Groups
694 @subsection Filtering New Groups
696 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
697 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
698 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
701 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
704 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
705 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
706 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
707 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
708 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
709 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
710 subscribing these groups.
711 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
712 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
714 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
715 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
716 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
717 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
718 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
719 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
720 and if the the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
721 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
723 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
724 Yet another variable that meddles here is
725 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
726 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
727 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
728 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
729 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
730 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
731 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
732 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
735 @node Changing Servers
736 @section Changing Servers
737 @cindex changing servers
739 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
740 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
741 very flaky and you want to use another.
743 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
744 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
748 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
749 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
750 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
751 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
754 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
755 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
756 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
757 functions more than absolutely necessary.
759 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
760 @findex gnus-change-server
761 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
762 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
763 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
764 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
765 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
767 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
768 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
769 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
770 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
771 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
773 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
774 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
775 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
776 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
777 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
778 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
782 @section Startup Files
783 @cindex startup files
788 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
789 information is traditionally stored in this file.
791 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
792 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
793 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
794 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
795 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
796 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
797 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
799 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
800 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
801 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
802 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file.
804 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
805 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
806 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
807 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
808 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
809 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
811 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
812 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
813 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
814 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
815 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
816 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
817 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
818 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
819 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
820 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
821 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
822 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
824 @vindex gnus-startup-file
825 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
826 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
827 file being whatever that one is with a @samp{.eld} appended.
829 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
830 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
831 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
832 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
833 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
834 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
835 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
836 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
837 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
838 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
841 (defun turn-off-backup ()
842 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
844 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
845 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
848 @vindex gnus-init-file
849 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
850 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus.el} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
851 (@file{~/.gnus.el} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
852 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{.emacs} and
853 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff.
861 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
862 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
863 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
864 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
865 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
868 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
869 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
872 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
873 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
874 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
876 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
877 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
878 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
879 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
880 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
881 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
884 @node The Active File
885 @section The Active File
887 @cindex ignored groups
889 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
890 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
891 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
893 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
894 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
895 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
896 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
897 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
898 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
899 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
902 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
903 @c if you set it to anything else.
905 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
907 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
908 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
909 reading the active file. This variable is @code{t} by default.
911 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
912 you actually subscribe to.
914 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
915 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
916 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
917 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
919 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
920 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
921 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
922 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
923 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
924 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
926 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
927 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
928 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
929 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
930 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
931 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
933 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
934 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
937 @node Startup Variables
938 @section Startup Variables
943 @vindex gnus-load-hook
944 A hook that is run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
945 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
946 times you start Gnus.
948 @item gnus-startup-hook
949 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
950 A hook that is run after starting up Gnus successfully.
952 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
953 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
954 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
955 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
956 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
957 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
958 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
959 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
961 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
962 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
963 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
964 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead of doing
967 @item gnus-no-groups-message
968 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
969 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
973 @node The Group Buffer
974 @chapter The Group Buffer
977 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
978 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
979 long as Gnus is active.
982 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
983 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
984 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
985 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
986 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
987 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
988 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
989 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
990 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
991 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
992 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
993 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
994 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
995 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
996 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
997 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
998 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1002 @node Group Buffer Format
1003 @section Group Buffer Format
1006 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1007 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1008 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1012 @node Group Line Specification
1013 @subsection Group Line Specification
1014 @cindex group buffer format
1016 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1017 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1019 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1022 25: news.announce.newusers
1023 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1028 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1029 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1030 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1031 asterisk at the beginning of the line?)
1033 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1034 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1035 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1036 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1037 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1038 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1040 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1042 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1043 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1044 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1045 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1048 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1049 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1050 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1052 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1057 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1060 Whether the group is subscribed.
1063 Level of subscribedness.
1066 Number of unread articles.
1069 Number of dormant articles.
1072 Number of ticked articles.
1075 Number of read articles.
1078 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1079 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1082 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1085 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1094 Newsgroup description.
1097 @samp{m} if moderated.
1100 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1109 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1113 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1116 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1117 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1118 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1119 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1120 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1123 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1124 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
1125 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1126 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1127 paratere as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1128 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1133 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1134 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1135 group, or a bogus native group.
1138 @node Group Modeline Specification
1139 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1140 @cindex group modeline
1142 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1143 The mode line can be changed by setting
1144 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1145 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1149 The native news server.
1151 The native select method.
1155 @node Group Highlighting
1156 @subsection Group Highlighting
1157 @cindex highlighting
1158 @cindex group highlighting
1160 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1161 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1162 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1163 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1164 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1166 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1170 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1172 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1173 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1174 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1176 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1178 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1180 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1184 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1191 The number of unread articles in the group.
1195 Whether the group is a mail group.
1197 The level of the group.
1199 The score of the group.
1201 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1203 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1206 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1207 topic being inserted.
1210 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1211 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1212 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1214 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1215 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1216 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1217 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1218 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1221 @node Group Maneuvering
1222 @section Group Maneuvering
1223 @cindex group movement
1225 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1226 expected, hopefully.
1232 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1233 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1234 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1240 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1241 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1242 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1246 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1247 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1251 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1252 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1256 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1257 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1258 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1262 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1263 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1264 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1267 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1273 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1274 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1275 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1280 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1281 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1282 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1286 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1287 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1288 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1291 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1292 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1293 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1294 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1298 @node Selecting a Group
1299 @section Selecting a Group
1300 @cindex group selection
1305 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1306 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1307 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1308 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1309 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1310 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1311 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1312 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1313 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1314 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1318 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1319 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1320 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1321 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1322 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1326 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1327 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1328 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1329 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1330 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1331 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1332 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1333 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer.
1334 This might be useful if you want to toggle threading before entering the
1338 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1339 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1340 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1341 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1342 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1346 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1347 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1348 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1349 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1350 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1351 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1352 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1353 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1356 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1357 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1358 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1359 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1364 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1365 full summary buffer.
1368 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1371 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1375 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1376 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1377 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1381 @node Subscription Commands
1382 @section Subscription Commands
1383 @cindex subscription
1391 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1392 Toggle subscription to the current group
1393 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1399 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1400 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1401 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1402 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1408 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1409 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1415 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1416 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1419 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1420 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1421 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1422 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1423 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1429 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1430 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1434 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1435 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1438 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1439 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1440 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1441 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1442 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1443 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1444 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1445 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1446 @file{.newsrc} file.
1450 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1460 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1461 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1462 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1463 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1464 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1469 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1470 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1471 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1475 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1476 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1477 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1479 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1480 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1481 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1482 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1483 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1484 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1491 @section Group Levels
1495 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1496 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1497 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1498 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1499 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1501 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1507 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1508 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1509 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1510 prompted for a level.
1513 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1514 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1515 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1516 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1517 Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
1518 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1519 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1520 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1521 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1522 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (default 9),
1523 completely dead. Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly
1524 the same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what
1525 articles you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and
1526 living groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely
1527 for reasons of efficiency.
1529 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1530 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1532 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1533 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1534 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1536 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1537 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1538 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1539 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1540 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1541 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1542 relevant legal ranges.
1544 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1545 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1546 will only move to groups that are of the same level (or lower). In
1547 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1548 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1549 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1552 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1553 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1554 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1557 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1558 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1559 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1560 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1563 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1564 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1565 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1566 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1568 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1569 Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
1570 @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
1571 unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
1572 5. The default is 6.
1576 @section Group Score
1579 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1580 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1581 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1584 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1585 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1586 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1587 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1588 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1589 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1590 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1592 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1593 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1594 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1595 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1596 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1597 action after each summary exit, you can add
1598 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1599 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1600 slow things down somewhat.
1603 @node Marking Groups
1604 @section Marking Groups
1605 @cindex marking groups
1607 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1608 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1609 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1610 bidding on those groups.
1612 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1613 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1614 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1622 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1623 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1629 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1630 Remove the mark from the current group
1631 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1635 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1636 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1640 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1641 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1645 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1646 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1650 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1651 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1652 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1655 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1657 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1658 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1659 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1660 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1661 the command to be executed.
1664 @node Foreign Groups
1665 @section Foreign Groups
1666 @cindex foreign groups
1668 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1669 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1670 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1671 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1678 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1679 @cindex making groups
1680 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1681 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1682 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1686 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1687 @cindex renaming groups
1688 Rename the current group to something else
1689 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some
1690 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1696 @findex gnus-group-customize
1697 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1701 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1702 @cindex renaming groups
1703 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1704 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1708 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1709 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1710 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1714 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1715 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1716 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1720 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1722 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1723 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1728 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1729 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1733 @cindex (ding) archive
1734 @cindex archive group
1735 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1736 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1737 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1738 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1739 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1740 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1741 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1745 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1747 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1748 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1749 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1750 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1754 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1756 Read an arbitrary directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
1757 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1758 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1762 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1763 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1765 Make a group based on some file or other
1766 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1767 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1768 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1769 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs}, and
1770 @code{forward}. If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will
1771 guess at the file type. @xref{Document Groups}.
1775 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1780 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1781 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1782 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1783 search engine type and the search string. Legal search engine types
1784 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1785 @xref{Web Searches}.
1788 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1789 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1790 This function will delete the current group
1791 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1792 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1793 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1794 absolutely sure of what you are doing.
1798 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1799 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1800 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1804 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1805 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1806 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1809 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1812 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1813 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1814 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1815 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1816 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1819 @node Group Parameters
1820 @section Group Parameters
1821 @cindex group parameters
1823 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1828 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1829 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1830 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1831 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1832 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1833 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1834 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1835 copies of your followups.
1837 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1838 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1839 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1840 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1841 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1842 list address instead.
1846 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1847 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1848 doing a @kbd{a} in any group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1849 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1850 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1852 @item broken-reply-to
1853 @cindex broken-reply-to
1854 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1855 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1856 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1857 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1858 broken behavior. So there!
1862 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
1863 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
1867 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
1868 @code{t}, new composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
1869 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
1870 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
1871 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence over
1872 any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later).
1876 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, all articles that
1877 are read will be marked as expirable. For an alternative approach,
1878 @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
1881 @cindex total-expire
1882 If this symbol is present, all read articles will be put through the
1883 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
1888 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
1889 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
1890 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
1891 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
1892 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
1893 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
1896 @cindex score file group parameter
1897 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
1898 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
1899 means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
1902 @cindex adapt file group parameter
1903 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
1904 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
1905 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
1908 When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
1909 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
1910 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
1911 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
1914 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} says which articles to
1915 display on entering the group. Legal values are:
1919 Display all articles, both read and unread.
1922 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
1927 This parameter allows you to enter an arbitrary comment on the group.
1929 @item @var{(variable form)}
1930 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
1931 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
1932 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
1933 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
1934 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
1935 @code{eval}ed there.
1937 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
1938 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
1939 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
1940 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
1941 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
1945 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
1947 Also @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
1950 @node Listing Groups
1951 @section Listing Groups
1952 @cindex group listing
1954 These commands all list various slices of the groups that are available.
1962 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
1963 List all groups that have unread articles
1964 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
1965 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
1966 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
1967 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
1974 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
1975 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
1976 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
1977 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
1978 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
1979 unsubscribed groups).
1983 @findex gnus-group-list-level
1984 List all unread groups on a specific level
1985 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
1986 with no unread articles.
1990 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
1991 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
1992 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
1993 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
1998 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
1999 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2003 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2004 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2005 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2009 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2010 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2014 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2015 List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
2016 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2017 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2018 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2019 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list group that
2020 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they are killed groups.
2021 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2025 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2026 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2027 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2031 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2032 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2033 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2037 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2038 @cindex visible group parameter
2039 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2040 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2041 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2042 get the same effect.
2044 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2045 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2046 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2047 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2048 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2051 @node Sorting Groups
2052 @section Sorting Groups
2053 @cindex sorting groups
2055 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2056 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2057 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2058 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2059 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2060 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2065 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2066 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2067 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2069 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2070 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2071 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2073 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2074 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2075 Sort by group level.
2077 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2078 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2079 Sort by group score.
2081 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2082 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2083 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2084 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
2086 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2087 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2088 Sort by number of unread articles.
2090 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2091 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2092 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2097 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2098 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2102 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2103 some sorting criteria:
2107 @kindex G S a (Group)
2108 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2109 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2110 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2113 @kindex G S u (Group)
2114 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2115 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2116 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2119 @kindex G S l (Group)
2120 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2121 Sort the group buffer by group level
2122 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2125 @kindex G S v (Group)
2126 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2127 Sort the group buffer by group score
2128 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
2131 @kindex G S r (Group)
2132 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2133 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2134 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2137 @kindex G S m (Group)
2138 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2139 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2140 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2144 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2146 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2150 @kindex G P a (Group)
2151 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2152 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2153 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2156 @kindex G P u (Group)
2157 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2158 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2159 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2162 @kindex G P l (Group)
2163 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2164 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2165 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2168 @kindex G P v (Group)
2169 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2170 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2171 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}).
2174 @kindex G P r (Group)
2175 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2176 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2177 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}).
2180 @kindex G P m (Group)
2181 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2182 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2183 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2189 @node Group Maintenance
2190 @section Group Maintenance
2191 @cindex bogus groups
2196 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2197 Find bogus groups and delete them
2198 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2202 @findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
2203 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}). If
2204 given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server for
2208 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2209 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2210 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2211 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2214 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2215 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2216 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2217 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2222 @node Browse Foreign Server
2223 @section Browse Foreign Server
2224 @cindex foreign servers
2225 @cindex browsing servers
2230 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2231 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2232 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2233 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2236 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2237 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2238 will be use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2239 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2241 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2246 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2247 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2251 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2252 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2255 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2256 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2257 Enter the current group and display the first article
2258 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2261 @kindex RET (Browse)
2262 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2263 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2267 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2268 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2269 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2275 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2276 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2280 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2281 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2282 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2287 @section Exiting Gnus
2288 @cindex exiting Gnus
2290 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2295 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2296 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2297 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2298 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2302 @findex gnus-group-exit
2303 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2307 @findex gnus-group-quit
2308 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2309 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2312 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2313 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2314 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2315 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2316 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2321 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2322 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2323 trying to customize meta-variables.
2328 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2329 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2330 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2336 @section Group Topics
2339 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2340 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2341 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2342 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2343 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2344 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2352 2: alt.religion.emacs
2355 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2357 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2358 13: comp.sources.unix
2361 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2363 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2364 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2365 is a toggling command.)
2367 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2368 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2369 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2370 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2373 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2374 the hook for the group mode:
2377 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2381 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2382 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2383 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2384 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2385 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2389 @node Topic Variables
2390 @subsection Topic Variables
2391 @cindex topic variables
2393 Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2394 really neat, I think.
2396 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2397 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2398 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2411 Number of groups in the topic.
2413 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2415 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2418 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2419 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2420 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2423 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2424 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2426 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2427 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2428 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2431 @node Topic Commands
2432 @subsection Topic Commands
2433 @cindex topic commands
2435 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2436 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2437 definitions slightly.
2443 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2444 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2445 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2449 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2450 Move the current group to some other topic
2451 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2452 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2456 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2457 Copy the current group to some other topic
2458 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2459 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2463 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2464 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2465 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2466 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2470 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2471 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2472 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2476 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2477 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2478 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2482 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2483 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2484 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2487 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2488 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2489 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2490 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2494 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2496 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2497 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2498 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2499 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2500 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2501 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2504 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2505 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2506 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2507 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2508 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2512 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2513 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2514 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2518 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2519 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2520 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2525 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2526 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2529 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2530 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2531 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2535 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2536 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2537 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2541 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2542 @cindex group parameters
2543 @cindex topic parameters
2545 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2546 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2552 @subsection Topic Sorting
2553 @cindex topic sorting
2555 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2561 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2562 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2563 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2564 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2567 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2568 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2569 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2570 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2573 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2574 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2575 Sort the current topic by group level
2576 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2579 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2580 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2581 Sort the current topic by group score
2582 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}).
2585 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2586 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2587 Sort the current topic by group rank
2588 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2591 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2592 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2593 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2594 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2598 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2601 @node Topic Topology
2602 @subsection Topic Topology
2603 @cindex topic topology
2606 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2612 2: alt.religion.emacs
2615 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2617 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2618 13: comp.sources.unix
2621 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2622 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2623 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2628 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2629 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2633 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2634 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2635 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2636 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2637 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2638 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2640 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2641 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2642 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2645 @node Topic Parameters
2646 @subsection Topic Parameters
2647 @cindex topic parameters
2649 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2650 ancestor) topic parameters. All legal group parameters are legal topic
2651 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2653 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2654 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2655 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2656 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2662 2: alt.religion.emacs
2666 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2668 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2669 13: comp.sources.unix
2673 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2674 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2675 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2676 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2677 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2678 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2680 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2681 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2682 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2683 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2684 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2686 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2687 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2688 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2689 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2690 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2691 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2692 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2693 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2696 @node Misc Group Stuff
2697 @section Misc Group Stuff
2700 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2701 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2702 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2709 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2710 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2711 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2715 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2716 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). The current
2717 group name will be used as the default.
2721 @findex gnus-group-mail
2722 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2726 Variables for the group buffer:
2730 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2731 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2732 @code{gnus-group-mode-hook} is called after the group buffer has been
2735 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2736 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2737 @code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} is called after the group buffer is
2738 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2741 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2742 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2743 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2744 whether they are empty or not.
2749 @node Scanning New Messages
2750 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2751 @cindex new messages
2752 @cindex scanning new news
2758 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2759 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2760 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2761 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2762 command will force a total rereading of the active file(s) from the
2767 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2768 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2769 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2770 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2771 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2772 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2774 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2775 @cindex activating groups
2777 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2778 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2783 @findex gnus-group-restart
2784 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}).
2788 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2789 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2791 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2792 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2796 @node Group Information
2797 @subsection Group Information
2798 @cindex group information
2799 @cindex information on groups
2807 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2808 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2811 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2812 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2813 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2814 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2815 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2816 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
2817 for fetching the file.
2819 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
2820 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
2825 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
2826 @cindex describing groups
2827 @cindex group description
2828 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2829 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2830 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2834 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2835 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2836 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2841 @findex gnus-version
2842 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
2846 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
2847 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
2850 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
2853 @findex gnus-info-find-node
2854 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
2859 @subsection File Commands
2860 @cindex file commands
2866 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
2867 @vindex gnus-init-file
2868 @cindex reading init file
2869 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
2870 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
2874 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
2875 @cindex saving .newsrc
2876 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
2877 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
2878 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
2881 @c @kindex Z (Group)
2882 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
2883 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
2888 @node The Summary Buffer
2889 @chapter The Summary Buffer
2890 @cindex summary buffer
2892 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
2893 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
2895 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
2896 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
2898 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
2901 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
2902 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
2903 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
2904 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
2905 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
2906 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
2907 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
2908 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
2909 * Threading:: How threads are made.
2910 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
2911 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
2912 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
2913 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
2914 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
2915 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
2916 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
2917 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
2918 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
2919 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
2920 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
2921 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
2922 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
2923 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
2924 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
2925 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
2926 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
2930 @node Summary Buffer Format
2931 @section Summary Buffer Format
2932 @cindex summary buffer format
2935 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
2936 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
2937 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
2940 @findex mail-extract-address-components
2941 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
2942 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
2943 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
2944 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
2945 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
2946 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
2947 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
2948 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
2949 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
2950 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
2952 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
2953 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
2954 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
2955 with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{}.
2958 @node Summary Buffer Lines
2959 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
2961 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
2962 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
2963 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
2964 lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
2965 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2967 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
2969 The following format specification characters are understood:
2977 Subject if the article is the root or the previous article had a
2978 different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
2979 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
2981 Full @code{From} header.
2983 The name (from the @code{From} header).
2985 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
2986 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
2987 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
2988 may be more thorough.
2990 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
2993 Number of lines in the article.
2995 Number of characters in the article.
2997 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
2999 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3000 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3002 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3003 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3005 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3006 for adopted articles.
3008 One space for each thread level.
3010 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3018 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3019 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3020 default level. If the difference between
3021 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3022 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3030 The @code{Date} in @code{YY-MMM} format.
3032 The @code{Date} in @code{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS} format.
3038 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3039 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3041 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3042 article has any children.
3046 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3047 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
3048 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3049 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3050 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3051 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3054 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3055 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3056 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3057 that. This means that it is illegal to have these specs after a
3058 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3059 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3061 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3062 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3064 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3067 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3068 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3070 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3071 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3072 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3073 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3075 Here are the elements you can play with:
3081 Unprefixed group name.
3083 Current article number.
3087 Number of unread articles in this group.
3089 Number of unselected articles in this group.
3091 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3092 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3093 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3094 and no unselected ones.
3096 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3097 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3099 Subject of the current article.
3103 Name of the current score file.
3105 Number of dormant articles.
3107 Number of ticked articles.
3109 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3111 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3115 @node Summary Highlighting
3116 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3120 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3121 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3122 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3123 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3124 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3126 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3127 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3128 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3129 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3131 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3132 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3133 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) that is used to
3134 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3136 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3137 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3138 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3139 list where the elements are on the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3140 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3141 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3143 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3144 ((> score default) . bold))
3146 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3147 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3151 @node Summary Maneuvering
3152 @section Summary Maneuvering
3153 @cindex summary movement
3155 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3156 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3158 None of these commands select articles.
3163 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3164 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3165 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3166 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3167 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3171 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3172 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3173 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3174 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3175 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3180 @kindex G j (Summary)
3181 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3182 Ask for an article number and then go to that article
3183 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3186 @kindex G g (Summary)
3187 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3188 Ask for an article number and then go the summary line of that article
3189 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3192 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3193 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3194 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3195 to the group buffer.
3197 Variables related to summary movement:
3201 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3202 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3203 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3204 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3205 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3206 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3207 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3208 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3209 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3210 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3211 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3212 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3213 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3214 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3216 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3217 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3218 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3219 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3220 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3221 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3222 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3224 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3225 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3226 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3227 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3228 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3230 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3231 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3232 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3233 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3234 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3235 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3236 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3237 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3243 @node Choosing Articles
3244 @section Choosing Articles
3245 @cindex selecting articles
3248 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3249 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3253 @node Choosing Commands
3254 @subsection Choosing Commands
3256 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3257 and they all select and display an article.
3261 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3262 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3263 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3264 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3269 @kindex G n (Summary)
3270 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3271 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3276 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3277 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3282 @kindex G N (Summary)
3283 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3284 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3289 @kindex G P (Summary)
3290 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3291 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3294 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3295 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3296 Go to the next article with the same subject
3297 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3300 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3301 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3302 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3303 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3307 @kindex G f (Summary)
3309 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3310 Go to the first unread article
3311 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3315 @kindex G b (Summary)
3317 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3318 Go to the article with the highest score
3319 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3324 @kindex G l (Summary)
3325 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3326 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3329 @kindex G p (Summary)
3330 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3331 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3332 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3333 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3334 history as you like.
3338 @node Choosing Variables
3339 @subsection Choosing Variables
3341 Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3344 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3345 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3346 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3347 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3348 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3349 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3351 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3352 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3353 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3354 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3356 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3357 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3358 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3359 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3360 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3361 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3362 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3363 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3364 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3365 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3366 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3367 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3368 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3369 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3374 @node Paging the Article
3375 @section Scrolling the Article
3376 @cindex article scrolling
3381 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3382 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3383 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3384 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3385 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3388 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3389 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3390 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3393 @kindex RET (Summary)
3394 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3395 Scroll the current article one line forward
3396 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3400 @kindex A g (Summary)
3402 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3403 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3404 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3405 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3406 the way it came from the server.
3411 @kindex A < (Summary)
3412 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3413 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3414 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3419 @kindex A > (Summary)
3420 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3421 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3425 @kindex A s (Summary)
3427 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3428 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3429 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3434 @node Reply Followup and Post
3435 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3438 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3439 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3443 @node Summary Mail Commands
3444 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3446 @cindex composing mail
3448 Commands for composing a mail message:
3454 @kindex S r (Summary)
3456 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3457 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3458 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3463 @kindex S R (Summary)
3464 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3465 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3466 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3467 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3470 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3471 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3472 Forward the current article to some other person
3473 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}).
3478 @kindex S m (Summary)
3479 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3480 Send a mail to some other person
3481 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3484 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3485 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3486 @cindex bouncing mail
3487 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3488 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3489 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3490 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3491 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3492 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3493 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3494 very well fail, though.
3497 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3498 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3499 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3500 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3501 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3502 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3503 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3504 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3505 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3506 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3508 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3509 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3510 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3511 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3512 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3515 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3516 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3517 Digest the current series and forward the result using mail
3518 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3519 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3522 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3523 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3524 @cindex crossposting
3525 @cindex excessive crossposting
3526 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3527 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3529 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3530 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3531 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3532 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3533 command understands the process/prefix convention
3534 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3539 @node Summary Post Commands
3540 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3542 @cindex composing news
3544 Commands for posting a news article:
3550 @kindex S p (Summary)
3551 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3552 Post an article to the current group
3553 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3558 @kindex S f (Summary)
3559 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3560 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3564 @kindex S F (Summary)
3566 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3567 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3568 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3569 process/prefix convention.
3572 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3573 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3574 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3575 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
3578 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3579 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3580 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3581 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
3584 @kindex S u (Summary)
3585 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3586 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3587 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3591 @node Canceling and Superseding
3592 @section Canceling Articles
3593 @cindex canceling articles
3594 @cindex superseding articles
3596 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3597 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3599 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3601 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3603 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3604 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3605 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3606 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3608 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3609 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3612 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3613 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3614 your original article.
3616 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3618 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3619 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3620 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3623 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3624 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3625 have posted almost the same article twice.
3627 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3628 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3629 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3630 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*post-buf*}). There you will
3631 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3632 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3633 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3634 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3635 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3636 canceled/superseded.
3638 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3641 @node Marking Articles
3642 @section Marking Articles
3643 @cindex article marking
3644 @cindex article ticking
3647 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3649 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3650 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3651 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3653 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3656 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3657 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3658 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3662 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3666 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3667 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3671 @node Unread Articles
3672 @subsection Unread Articles
3674 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3679 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3680 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3682 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3683 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3684 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3685 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3686 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3690 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3691 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3693 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3694 are followups to it.
3697 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3698 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
3700 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
3705 @subsection Read Articles
3706 @cindex expirable mark
3708 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3713 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3714 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
3715 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
3718 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3719 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3722 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3723 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
3724 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3727 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3728 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3731 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3732 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3735 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
3736 Marked as read by having a too low score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
3739 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
3740 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
3743 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
3744 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
3747 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
3748 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
3751 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
3752 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
3756 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
3757 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
3758 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
3762 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
3763 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
3765 One more special mark, though:
3769 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
3770 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
3772 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
3773 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
3774 control the expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
3775 articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
3781 @subsection Other Marks
3782 @cindex process mark
3785 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
3791 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
3792 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
3793 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
3794 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
3795 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
3798 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
3799 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
3800 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
3801 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
3804 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
3805 Articles that are stored in the article cache will be marked with an
3806 @samp{*} in the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}).
3809 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
3810 Articles that are ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
3811 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
3812 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}.
3815 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
3816 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
3817 It the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
3818 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
3819 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
3822 @vindex gnus-process-mark
3823 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}. A
3824 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
3825 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
3826 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
3827 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
3831 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
3832 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
3833 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
3835 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
3836 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
3837 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
3841 @subsection Setting Marks
3842 @cindex setting marks
3844 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
3850 @kindex M t (Summary)
3851 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
3852 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
3857 @kindex M ? (Summary)
3858 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
3859 Mark the current article as dormant
3860 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}).
3864 @kindex M d (Summary)
3866 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
3867 Mark the current article as read
3868 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
3872 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
3873 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
3874 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
3879 @kindex M k (Summary)
3880 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
3881 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
3882 and then select the next unread article
3883 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
3887 @kindex M K (Summary)
3888 @kindex C-k (Summary)
3889 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
3890 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
3891 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
3894 @kindex M C (Summary)
3895 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
3896 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
3899 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
3900 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
3901 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
3902 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
3905 @kindex M H (Summary)
3906 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
3907 Catchup the current group to point
3908 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
3911 @kindex C-w (Summary)
3912 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
3913 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
3914 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
3917 @kindex M V k (Summary)
3918 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
3919 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
3920 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
3924 @kindex M c (Summary)
3925 @kindex M-u (Summary)
3926 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
3927 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
3928 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}).
3932 @kindex M e (Summary)
3934 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
3935 Mark the current article as expirable
3936 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
3939 @kindex M b (Summary)
3940 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
3941 Set a bookmark in the current article
3942 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
3945 @kindex M B (Summary)
3946 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
3947 Remove the bookmark from the current article
3948 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
3951 @kindex M V c (Summary)
3952 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
3953 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
3954 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
3957 @kindex M V u (Summary)
3958 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
3959 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
3960 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
3963 @kindex M V m (Summary)
3964 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
3965 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
3966 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
3967 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
3970 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
3971 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
3972 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
3973 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
3974 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
3975 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
3976 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
3977 The default is @code{t}.
3980 @node Setting Process Marks
3981 @subsection Setting Process Marks
3982 @cindex setting process marks
3989 @kindex M P p (Summary)
3990 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
3991 Mark the current article with the process mark
3992 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
3993 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
3997 @kindex M P u (Summary)
3998 @kindex M-# (Summary)
3999 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4000 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4003 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4004 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4005 Remove the process mark from all articles
4006 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4009 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4010 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4011 Invert the list of process marked articles
4012 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4015 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4016 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4017 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4020 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4021 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4022 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4025 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4026 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4027 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4028 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4031 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4032 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4033 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4034 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4037 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4038 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4039 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4040 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4043 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4044 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4045 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4048 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4049 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4050 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4051 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4054 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4055 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4056 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4059 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4060 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4061 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4062 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4065 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4066 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4067 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4068 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4071 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4072 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4073 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4074 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4077 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4078 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4079 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4080 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4089 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4090 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4091 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4098 @kindex / / (Summary)
4099 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4100 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4101 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4104 @kindex / a (Summary)
4105 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4106 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4107 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4111 @kindex / u (Summary)
4113 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4114 Limit the summary buffer to articles that are not marked as read
4115 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4116 buffer to articles that are strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4117 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4120 @kindex / m (Summary)
4121 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4122 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4123 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4126 @kindex / n (Summary)
4127 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4128 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4129 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4130 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4133 @kindex / w (Summary)
4134 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4135 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4136 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4140 @kindex / v (Summary)
4141 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4142 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4143 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4147 @kindex M S (Summary)
4148 @kindex / E (Summary)
4149 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4150 Display all expunged articles
4151 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4154 @kindex / D (Summary)
4155 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4156 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4159 @kindex / d (Summary)
4160 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4161 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4164 @kindex / c (Summary)
4165 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4166 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4167 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4170 @kindex / C (Summary)
4171 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4172 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4173 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4174 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4182 @cindex article threading
4184 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put replies to
4185 articles directly after the articles they reply to---in a hierarchical
4189 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4190 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4194 @node Customizing Threading
4195 @subsection Customizing Threading
4196 @cindex customizing threading
4202 @item gnus-show-threads
4203 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4204 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4205 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4206 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4207 slower and more awkward.
4209 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4210 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4211 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4212 more old headers---headers to articles that are marked as read. If you
4213 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4214 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4215 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4216 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4217 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4218 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4219 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4220 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4222 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4223 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4224 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4225 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4226 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4227 articles that belong in the same thread together. This will leave
4228 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4229 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4230 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4231 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4232 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4233 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4234 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4235 @code{nil} by default.
4237 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4238 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4239 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4240 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4241 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4242 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4243 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subjects lines. If
4244 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4245 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4246 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4247 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4249 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4250 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4251 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects.
4253 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4254 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4255 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4256 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4257 simplification is used.
4259 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4260 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4261 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4262 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4264 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4266 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4272 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4273 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4274 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4275 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4280 (mapconcat 'identity
4281 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4283 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4286 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4289 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4290 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4291 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4292 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4293 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4294 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4295 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process. The
4296 default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4298 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4299 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4300 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4301 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4302 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4303 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4304 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever includes unrelated
4305 articles, but it's also means that people who have posted with broken
4306 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4310 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4311 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4312 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4313 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4315 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4316 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4317 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4320 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4324 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4325 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4328 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4329 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4330 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4331 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4332 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4333 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4335 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4336 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4337 There are four possible values:
4339 @cindex adopting articles
4344 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4345 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4346 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4347 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4350 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4351 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4352 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4353 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4354 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4355 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4356 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4359 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4360 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4361 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4365 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4366 display them after one another.
4369 Don't gather loose threads.
4372 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4373 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4374 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4377 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4378 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4379 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4382 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4383 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4384 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4385 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4386 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4389 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4390 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4391 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4396 @node Thread Commands
4397 @subsection Thread Commands
4398 @cindex thread commands
4404 @kindex T k (Summary)
4405 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4406 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4407 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4408 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4409 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4414 @kindex T l (Summary)
4415 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4416 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4417 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4418 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4421 @kindex T i (Summary)
4422 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4423 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4424 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4427 @kindex T # (Summary)
4428 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4429 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4430 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4433 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4434 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4435 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4436 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4439 @kindex T T (Summary)
4440 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4441 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4444 @kindex T s (Summary)
4445 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4446 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4447 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4450 @kindex T h (Summary)
4451 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4452 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4455 @kindex T S (Summary)
4456 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4457 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4460 @kindex T H (Summary)
4461 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4462 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4465 @kindex T t (Summary)
4466 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4467 Re-thread the thread the current article is part of
4468 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4469 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4472 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4473 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4474 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4475 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}.
4479 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4480 understand the numeric prefix.
4485 @kindex T n (Summary)
4486 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4487 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4490 @kindex T p (Summary)
4491 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4492 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4495 @kindex T d (Summary)
4496 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4497 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4500 @kindex T u (Summary)
4501 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4502 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4505 @kindex T o (Summary)
4506 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4507 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4510 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4511 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4512 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4513 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4514 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4515 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4516 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If is
4517 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4518 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4519 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4520 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4521 that have subjects that are fuzzily equal will be included.
4527 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4528 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4529 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4530 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4531 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4532 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4533 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
4534 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
4535 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
4536 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
4537 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
4538 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
4539 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
4540 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
4542 Each function takes two threads and return non-@code{nil} if the first
4543 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
4544 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
4545 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
4546 in the list. You should probably always include
4547 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
4548 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
4549 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
4550 ascending article order.
4552 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
4553 number, you could do something like:
4556 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4557 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4558 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4559 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4562 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
4563 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
4564 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
4565 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
4566 which the articles arrived.
4568 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
4572 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4574 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
4575 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4578 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
4579 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
4580 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
4581 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
4584 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
4585 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
4586 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
4587 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
4588 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
4589 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
4590 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
4591 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
4592 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
4593 is uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
4594 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
4595 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
4596 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
4598 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
4602 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
4603 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
4604 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
4609 @node Asynchronous Fetching
4610 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
4611 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
4612 @cindex article pre-fetch
4615 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
4616 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
4617 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
4618 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
4619 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
4621 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
4622 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
4624 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
4625 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
4626 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
4627 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
4628 connection is blocked.
4630 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
4631 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
4632 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
4633 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
4635 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
4636 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
4637 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
4638 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
4641 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
4644 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
4645 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
4646 happen automatically.
4648 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
4649 You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
4650 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
4651 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
4652 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
4653 pre-fetch all the articles that it can without bound. If it is
4654 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be made.
4656 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
4657 @findex gnus-async-read-p
4658 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
4659 articles, for instance. Which articles to pre-fetch is controlled by
4660 the @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable. This function should
4661 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
4662 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
4663 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
4664 data structure as the only parameter.
4666 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles that are
4667 shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
4670 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
4671 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
4672 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
4673 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
4676 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
4679 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
4680 preferrably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
4681 It's also probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
4683 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
4684 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
4685 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
4686 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
4690 Remove articles when they are read.
4693 Remove articles when exiting the group.
4696 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
4698 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
4699 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
4700 from the next group.
4703 @node Article Caching
4704 @section Article Caching
4705 @cindex article caching
4708 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
4709 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
4710 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
4711 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
4712 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
4714 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
4716 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4717 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
4718 @vindex gnus-use-cache
4719 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
4720 all articles that are ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
4721 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
4722 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
4723 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
4725 When re-select a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
4726 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
4727 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
4728 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
4729 as dormant, and don't worry.
4731 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
4733 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
4734 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
4735 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
4736 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
4737 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
4738 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
4739 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
4740 articles that are marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
4741 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
4742 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
4744 @findex gnus-jog-cache
4745 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
4746 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
4747 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, and store them in
4748 the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if 1)
4749 your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really, really slow
4750 and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk. Seriously.
4752 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
4753 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
4754 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
4755 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
4756 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
4757 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
4758 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
4761 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
4762 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
4763 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
4764 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
4765 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
4766 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
4767 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
4768 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
4769 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
4773 @node Persistent Articles
4774 @section Persistent Articles
4775 @cindex persistent articles
4777 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
4778 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
4779 useful in my opinion.
4781 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
4782 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
4783 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
4784 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
4785 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
4786 the expiry going on at the news server.
4788 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
4789 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
4790 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
4796 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
4797 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
4800 @kindex M-* (Summary)
4801 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
4802 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
4803 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
4807 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
4809 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
4810 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
4811 interested in persistent articles:
4814 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
4818 @node Article Backlog
4819 @section Article Backlog
4821 @cindex article backlog
4823 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
4824 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
4825 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
4826 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
4827 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
4828 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
4829 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
4830 increase memory usage some.
4832 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
4833 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
4834 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
4835 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
4836 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
4837 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
4838 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
4840 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
4843 @node Saving Articles
4844 @section Saving Articles
4845 @cindex saving articles
4847 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
4848 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
4849 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
4850 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
4851 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
4853 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
4854 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
4855 unwanted headers before saving the article.
4857 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
4858 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
4859 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
4860 deleted before saving.
4866 @kindex O o (Summary)
4868 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
4869 Save the current article using the default article saver
4870 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
4873 @kindex O m (Summary)
4874 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
4875 Save the current article in mail format
4876 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
4879 @kindex O r (Summary)
4880 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
4881 Save the current article in rmail format
4882 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
4885 @kindex O f (Summary)
4886 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
4887 Save the current article in plain file format
4888 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
4891 @kindex O b (Summary)
4892 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
4893 Save the current article body in plain file format
4894 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
4897 @kindex O h (Summary)
4898 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
4899 Save the current article in mh folder format
4900 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
4903 @kindex O v (Summary)
4904 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
4905 Save the current article in a VM folder
4906 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
4909 @kindex O p (Summary)
4910 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
4911 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
4912 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
4915 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
4916 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
4917 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
4918 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
4919 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
4920 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
4921 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
4922 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
4923 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
4924 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
4925 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
4926 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
4930 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
4931 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
4932 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
4933 functions below, or you can create your own.
4937 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
4938 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
4939 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
4940 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
4941 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
4942 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4943 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
4945 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
4946 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
4947 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
4948 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
4949 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4950 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
4952 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
4953 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
4954 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
4955 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
4956 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
4957 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4958 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
4960 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
4961 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
4962 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
4963 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4964 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
4966 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
4967 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
4968 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
4969 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
4970 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
4973 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
4974 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
4975 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
4976 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
4977 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}. The former creates capitalized names, and
4978 the latter does not.
4980 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
4981 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
4982 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
4983 reader to use this setting.
4986 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
4987 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
4988 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
4989 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
4992 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
4993 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
4994 available functions that generate names:
4998 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
4999 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5000 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5002 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5003 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5004 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5006 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5007 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5008 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5010 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5011 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5012 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5015 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5016 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5017 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5018 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5019 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5023 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5024 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5025 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5026 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5029 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5030 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5031 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5032 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5033 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5034 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5035 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5036 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5037 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5039 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5040 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5041 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5042 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5044 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5045 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5046 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5049 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5050 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5051 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5052 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5053 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5054 all the files in the toplevel directory
5055 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5056 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5057 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5058 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5060 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5061 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5062 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5063 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5064 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5067 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5071 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5072 (setq gnus-default-article-save 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5075 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5076 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5077 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5078 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5081 @node Decoding Articles
5082 @section Decoding Articles
5083 @cindex decoding articles
5085 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5086 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5089 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5090 * Shared Articles:: Unshar articles.
5091 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5092 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5093 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5096 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5097 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5098 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5099 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5100 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5102 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5103 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5104 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5106 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5107 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5108 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5110 Subjects that are nonstandard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5111 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5112 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5115 @node Uuencoded Articles
5116 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5118 @cindex uuencoded articles
5123 @kindex X u (Summary)
5124 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5125 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5128 @kindex X U (Summary)
5129 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5130 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5131 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5134 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5135 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5136 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5139 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5140 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5141 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5142 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5145 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5146 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5147 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5148 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5149 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5151 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5152 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5153 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5154 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5157 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5158 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5159 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5160 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5161 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5162 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5166 @node Shared Articles
5167 @subsection Shared Articles
5169 @cindex shared articles
5174 @kindex X s (Summary)
5175 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5176 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5179 @kindex X S (Summary)
5180 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5181 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5184 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5185 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5186 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5189 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5190 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5191 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5192 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5196 @node PostScript Files
5197 @subsection PostScript Files
5203 @kindex X p (Summary)
5204 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5205 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5208 @kindex X P (Summary)
5209 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5210 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5211 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5214 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5215 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5216 View the current PostScript series
5217 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5220 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5221 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5222 View and save the current PostScript series
5223 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5227 @node Decoding Variables
5228 @subsection Decoding Variables
5230 Adjective, not verb.
5233 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5234 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5235 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5239 @node Rule Variables
5240 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5241 @cindex rule variables
5243 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5244 variables are on the form
5247 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5254 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5255 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5257 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5258 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5261 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5262 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5265 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5266 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5267 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5268 user and default view rules.
5270 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5271 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5272 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5277 @node Other Decode Variables
5278 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5281 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5283 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5284 All functions in this list will be called right each file has been
5285 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5286 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5287 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5291 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5292 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5295 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5296 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5297 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5300 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5301 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5302 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5304 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5305 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5306 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5307 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5308 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5311 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5312 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5313 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5315 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5316 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5317 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5318 looking for files to display.
5320 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5321 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5322 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5325 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5326 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5327 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5330 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5331 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5332 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5335 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5336 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5337 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5340 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5341 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5342 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark articles that were
5343 unsuccessfully decoded as unread.
5345 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5346 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5347 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5348 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5350 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5351 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5353 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5354 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5355 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5356 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5358 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5359 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5360 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5361 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5362 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5363 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5364 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5365 simply dropped them.
5370 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5371 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5375 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5376 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5377 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5378 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5379 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5380 for you when you post the article.
5382 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5383 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5384 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5385 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5387 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5388 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5389 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5390 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen are able
5391 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5392 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5393 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5395 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5396 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5397 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5398 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5399 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5400 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5401 Default is @code{t}.
5407 @subsection Viewing Files
5408 @cindex viewing files
5409 @cindex pseudo-articles
5411 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5412 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5413 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5414 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5415 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5416 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5417 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5419 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5420 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5421 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5422 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5424 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5425 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5426 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5428 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5429 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5430 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5431 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5432 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5434 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5435 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5436 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5437 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5438 a list of parameters to that command.
5440 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5441 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5442 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5444 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5445 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5446 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5449 @node Article Treatment
5450 @section Article Treatment
5452 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5453 object of newsreaders are to actually, like, read what people have
5454 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5455 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5456 these articles easier.
5459 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5460 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5461 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5462 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5463 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5464 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5468 @node Article Highlighting
5469 @subsection Article Highlighting
5472 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
5473 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
5478 @kindex W H a (Summary)
5479 @findex gnus-article-highlight
5480 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
5483 @kindex W H h (Summary)
5484 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
5485 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
5486 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
5487 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
5488 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
5489 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
5490 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
5491 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
5492 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
5493 prepended---Gnus will add one.
5496 @kindex W H c (Summary)
5497 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
5498 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
5500 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
5503 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5505 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5506 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
5507 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
5509 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5510 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5511 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
5513 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
5514 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
5515 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
5517 @item gnus-cite-face-list
5518 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
5519 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
5520 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
5521 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
5524 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
5525 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
5526 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
5528 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5529 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5530 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
5532 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5533 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5534 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
5535 that it's a citation.
5537 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5538 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5539 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
5541 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5542 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5543 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
5545 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
5546 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
5547 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
5548 cited text belonging to the attribution.
5554 @kindex W H s (Summary)
5555 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5556 @vindex gnus-signature-face
5557 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
5558 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
5559 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
5560 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
5561 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
5567 @node Article Hiding
5568 @subsection Article Hiding
5569 @cindex article hiding
5571 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
5572 too much cruft in most articles.
5577 @kindex W W a (Summary)
5578 @findex gnus-article-hide
5579 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
5582 @kindex W W h (Summary)
5583 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
5584 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
5588 @kindex W W b (Summary)
5589 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
5590 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
5591 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
5594 @kindex W W s (Summary)
5595 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
5596 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
5600 @kindex W W p (Summary)
5601 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
5602 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
5605 @kindex W W P (Summary)
5606 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
5607 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) gruft
5608 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
5611 @kindex W W c (Summary)
5612 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
5613 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
5614 customizing the hiding:
5618 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5619 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5620 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
5621 50), hide the cited text.
5623 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5624 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5625 The cited text must be have at least this length (default 10) before it
5628 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5629 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5630 Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
5631 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
5632 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
5637 Start point of the hidden text.
5639 End point of the hidden text.
5641 Length of the hidden text.
5644 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
5645 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
5646 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
5651 @kindex W W C (Summary)
5652 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
5653 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
5654 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
5655 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
5656 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
5660 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
5661 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
5662 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
5664 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
5665 citation customization.
5668 @node Article Washing
5669 @subsection Article Washing
5671 @cindex article washing
5673 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
5674 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
5676 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
5677 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
5683 @kindex W l (Summary)
5684 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
5685 Remove page breaks from the current article
5686 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
5689 @kindex W r (Summary)
5690 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
5691 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
5692 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
5695 @kindex W t (Summary)
5696 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
5697 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
5698 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
5701 @kindex W v (Summary)
5702 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
5703 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
5704 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
5707 @kindex W m (Summary)
5708 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
5709 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
5710 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
5713 @kindex W o (Summary)
5714 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
5715 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
5718 @kindex W w (Summary)
5719 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
5720 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
5721 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
5722 late and certainly after any highlighting.
5725 @kindex W c (Summary)
5726 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
5727 Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
5730 @kindex W q (Summary)
5731 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
5732 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
5735 @kindex W f (Summary)
5737 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
5738 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
5739 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
5740 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
5741 Look for and display any X-Face headers
5742 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
5743 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
5744 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
5745 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
5746 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
5747 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
5748 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
5749 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
5750 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
5751 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
5752 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
5753 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
5754 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
5758 @kindex W b (Summary)
5759 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
5760 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
5763 @kindex W B (Summary)
5764 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
5765 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
5766 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
5769 @kindex W E l (Summary)
5770 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
5771 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
5772 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
5775 @kindex W E m (Summary)
5776 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
5777 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
5778 lines with a single empty line.
5779 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
5782 @kindex W E t (Summary)
5783 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
5784 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
5785 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
5788 @kindex W E a (Summary)
5789 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
5790 Do all the three commands above
5791 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
5796 @node Article Buttons
5797 @subsection Article Buttons
5800 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
5801 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
5802 with the minimum of fuzz.
5804 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
5805 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
5806 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
5811 @item gnus-button-alist
5812 @vindex gnus-button-alist
5813 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
5816 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5822 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
5823 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that match embedded URLs:
5824 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
5827 Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
5828 a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
5829 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
5832 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
5833 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
5834 avoid false matches.
5837 This function will be called when you click on this button.
5840 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
5841 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
5845 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
5848 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
5851 @item gnus-header-button-alist
5852 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
5853 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
5854 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
5855 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
5858 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5861 @var{header} is a regular expression.
5863 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
5864 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
5865 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
5866 default values of the variables above.
5868 @item gnus-article-button-face
5869 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
5870 Face used on buttons.
5872 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
5873 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
5874 Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
5880 @subsection Article Date
5882 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
5883 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
5884 when the article was sent.
5889 @kindex W T u (Summary)
5890 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
5891 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
5892 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
5895 @kindex W T l (Summary)
5896 @findex gnus-article-date-local
5897 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
5900 @kindex W T e (Summary)
5901 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
5902 Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and now
5903 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
5906 @kindex W T o (Summary)
5907 @findex gnus-article-date-original
5908 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
5909 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
5910 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
5911 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
5912 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
5917 @node Article Signature
5918 @subsection Article Signature
5920 @cindex article signature
5922 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5923 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
5924 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
5925 that says what is to be considered a signature is
5926 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
5927 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
5928 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
5929 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
5930 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
5933 (setq gnus-signature-separator
5934 '("^-- $" ; The standard
5935 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
5936 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
5937 ; line of dashes. Shame!
5938 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
5939 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
5940 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
5943 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
5946 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
5947 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
5952 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
5955 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
5958 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
5959 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
5961 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
5962 in question is not a signature.
5965 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
5969 @node Summary Sorting
5970 @section Summary Sorting
5971 @cindex summary sorting
5973 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
5974 can't really see why you'd want that.
5979 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
5980 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
5981 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
5984 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
5985 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
5986 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
5989 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
5990 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
5991 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
5994 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
5995 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
5996 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
5999 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6000 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6001 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6004 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6005 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6006 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6007 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6008 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6012 @node Finding the Parent
6013 @section Finding the Parent
6014 @cindex parent articles
6015 @cindex referring articles
6017 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6019 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6020 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6021 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6022 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6023 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6024 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6025 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6026 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6028 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6029 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6030 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6031 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6032 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6035 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6036 @kindex A R (Summary)
6037 You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
6038 header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
6039 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6041 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6042 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6043 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6044 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6045 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6046 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6047 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6048 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6050 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6051 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6052 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6053 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6054 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the same
6055 as the one that keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's
6056 not really necessary.
6058 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6059 not do a particularly excellent job of it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6060 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6061 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6062 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6063 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6066 @node Alternative Approaches
6067 @section Alternative Approaches
6069 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6070 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6073 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6074 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6079 @subsection Pick and Read
6080 @cindex pick and read
6082 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{nn}) use a two-phased
6083 reading interface. The user first marks the articles she wants to read
6084 from a summary buffer. Then she starts reading the articles with just
6085 an article buffer displayed.
6087 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6088 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6089 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6090 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6091 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6092 it makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
6095 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6100 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6101 Pick the article on the current line
6102 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6103 go to the article on that line and pick that article. (The line number
6104 is normally displayed on the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6107 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6108 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6109 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6110 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6114 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6115 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6119 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6120 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6124 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6125 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6129 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6130 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6134 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6135 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6139 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6140 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6144 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6145 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6149 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6150 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6154 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6155 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6159 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6160 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6164 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6165 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6166 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6167 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6168 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6169 will still be visible when you are reading.
6173 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6176 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6179 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6180 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6182 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6183 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6184 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6186 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6187 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different than the
6188 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6189 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6190 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6191 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6192 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6196 @subsection Binary Groups
6197 @cindex binary groups
6199 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6200 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6201 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6202 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6203 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6204 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6205 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6208 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6209 In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned this
6210 mode on is the @kbd{g} command (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6212 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6213 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6217 @section Tree Display
6220 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6221 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6222 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6223 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6226 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6229 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6230 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6231 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6233 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6234 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6235 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6236 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of legal specs, @pxref{Summary
6239 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6240 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6241 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6242 default is @code{modeline}.
6244 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6245 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6246 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6247 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6248 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6249 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6250 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6256 The name of the poster.
6258 The @code{From} header.
6260 The number of the article.
6262 The opening bracket.
6264 The closing bracket.
6269 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6271 Variables related to the display are:
6274 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6275 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6276 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6277 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6278 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6279 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
6281 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6282 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6283 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6284 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
6288 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
6289 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
6290 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
6291 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
6292 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
6293 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}.
6295 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
6296 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
6297 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6298 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
6299 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
6300 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
6301 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
6305 Here's and example from a horizontal tree buffer:
6308 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
6318 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
6322 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
6323 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
6325 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
6327 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
6333 @node Mail Group Commands
6334 @section Mail Group Commands
6335 @cindex mail group commands
6337 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
6338 illegal in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
6340 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
6341 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6346 @kindex B e (Summary)
6347 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
6348 Expire all expirable articles in the group
6349 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
6352 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
6353 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
6354 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
6355 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
6356 articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
6357 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
6360 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
6361 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
6362 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
6363 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
6364 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
6367 @kindex B m (Summary)
6369 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
6370 Move the article from one mail group to another
6371 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6374 @kindex B c (Summary)
6376 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
6377 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
6378 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
6381 @kindex B C (Summary)
6382 @cindex crosspost mail
6383 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
6384 Crosspost the current article to some other group
6385 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
6386 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
6387 be properly updated.
6390 @kindex B i (Summary)
6391 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
6392 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
6393 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
6394 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
6397 @kindex B r (Summary)
6398 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
6399 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6403 @kindex B w (Summary)
6405 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
6406 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
6407 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
6408 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
6409 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
6412 @kindex B q (Summary)
6413 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
6414 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
6415 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
6416 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
6419 @kindex B p (Summary)
6420 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
6421 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
6422 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
6423 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
6424 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
6425 article from your news server (or rather, from
6426 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
6427 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
6428 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
6429 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
6430 just not have arrived yet.
6434 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
6435 @cindex moving articles
6436 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
6437 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
6438 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
6439 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
6440 suggestions you find reasonable.
6443 @node Various Summary Stuff
6444 @section Various Summary Stuff
6447 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
6448 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
6449 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
6450 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
6454 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
6455 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
6456 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
6458 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
6459 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
6460 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
6461 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
6462 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
6463 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
6466 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6467 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6468 Is is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
6469 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
6470 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
6475 @node Summary Group Information
6476 @subsection Summary Group Information
6481 @kindex H f (Summary)
6482 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
6483 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
6484 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
6485 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
6486 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
6487 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
6488 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
6489 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} probably will be used for
6493 @kindex H d (Summary)
6494 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
6495 Give a brief description of the current group
6496 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
6497 rereading the description from the server.
6500 @kindex H h (Summary)
6501 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
6502 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
6503 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
6506 @kindex H i (Summary)
6507 @findex gnus-info-find-node
6508 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
6512 @node Searching for Articles
6513 @subsection Searching for Articles
6518 @kindex M-s (Summary)
6519 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
6520 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
6521 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
6524 @kindex M-r (Summary)
6525 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
6526 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
6527 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
6531 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
6532 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
6533 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
6534 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}).
6537 @kindex M-& (Summary)
6538 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
6539 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
6540 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
6543 @node Summary Generation Commands
6544 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
6549 @kindex Y g (Summary)
6550 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
6551 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
6554 @kindex Y c (Summary)
6555 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
6556 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
6557 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
6562 @node Really Various Summary Commands
6563 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
6568 @kindex C-d (Summary)
6569 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
6570 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
6571 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
6572 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
6573 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
6574 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
6575 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
6576 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
6580 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
6581 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
6582 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
6583 several documents into one biiig group
6584 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
6585 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
6586 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
6587 command understands the process/prefix convention
6588 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6591 @kindex C-t (Summary)
6592 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
6593 Toggle truncation of summary lines
6594 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
6595 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
6596 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
6600 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
6601 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
6602 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
6607 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
6608 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
6609 @cindex summary exit
6610 @cindex exiting groups
6612 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
6613 group and return you to the group buffer.
6619 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
6621 @findex gnus-summary-exit
6622 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
6623 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
6624 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
6625 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
6626 called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
6627 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
6628 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
6633 @kindex Z E (Summary)
6635 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
6636 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
6637 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
6641 @kindex Z c (Summary)
6643 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
6644 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
6645 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
6648 @kindex Z C (Summary)
6649 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
6650 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
6651 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
6654 @kindex Z n (Summary)
6655 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
6656 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
6657 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
6660 @kindex Z R (Summary)
6661 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
6662 Exit this group, and then enter it again
6663 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
6664 all articles, both read and unread.
6668 @kindex Z G (Summary)
6669 @kindex M-g (Summary)
6670 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
6671 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
6672 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
6673 articles, both read and unread.
6676 @kindex Z N (Summary)
6677 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
6678 Exit the group and go to the next group
6679 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
6682 @kindex Z P (Summary)
6683 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
6684 Exit the group and go to the previous group
6685 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
6688 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
6689 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
6692 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
6693 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
6694 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
6695 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
6696 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
6697 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
6698 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
6699 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
6700 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
6701 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
6702 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
6703 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
6705 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
6707 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
6708 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
6709 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
6710 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
6711 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
6712 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
6713 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
6714 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
6715 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
6718 @node Crosspost Handling
6719 @section Crosspost Handling
6723 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
6724 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
6725 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
6726 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
6727 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
6728 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
6731 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
6732 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
6733 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
6734 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
6735 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
6737 @cindex cross-posting
6740 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
6741 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
6742 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
6743 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
6744 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
6745 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
6746 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
6747 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
6748 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
6749 the cross reference mechanism.
6751 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
6752 @cindex overview.fmt
6753 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
6754 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
6755 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
6756 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
6757 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
6758 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
6761 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
6762 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
6763 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
6768 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6771 @node Duplicate Suppression
6772 @section Duplicate Suppression
6774 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
6775 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
6776 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
6777 approach may not work satisfactorily for some users for various
6782 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
6783 is evil and not very common.
6786 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
6787 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
6790 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
6791 different @sc{nntp} servers.
6794 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
6797 I'm sure there are other situations that @code{Xref} handling fails as
6798 well, but these four are the most common situations.
6800 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
6801 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
6802 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
6803 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
6804 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
6805 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
6806 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
6809 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
6810 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
6811 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
6812 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
6813 article as read the the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
6817 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
6818 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
6819 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
6821 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
6822 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
6823 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
6824 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
6825 However, this means that only duplicate articles that is read in a
6826 single Gnus session are suppressed.
6828 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
6829 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
6830 This variables says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
6831 suppression list. The default is 10000.
6833 @item gnus-duplicate-file
6834 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
6835 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list. The
6836 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
6839 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
6840 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
6841 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
6842 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
6843 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
6844 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
6845 to you to figure out, I think.
6848 @node The Article Buffer
6849 @chapter The Article Buffer
6850 @cindex article buffer
6852 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
6853 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
6854 tell Gnus otherwise.
6857 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
6858 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
6859 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
6860 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
6861 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
6865 @node Hiding Headers
6866 @section Hiding Headers
6867 @cindex hiding headers
6868 @cindex deleting headers
6870 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
6871 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
6873 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
6874 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
6875 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
6876 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
6877 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
6878 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
6879 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
6880 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
6881 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
6883 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
6887 @item gnus-visible-headers
6888 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
6889 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
6890 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
6891 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
6893 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
6894 the article and the subject, you'd say:
6897 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
6900 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6903 @item gnus-ignored-headers
6904 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
6905 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
6906 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
6907 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
6908 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
6910 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
6911 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
6914 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
6917 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6920 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
6921 variable will have no effect.
6925 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
6926 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
6927 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
6928 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
6929 the headers are to be displayed.
6931 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
6932 and then the subject, you might say something like:
6935 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
6938 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
6939 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers that
6940 are listed in this variable.
6942 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6943 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
6944 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
6945 You can hide further boring headers by entering
6946 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
6947 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
6948 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
6949 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
6950 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
6952 These conditions are:
6955 Remove all empty headers.
6957 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
6960 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
6961 @code{Newsgroups} header.
6963 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
6966 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
6970 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
6973 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
6974 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
6977 This is also the default value for this variable.
6981 @section Using @sc{mime}
6984 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
6985 while people stand around yawning.
6987 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
6988 while all newsreaders die of fear.
6990 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
6991 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
6992 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
6994 @vindex gnus-show-mime
6995 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
6996 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
6997 @findex metamail-buffer
6998 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
6999 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7000 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7001 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7002 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7003 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7004 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7005 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7007 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7008 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7009 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7010 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7011 comes streaming out out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7012 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7013 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7014 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7015 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7017 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7020 @node Customizing Articles
7021 @section Customizing Articles
7022 @cindex article customization
7024 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7025 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7026 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7027 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7029 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7030 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7031 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7032 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7033 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7034 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7035 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7038 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7039 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7040 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7041 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7042 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7045 @node Article Keymap
7046 @section Article Keymap
7048 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7049 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7050 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7051 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7054 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7059 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7060 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7061 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7064 @kindex DEL (Article)
7065 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7066 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7069 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7070 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7071 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7072 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7073 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7076 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7077 @findex gnus-article-mail
7078 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7079 given a prefix, include the mail.
7083 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7084 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7085 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7089 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7090 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7091 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7094 @kindex TAB (Article)
7095 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7096 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}. This
7097 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7100 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7101 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7102 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}.
7108 @section Misc Article
7112 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7113 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7114 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7115 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7118 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7119 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7120 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7121 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7122 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7123 the contents of the article buffer.
7125 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7126 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7127 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7128 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7129 hiding headers, and the like.
7131 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7132 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7133 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7135 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7136 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7137 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7138 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7139 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7143 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7144 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7148 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7150 @item gnus-break-pages
7151 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7152 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7153 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7154 paging will not be done.
7156 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7157 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7158 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7163 @node Composing Messages
7164 @chapter Composing Messages
7169 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7170 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7171 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7172 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7173 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7174 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7175 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7178 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7179 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7180 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7181 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7182 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7183 @c * Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
7184 @c * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7185 @c * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7188 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7189 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
7195 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
7198 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
7199 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
7200 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
7201 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
7209 Variables for composing news articles:
7212 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7213 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7214 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
7215 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
7216 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
7217 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to sent the
7218 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
7219 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
7220 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
7223 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7224 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7225 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
7226 file. It is 1000 by default.
7231 @node Posting Server
7232 @section Posting Server
7234 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
7235 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
7237 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
7239 @vindex gnus-post-method
7241 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
7242 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
7243 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
7244 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
7245 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
7248 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
7251 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
7252 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
7253 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
7254 the ``current'' server for posting.
7256 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
7257 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
7259 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
7260 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
7265 @section Mail and Post
7267 Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
7271 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
7272 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
7273 @cindex mailing lists
7275 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists that are
7276 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
7277 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
7278 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
7279 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
7280 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that match the groups that
7281 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
7282 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
7283 still a pain, though.
7287 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
7288 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
7289 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
7292 @findex ispell-message
7294 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
7298 @node Archived Messages
7299 @section Archived Messages
7300 @cindex archived messages
7301 @cindex sent messages
7303 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail you send.
7304 The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to store
7305 the mail. If you want to disable this completely, you should set
7306 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}.
7308 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
7309 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
7310 use to store sent messages. The default is:
7314 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))
7317 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
7318 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
7319 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
7320 directory chosen, you could say something like:
7323 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
7324 '(nnfolder "archive"
7325 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
7326 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
7327 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
7330 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
7332 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
7333 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
7334 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
7336 This variable can be:
7340 Messages will be saved in that group.
7341 @item a list of strings
7342 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
7343 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
7344 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
7346 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
7351 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
7353 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
7356 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
7358 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
7361 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
7363 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7364 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
7365 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
7366 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
7371 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7372 '((if (message-news-p)
7377 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
7378 messages in one file per month:
7381 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7382 '((if (message-news-p)
7384 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
7385 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
7388 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
7389 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
7390 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
7391 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
7392 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
7393 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
7394 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
7395 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
7396 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
7397 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
7399 That's the default method of archiving sent mail. Gnus also a different
7400 way for the people who don't like the default method. In that case you
7401 should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}; this will
7404 XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
7405 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.
7408 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
7409 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
7410 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
7411 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
7412 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
7415 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
7416 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
7417 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
7422 @c @node Posting Styles
7423 @c @section Posting Styles
7424 @c @cindex posting styles
7427 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
7429 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
7430 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
7431 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
7434 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
7435 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
7436 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
7437 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
7438 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
7443 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
7444 @c (organization . "What me?"))
7446 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
7447 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
7448 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
7451 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
7452 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
7453 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
7454 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
7455 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
7456 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
7457 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
7458 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
7460 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
7461 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
7462 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
7463 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
7464 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
7465 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
7468 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
7469 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
7470 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
7471 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
7472 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
7475 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
7476 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
7477 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
7479 @c So here's a new example:
7482 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
7484 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
7485 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
7486 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
7487 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
7489 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
7490 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
7491 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
7492 @c (posting-from-work-p
7493 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
7494 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
7495 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
7497 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
7504 @c If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
7505 @c you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
7506 @c craazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save the
7507 @c message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some other
7508 @c day, and send it when you feel its finished.
7510 @c Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
7511 @c some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
7512 @c automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
7513 @c If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
7514 @c article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
7518 @c @vindex gnus-draft-group-directory
7519 @c The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
7520 @c @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
7521 @c @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{gnus-draft-group-directory}
7522 @c controls both the name of the group and the location---the leaf element
7523 @c in the path will be used as the name of the group. What makes this
7524 @c group special is that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any
7525 @c articles as read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
7527 @c If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
7530 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
7531 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
7532 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
7533 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
7534 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
7535 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
7536 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
7537 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
7538 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
7539 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
7540 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
7541 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
7542 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
7543 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
7545 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
7546 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
7547 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
7549 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-draft
7550 @c @kindex S D c (Summary)
7551 @c When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
7552 @c draft group and push @kbd{S D c} (@code{gnus-summary-send-draft}) to do
7553 @c that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
7555 @c Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
7558 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-all-drafts
7559 @c If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
7560 @c doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{S D a} command
7561 @c (@code{gnus-summary-send-all-drafts}). This command understands the
7562 @c process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7565 @c @node Rejected Articles
7566 @c @section Rejected Articles
7567 @c @cindex rejected articles
7569 @c Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
7570 @c doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
7571 @c @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
7572 @c Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
7574 @c These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
7575 @c (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
7576 @c fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
7577 @c you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
7578 @c articles until some later time when the server feels better.
7580 @c The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
7581 @c (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
7582 @c typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
7585 @node Select Methods
7586 @chapter Select Methods
7587 @cindex foreign groups
7588 @cindex select methods
7590 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group that is not read by the usual (or
7591 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
7592 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
7593 personal mail group.
7595 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
7596 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
7597 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
7598 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
7599 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
7600 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
7602 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
7603 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
7605 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
7608 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
7609 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
7610 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
7611 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
7612 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
7614 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
7617 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
7618 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
7619 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
7620 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
7621 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
7625 @node The Server Buffer
7626 @section The Server Buffer
7628 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
7629 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
7630 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
7631 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
7632 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
7633 backend represents a virtual server.
7635 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
7636 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
7637 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
7638 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
7640 These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
7641 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
7642 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
7643 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
7644 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
7645 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
7646 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
7648 To enter the server buffer, user the @kbd{^}
7649 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
7652 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
7653 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
7654 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
7655 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
7656 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
7657 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
7660 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
7661 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
7664 @node Server Buffer Format
7665 @subsection Server Buffer Format
7666 @cindex server buffer format
7668 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
7669 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
7670 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
7671 variable, with some simple extensions:
7676 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
7679 The name of this server.
7682 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
7685 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
7688 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
7689 The mode line can also be customized by using the
7690 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
7701 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
7704 @node Server Commands
7705 @subsection Server Commands
7706 @cindex server commands
7712 @findex gnus-server-add-server
7713 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
7717 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
7718 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
7721 @kindex SPACE (Server)
7722 @findex gnus-server-read-server
7723 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
7727 @findex gnus-server-exit
7728 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
7732 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
7733 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
7737 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
7738 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
7742 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
7743 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
7747 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
7748 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
7752 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
7753 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
7754 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
7760 @node Example Methods
7761 @subsection Example Methods
7763 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
7766 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
7769 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
7775 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
7776 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
7779 After these two elements, there may be a arbitrary number of
7780 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
7782 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
7783 port 15 from that machine. This is what the select method should
7787 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
7790 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
7791 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example.
7793 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
7794 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
7795 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
7799 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
7802 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
7805 Here's the method for a public spool:
7809 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
7810 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
7814 @node Creating a Virtual Server
7815 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
7817 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
7818 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
7820 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
7821 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
7822 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
7824 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
7826 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
7827 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
7828 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
7829 will contain the following:
7839 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
7840 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
7841 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
7844 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
7845 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
7846 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
7849 @node Servers and Methods
7850 @subsection Servers and Methods
7852 Wherever you would normally use a select method
7853 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
7854 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
7855 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
7859 @node Unavailable Servers
7860 @subsection Unavailable Servers
7862 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
7863 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
7864 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
7865 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
7866 actually the case or not.
7868 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
7869 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to the server
7870 @samp{nepholococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
7871 away from you, the machine is quite, so it takes 1 minute just to find
7872 out that it refuses connection from you today. If Gnus were to attempt
7873 to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't attempt to do
7874 that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'', it will
7875 regard that server as ``down''.
7877 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
7878 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
7880 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
7881 with the following commands:
7887 @findex gnus-server-open-server
7888 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
7889 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
7893 @findex gnus-server-close-server
7894 Close the connection (if any) to the server
7895 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
7899 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
7900 Mark the current server as unreachable
7901 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
7904 @kindex M-o (Server)
7905 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
7906 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
7907 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
7910 @kindex M-c (Server)
7911 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
7912 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
7913 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
7917 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
7918 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from all servers
7919 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
7925 @section Getting News
7926 @cindex reading news
7927 @cindex news backends
7929 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
7930 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
7931 or it can read from a local spool.
7934 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
7935 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
7940 @subsection @sc{nntp}
7943 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
7944 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
7945 server as the, uhm, address.
7947 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
7948 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
7949 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
7950 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
7952 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
7953 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
7954 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
7956 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
7961 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
7962 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
7963 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
7965 @cindex authentification
7966 @cindex nntp authentification
7967 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
7968 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
7969 @code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
7970 It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
7971 been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
7972 the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function.
7974 @item nntp-authinfo-function
7975 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
7976 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
7977 server. Available functions include:
7980 @item nntp-send-authinfo
7981 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
7982 This function will used you current login name as the user name and will
7983 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
7985 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
7986 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
7987 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
7989 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
7990 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
7991 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
7992 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
7995 @item nntp-server-action-alist
7996 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
7997 This is an list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
7998 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
7999 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8002 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8006 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8008 The default value is
8011 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8012 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8015 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8016 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8018 @item nntp-maximum-request
8019 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8020 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8021 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8022 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8023 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8024 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8025 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8027 @item nntp-connection-timeout
8028 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8029 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8030 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
8031 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
8032 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
8033 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
8034 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
8035 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
8036 no timeouts are done.
8038 @item nntp-command-timeout
8039 @vindex nntp-command-timeout
8040 @cindex PPP connections
8041 @cindex dynamic IP addresses
8042 If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
8043 address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
8044 changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
8045 waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
8046 unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
8047 then, if it sits waiting longer than that number of seconds for a reply
8048 from the server, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
8049 the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
8050 likely number is 30 seconds.
8052 @item nntp-retry-on-break
8053 @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8054 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8055 hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8058 @item nntp-server-hook
8059 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8060 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8063 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8064 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8065 @item nntp-open-server-function
8066 @vindex nntp-open-server-function
8067 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
8068 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8069 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8070 is @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an rlogin on the remote system,
8071 and then does a telnet to the @sc{nntp} server available there.
8073 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8074 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8075 If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
8076 @code{nntp-open-server-function}, this list will be used as the
8077 parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8079 @item nntp-end-of-line
8080 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
8081 String to use as end-of-line markers when talking to the @sc{nntp}
8082 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
8083 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
8085 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8086 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8087 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
8091 @vindex nntp-address
8092 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
8094 @item nntp-port-number
8095 @vindex nntp-port-number
8096 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
8099 @item nntp-buggy-select
8100 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
8101 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
8103 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
8104 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
8105 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
8106 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks whether @sc{nov}
8107 can be used automatically.
8109 @item nntp-xover-commands
8110 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
8113 List of strings that are used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
8114 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
8118 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
8119 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
8120 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
8121 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
8122 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
8123 lines that you do not want, and will not use. This variable says how
8124 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
8125 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
8126 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
8127 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
8128 @code{nntp} will never split requests.
8130 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
8131 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
8132 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
8134 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8135 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8136 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
8137 server closes connection.
8143 @subsection News Spool
8147 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
8148 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
8149 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
8152 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
8153 anything else) as the address.
8155 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
8156 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
8157 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
8158 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
8162 @item nnspool-inews-program
8163 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
8164 Program used to post an article.
8166 @item nnspool-inews-switches
8167 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
8168 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
8170 @item nnspool-spool-directory
8171 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
8172 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
8173 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
8175 @item nnspool-nov-directory
8176 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
8177 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
8178 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
8180 @item nnspool-lib-dir
8181 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
8182 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
8184 @item nnspool-active-file
8185 @vindex nnspool-active-file
8186 The path of the active file.
8188 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
8189 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
8190 The path of the group descriptions file.
8192 @item nnspool-history-file
8193 @vindex nnspool-history-file
8194 The path of the news history file.
8196 @item nnspool-active-times-file
8197 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
8198 The path of the active date file.
8200 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
8201 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
8202 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
8205 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8206 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8208 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
8209 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
8210 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
8216 @section Getting Mail
8217 @cindex reading mail
8220 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
8224 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
8225 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
8226 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
8227 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
8228 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
8229 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
8230 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
8231 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
8232 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
8233 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
8234 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
8238 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
8239 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
8241 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
8242 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
8243 and things will happen automatically.
8245 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a one file per
8246 mail backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
8249 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
8250 '((nnml "private")))
8253 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
8254 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
8255 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
8256 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
8257 like any other group.
8259 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
8262 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8263 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8264 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8268 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
8269 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
8270 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
8273 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
8274 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though,
8275 especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
8278 @node Splitting Mail
8279 @subsection Splitting Mail
8280 @cindex splitting mail
8281 @cindex mail splitting
8283 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
8284 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
8285 to be split into groups.
8288 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8289 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8290 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8294 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
8295 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
8296 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
8297 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
8298 determine if it belongs in this mail group.
8300 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
8301 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
8304 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
8305 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
8306 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
8307 mail belongs in that group.
8309 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
8310 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any
8311 mails that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps.
8313 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
8314 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
8315 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
8316 message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
8317 thinks should carry this mail message.
8319 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
8320 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
8321 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
8322 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
8324 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
8325 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
8326 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
8327 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
8328 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
8330 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
8333 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
8334 the crossposted articles. However, not all files systems support hard
8335 links. If that's the case for you, set
8336 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
8337 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
8339 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
8340 @kindex nnmail-split-history
8341 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
8342 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
8344 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
8345 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
8346 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
8347 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
8348 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
8349 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
8350 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
8351 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
8355 @node Mail Backend Variables
8356 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
8358 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
8362 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8363 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8364 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
8365 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
8367 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
8368 @item nnmail-spool-file
8372 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
8373 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
8374 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
8375 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
8376 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
8377 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
8378 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
8379 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
8380 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
8381 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
8382 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
8383 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
8384 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
8385 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
8386 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
8388 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--use-pop} before
8389 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
8392 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
8393 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
8394 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
8395 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
8396 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
8397 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
8399 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
8400 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8401 @item nnmail-use-procmail
8402 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
8403 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
8404 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
8405 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
8408 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
8409 @item nnmail-crash-box
8410 When the mail backends read a spool file, it is first moved to this
8411 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
8412 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
8415 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8416 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8417 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
8418 used for, well, anything, really.
8420 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
8421 @item nnmail-split-hook
8422 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
8423 @findex RFC1522 decoding
8424 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
8425 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
8426 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
8427 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
8428 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{article-decode-rfc1522}
8429 is one likely function to add to this hook.
8431 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8432 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8433 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8434 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8435 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
8436 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
8437 starting to handle the new mail) and
8438 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
8439 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
8440 default file modes the new mail files get:
8443 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8444 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
8446 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
8447 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
8450 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
8451 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
8452 This variable says where to move the incoming mail to while processing
8453 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
8454 inhabits (i.e., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
8455 it will be used instead.
8457 @item nnmail-movemail-program
8458 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
8459 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
8460 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
8462 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
8463 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
8466 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
8467 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
8468 @cindex incoming mail files
8469 @cindex deleting incoming files
8470 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
8471 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{nil} by
8472 default for reasons of security.
8474 Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
8475 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
8476 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point.) By not deleting the
8477 Incoming* files, one can be sure to not lose mail -- if Gnus totally
8478 whacks out, one can always recover what was lost.
8480 Delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
8482 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
8483 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
8484 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
8485 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories like
8486 @file{mail.misc/}. If it is @code{nil}, the same group will end up in
8489 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
8490 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
8492 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
8497 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
8498 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
8499 @cindex mail splitting
8500 @cindex fancy mail splitting
8502 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
8503 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
8504 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
8505 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
8506 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
8507 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
8509 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
8512 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
8513 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
8514 ;; from real errors.
8515 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
8517 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
8518 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
8519 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
8520 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
8521 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
8522 ;; Other mailing lists...
8523 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
8524 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
8526 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
8527 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
8531 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
8532 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
8533 the five possible split syntaxes:
8538 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
8541 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, and the first
8542 element is a string, then that means that if header FIELD (a regexp)
8543 contains VALUE (also a regexp), then store the message as specified by
8547 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8548 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
8549 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
8550 be stored in one or more groups.
8553 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8554 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
8557 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
8558 this message anywhere.
8562 In these splits, FIELD must match a complete field name. VALUE must
8563 match a complete word according to the fundamental mode syntax table.
8564 You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial field names or
8567 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
8568 FIELD and VALUE can also be lisp symbols, in that case they are expanded
8569 as specified by the variable @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is
8570 an alist of cons cells, where the car of the cells contains the key, and
8571 the cdr contains a string.
8573 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
8574 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
8575 when all this splitting is performed.
8578 @node Mail and Procmail
8579 @subsection Mail and Procmail
8584 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
8585 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
8586 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
8587 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
8588 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
8590 This also means that you probably don't want to set
8591 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
8594 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
8595 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
8596 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends (except
8597 @code{nnmh}) actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
8598 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
8599 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
8601 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) what groups
8604 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example.
8606 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
8607 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
8609 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
8610 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
8611 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
8612 to include all your mail groups.
8614 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
8615 method will be created automatically.
8617 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8618 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
8619 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
8620 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
8621 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
8622 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
8623 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
8624 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
8626 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
8627 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
8628 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
8629 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
8630 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
8632 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8633 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
8634 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
8635 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
8636 ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
8639 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
8640 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i. e., the incoming
8641 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
8642 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
8643 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
8646 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
8647 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
8648 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
8649 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
8650 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
8654 @node Incorporating Old Mail
8655 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
8657 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
8658 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
8659 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
8662 Doing so can be quite easy.
8664 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
8665 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
8666 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
8667 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
8668 your @code{nnml} groups.
8674 Go to the group buffer.
8677 Type `G f' and give the path of the mbox file when prompted to create an
8678 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8681 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
8684 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group (@pxref{Setting
8688 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
8689 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
8692 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
8693 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
8694 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
8695 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
8696 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
8698 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
8699 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
8700 using the new mail backend.
8704 @subsection Expiring Mail
8705 @cindex article expiry
8707 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
8708 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
8709 different approach to mail reading.
8711 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
8712 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
8713 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
8714 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
8715 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
8716 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
8719 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
8720 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
8721 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
8722 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
8723 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
8724 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
8725 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
8726 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
8728 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8729 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
8730 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
8731 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
8732 articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
8733 column in the summary buffer.
8735 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
8736 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
8739 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8740 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
8743 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
8744 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
8746 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
8747 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
8748 expirable article has to live. The default is seven days.
8750 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
8751 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
8752 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
8753 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
8756 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8758 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8760 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
8762 ((string= group "mail.junk")
8764 ((string= group "important")
8770 The group names that this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
8771 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
8773 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
8774 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can be either a number (not
8775 necessarily an integer) or the symbols @code{immediate} or
8778 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
8779 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8781 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8782 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
8783 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
8784 easier for procmail users.
8786 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
8787 By the way, that line up there about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
8788 articles is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
8789 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
8790 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
8791 caution. Even more dangerous is the
8792 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
8793 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
8794 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
8795 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
8796 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
8797 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
8798 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
8803 @subsection Washing Mail
8804 @cindex mail washing
8805 @cindex list server brain damage
8806 @cindex incoming mail treatment
8808 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
8809 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
8810 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
8811 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
8812 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
8813 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
8815 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
8816 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
8817 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
8820 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
8821 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
8822 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
8823 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
8826 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8827 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8828 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
8829 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
8832 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
8833 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
8834 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
8835 Emacs running on MS machines.
8839 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
8840 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
8841 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
8842 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
8845 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
8846 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
8847 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
8848 headers too make them look nice. Aaah.
8850 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
8851 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
8852 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
8853 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
8854 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
8855 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
8856 also be a list of regexp.
8858 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
8859 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
8862 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
8863 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
8866 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
8867 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
8868 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
8872 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
8873 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
8874 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
8878 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
8879 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
8880 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
8887 @subsection Duplicates
8889 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
8890 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
8891 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
8892 @cindex duplicate mails
8893 If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
8894 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
8895 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
8896 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
8897 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
8898 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
8899 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
8900 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
8901 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
8902 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
8903 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
8904 will generate a brand new @code{Message-ID} for the mail and insert a
8905 warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks that this is a
8906 duplicate of a different message.
8908 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
8909 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
8910 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
8911 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
8913 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
8916 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
8917 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
8921 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
8922 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
8923 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
8924 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
8925 (any mail "mail.misc")
8932 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8933 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
8938 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
8939 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
8940 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
8941 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
8942 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
8945 @node Not Reading Mail
8946 @subsection Not Reading Mail
8948 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
8949 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
8950 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
8952 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
8953 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
8955 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8956 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
8957 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
8958 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
8959 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
8960 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
8961 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
8962 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
8963 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
8964 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
8965 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
8967 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
8968 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
8972 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
8973 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
8975 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
8976 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
8977 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
8980 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
8981 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
8982 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
8983 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
8984 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
8989 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
8991 @cindex unix mail box
8993 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
8994 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
8995 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
8996 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
8997 which group it belongs in.
8999 Virtual server settings:
9002 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
9003 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9004 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
9006 @item nnmbox-active-file
9007 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9008 The name of the active file for the mail box.
9010 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
9011 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9012 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
9018 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
9022 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9023 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9024 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
9025 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
9026 article to say which group it belongs in.
9028 Virtual server settings:
9031 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
9032 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9033 The name of the rmail mbox file.
9035 @item nnbabyl-active-file
9036 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9037 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
9039 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9040 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9041 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
9046 @subsubsection Mail Spool
9048 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
9050 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
9051 format. It should be used with some caution.
9053 @vindex nnml-directory
9054 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files;
9055 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the correct
9056 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
9057 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
9059 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
9062 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
9063 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
9064 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
9065 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
9066 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
9067 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
9068 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
9069 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
9071 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
9072 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
9073 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes is the fastest
9074 backend when it comes to reading mail.
9076 Virtual server settings:
9079 @item nnml-directory
9080 @vindex nnml-directory
9081 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
9083 @item nnml-active-file
9084 @vindex nnml-active-file
9085 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
9087 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
9088 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
9089 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
9092 @item nnml-get-new-mail
9093 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9094 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
9096 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
9097 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
9098 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
9100 @item nnml-nov-file-name
9101 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
9102 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
9104 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9105 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9106 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
9110 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
9111 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
9112 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
9113 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
9114 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
9115 might take a while to complete.
9119 @subsubsection MH Spool
9121 @cindex mh-e mail spool
9123 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
9124 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
9125 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
9126 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
9128 Virtual server settings:
9131 @item nnmh-directory
9132 @vindex nnmh-directory
9133 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
9135 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
9136 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9137 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
9140 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
9141 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
9142 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
9143 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
9144 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
9145 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
9146 to set this variable to @code{t}.
9151 @subsubsection Mail Folders
9153 @cindex mbox folders
9154 @cindex mail folders
9156 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
9157 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
9158 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
9161 Virtual server settings:
9164 @item nnfolder-directory
9165 @vindex nnfolder-directory
9166 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
9168 @item nnfolder-active-file
9169 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
9170 The name of the active file.
9172 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9173 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9174 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
9176 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
9177 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9178 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
9181 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
9182 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
9183 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
9184 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
9185 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
9186 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
9190 @section Other Sources
9192 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
9193 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
9197 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
9198 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
9199 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
9200 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
9201 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
9202 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
9206 @node Directory Groups
9207 @subsection Directory Groups
9209 @cindex directory groups
9211 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
9212 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
9215 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp}, that most
9216 wonderful of all wonderful Emacs packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I
9217 didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
9219 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
9220 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
9221 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the the directory name,
9222 @code{ange-ftp} will actually allow you to read this directory over at
9223 @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
9225 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
9227 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
9228 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
9229 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
9230 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
9233 @node Anything Groups
9234 @subsection Anything Groups
9237 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
9238 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
9239 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
9242 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
9243 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
9244 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
9245 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
9246 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
9247 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
9248 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
9249 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
9250 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
9251 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
9254 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
9255 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
9256 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
9257 in the article buffer, just as usual.
9259 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
9260 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
9261 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
9262 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
9264 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
9265 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
9266 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
9267 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
9268 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
9269 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
9270 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
9271 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
9276 @item nneething-map-file-directory
9277 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
9278 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
9279 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
9281 @item nneething-exclude-files
9282 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
9283 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
9284 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
9286 @item nneething-map-file
9287 @vindex nneething-map-file
9288 Name of the map files.
9292 @node Document Groups
9293 @subsection Document Groups
9295 @cindex documentation group
9298 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
9299 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
9306 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
9311 The standard Unix mbox file.
9313 @cindex MMDF mail box
9315 The MMDF mail box format.
9318 Several news articles appended into a file.
9321 @cindex rnews batch files
9322 The rnews batch transport format.
9323 @cindex forwarded messages
9332 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
9333 @cindex RFC 341 digest
9334 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
9336 @item standard-digest
9337 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
9340 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
9343 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
9344 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
9345 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
9348 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
9349 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
9350 group. And that's it.
9352 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
9353 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
9354 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
9355 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
9356 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
9357 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
9358 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
9359 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
9360 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
9361 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
9363 Virtual server variables:
9366 @item nndoc-article-type
9367 @vindex nndoc-article-type
9368 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
9369 @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{news}, @code{rnews},
9370 @code{mime-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, or @code{guess}.
9372 @item nndoc-post-type
9373 @vindex nndoc-post-type
9374 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
9375 a mail group. There are two legal values: @code{mail} (the default)
9380 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
9384 @node Document Server Internals
9385 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
9387 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
9388 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
9389 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
9390 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
9392 First, here's an example document type definition:
9396 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
9397 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
9400 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
9401 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
9402 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
9403 types can be defined with very few settings:
9407 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
9408 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
9412 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
9413 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
9415 @item head-begin-function
9416 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
9419 @item nndoc-head-begin
9420 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
9423 @item nndoc-head-end
9424 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
9425 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
9427 @item body-begin-function
9428 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
9432 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
9435 @item body-end-function
9436 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
9440 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
9442 @item nndoc-file-end
9443 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
9444 regexp will be totally ignored.
9448 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
9449 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
9450 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
9451 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
9452 something that's palatable for Gnus:
9455 @item prepare-body-function
9456 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
9457 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
9458 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
9460 @item article-transform-function
9461 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
9462 meant to be used how more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
9463 body of the article.
9465 @item generate-head-function
9466 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
9467 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
9468 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
9469 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
9473 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
9478 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9479 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9480 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
9481 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
9483 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
9484 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
9485 (subtype digest guess))
9488 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
9489 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
9490 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
9491 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
9492 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
9494 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
9495 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
9496 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
9497 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
9498 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for each
9499 type. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
9500 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
9501 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
9502 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
9503 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
9504 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest legal number.
9512 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
9513 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
9514 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
9516 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
9517 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
9518 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
9521 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
9522 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
9523 that interested in doing things properly.
9525 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
9526 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
9532 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
9533 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie, or you can use Gnus to create the
9534 packet with the @kbd{O s} command.
9537 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
9540 You put the packet in your home directory.
9543 You fire up Gnus using the @code{nnsoup} backend as the native server.
9546 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
9550 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
9554 You transfer this packet to the server.
9557 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
9560 You then repeat until you die.
9564 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
9565 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
9568 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
9569 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
9570 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
9575 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
9579 @kindex G s b (Group)
9580 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
9581 Pack all unread articles in the current group
9582 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
9583 process/prefix convention.
9586 @kindex G s w (Group)
9587 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
9588 Save all data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
9591 @kindex G s s (Group)
9592 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
9593 Send all replies from the replies packet
9594 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
9597 @kindex G s p (Group)
9598 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
9599 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
9602 @kindex G s r (Group)
9603 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
9604 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
9607 @kindex O s (Summary)
9608 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
9609 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
9610 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
9616 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
9621 @item gnus-soup-directory
9622 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
9623 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
9624 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
9626 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
9627 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
9628 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
9629 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
9631 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
9632 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
9633 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
9636 @item gnus-soup-packer
9637 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
9638 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9639 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
9641 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
9642 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
9643 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9644 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9646 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
9647 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
9648 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
9650 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9651 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9652 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
9653 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
9659 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
9662 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
9663 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
9664 you can read them at leisure.
9666 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
9670 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
9671 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
9672 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
9673 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
9675 @item nnsoup-directory
9676 @vindex nnsoup-directory
9677 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
9678 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
9680 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
9681 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
9682 All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
9683 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
9685 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
9686 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
9687 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
9688 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
9689 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
9691 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
9692 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
9693 The index type of the replies packet. The is @samp{?n}, which means
9694 ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
9696 @item nnsoup-active-file
9697 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
9698 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
9699 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
9700 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
9701 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
9704 @vindex nnsoup-packer
9705 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
9706 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
9708 @item nnsoup-unpacker
9709 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
9710 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
9711 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9713 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
9714 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
9715 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
9718 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
9719 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
9720 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
9727 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
9729 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
9730 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
9731 more for that to happen.
9733 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
9734 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
9735 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
9738 In specific, this is what it does:
9741 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
9742 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
9745 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
9746 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
9747 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
9751 @subsection Web Searches
9756 @cindex Usenet searches
9757 @cindex searching the Usenet
9759 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
9760 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
9761 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
9762 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
9763 searches without having to use a browser.
9765 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
9766 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
9767 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
9768 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
9769 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
9771 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
9772 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
9773 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
9774 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
9775 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@code{Duplicate
9776 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
9777 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
9778 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
9779 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
9780 header---mark all articles that were posted before the last date you
9781 read the group as read.
9783 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
9784 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
9785 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
9786 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
9787 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
9788 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
9790 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
9791 to use @code{nnweb}.
9793 Virtual server variables:
9798 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
9799 are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
9802 @vindex nnweb-search
9803 The search string to feed to the search engine.
9805 @item nnweb-max-hits
9806 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
9807 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
9810 @item nnweb-type-definition
9811 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
9812 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
9813 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
9818 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
9822 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
9825 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
9828 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
9832 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
9839 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
9840 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
9841 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
9844 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
9845 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
9846 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
9848 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
9854 @item nngateway-address
9855 @vindex nngateway-address
9856 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
9858 @item nngateway-header-transformation
9859 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
9860 News headers have often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
9861 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
9862 transformation should be called, and defaults to
9863 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
9864 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
9867 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
9868 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address---an article with this
9869 @code{Newsgroups} header:
9872 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
9875 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
9878 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
9883 So, to use this, simply say something like:
9886 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
9890 @node Combined Groups
9891 @section Combined Groups
9893 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
9897 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
9898 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
9902 @node Virtual Groups
9903 @subsection Virtual Groups
9905 @cindex virtual groups
9907 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
9910 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small group, you can
9911 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
9912 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
9914 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
9915 regexp to match component groups.
9917 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
9918 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
9919 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
9920 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
9923 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
9924 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
9927 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
9930 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
9931 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
9933 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
9934 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
9935 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
9936 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
9939 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
9942 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
9943 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
9944 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
9945 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
9946 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}.
9948 One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
9949 group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
9950 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
9952 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
9953 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
9954 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
9955 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
9956 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
9957 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
9958 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
9959 effect if you have two virtual groups that contain the same component
9960 group. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
9961 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
9962 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
9965 @node Kibozed Groups
9966 @subsection Kibozed Groups
9970 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
9971 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
9972 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
9973 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
9976 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
9979 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
9980 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
9981 @code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
9982 and @code{nnvirtual} ends.
9984 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
9985 must have a score file to say what articles that are to be included in
9986 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
9988 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
9989 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
9990 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
9991 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
9992 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
9993 all the articles in all the components groups and run them through the
9994 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
9995 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
9997 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
9998 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
9999 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
10000 Stranger things have happened.
10002 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
10003 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
10005 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
10006 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
10007 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
10008 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
10009 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
10010 on what groups that have been searched through to find component
10013 Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
10014 @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
10021 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
10022 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
10023 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
10026 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
10027 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
10028 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
10029 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
10030 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
10032 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
10033 before generating the summary buffer.
10035 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
10036 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
10037 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
10039 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
10040 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
10041 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
10042 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
10045 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
10046 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
10047 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
10048 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
10049 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
10050 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus @emph{knows} what you read.
10051 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
10052 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
10053 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
10054 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
10055 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
10056 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
10057 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
10058 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
10059 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
10063 @node Summary Score Commands
10064 @section Summary Score Commands
10065 @cindex score commands
10067 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
10068 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
10069 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
10070 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
10071 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
10073 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
10074 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
10075 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
10076 score file the current one.
10078 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
10083 @kindex V s (Summary)
10084 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
10085 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
10088 @kindex V S (Summary)
10089 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
10090 Display the score of the current article
10091 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
10094 @kindex V t (Summary)
10095 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
10096 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
10097 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
10100 @kindex V R (Summary)
10101 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
10102 Run the current summary through the scoring process
10103 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
10104 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
10105 effect you're having.
10108 @kindex V a (Summary)
10109 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
10110 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
10111 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
10114 @kindex V c (Summary)
10115 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
10116 Make a different score file the current
10117 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
10120 @kindex V e (Summary)
10121 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
10122 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
10123 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
10127 @kindex V f (Summary)
10128 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
10129 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
10130 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
10133 @kindex V F (Summary)
10134 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10135 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
10136 after editing score files.
10139 @kindex V C (Summary)
10140 @findex gnus-score-customize
10141 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
10142 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
10145 @kindex I C-i (Summary)
10146 @findex gnus-summary-raise-score
10147 Increase the score of the current article
10148 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-score}).
10151 @kindex L C-l (Summary)
10152 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
10153 Lower the score of the current article
10154 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-score}).
10157 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
10162 @kindex V m (Summary)
10163 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
10164 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
10165 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
10168 @kindex V x (Summary)
10169 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
10170 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
10171 expunge all articles below this score
10172 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
10175 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
10176 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
10181 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
10182 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
10184 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
10185 keys are available:
10189 Score on the author name.
10192 Score on the subject line.
10195 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
10198 Score on thread---the References line.
10204 Score on the number of lines.
10207 Score on the Message-ID.
10210 Score on followups.
10220 The third key is the match type. Which match types are legal depends on
10221 what headers you are scoring on.
10233 Substring matching.
10265 Greater than number.
10270 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
10271 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
10272 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
10276 Temporary score entry.
10279 Permanent score entry.
10282 Immediately scoring.
10287 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
10288 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
10289 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
10290 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
10292 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
10293 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
10294 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
10295 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
10296 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
10298 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
10299 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
10300 pretend they are keymaps or not.
10303 @node Group Score Commands
10304 @section Group Score Commands
10305 @cindex group score commands
10307 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
10312 @kindex W f (Group)
10313 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10314 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
10315 all the time. This command will flush the cache
10316 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
10321 @node Score Variables
10322 @section Score Variables
10323 @cindex score variables
10327 @item gnus-use-scoring
10328 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
10329 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
10330 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
10332 @item gnus-kill-killed
10333 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
10334 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
10335 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
10336 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
10337 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
10338 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
10339 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
10341 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
10342 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
10343 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
10344 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
10345 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
10347 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
10348 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
10349 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
10350 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
10352 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10353 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10354 @cindex score cache
10355 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
10356 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
10357 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files that are
10358 unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
10359 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
10360 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
10361 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
10364 @item gnus-save-score
10365 @vindex gnus-save-score
10366 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
10367 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
10368 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
10370 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10371 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10372 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
10373 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
10374 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
10375 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
10376 manually entered data.
10378 @item gnus-summary-default-score
10379 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
10380 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
10382 @item gnus-score-over-mark
10383 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
10384 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
10385 default. Default is @samp{+}.
10387 @item gnus-score-below-mark
10388 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
10389 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
10390 default. Default is @samp{-}.
10392 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10393 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10394 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
10395 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
10397 Predefined functions available are:
10400 @item gnus-score-find-single
10401 @findex gnus-score-find-single
10402 Only apply the group's own score file.
10404 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
10405 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
10406 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
10407 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
10408 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
10409 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
10410 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
10411 then a regexp match is done.
10413 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
10414 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
10416 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
10417 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
10418 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
10419 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
10421 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10422 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10423 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
10424 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
10425 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
10428 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
10429 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
10430 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
10431 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
10432 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
10433 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
10436 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
10437 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
10438 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
10439 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
10440 are expired. It's 7 by default.
10442 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10443 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10444 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
10445 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
10446 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
10447 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
10448 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
10451 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10452 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10453 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
10458 @node Score File Format
10459 @section Score File Format
10460 @cindex score file format
10462 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
10463 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
10464 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
10466 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
10470 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
10472 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
10474 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
10476 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
10481 (mark-and-expunge -10)
10485 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
10486 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
10487 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
10488 (gnus-summary-make-false-root 'empty))
10492 This example demonstrates absolutely everything about a score file.
10494 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
10495 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
10496 has to be legal syntactically, if not semantically.
10498 Six keys are supported by this alist:
10503 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
10504 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
10505 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
10506 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
10507 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
10508 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
10509 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
10510 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
10511 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
10512 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
10513 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
10514 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
10515 to articles that matches these score entries.
10517 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
10518 score entry has one to four elements.
10522 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
10523 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
10527 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
10528 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
10529 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
10530 is successful. If this element is not present, the
10531 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
10532 instead. This is 1000 by default.
10535 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
10536 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
10537 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
10538 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
10539 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 ce.
10542 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
10543 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
10544 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
10545 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
10548 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
10549 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
10550 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
10551 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
10552 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
10553 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
10554 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
10555 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
10556 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
10557 instead, if you feel like.
10560 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
10561 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
10564 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
10565 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
10566 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
10567 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
10568 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
10569 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
10570 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
10574 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
10575 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
10576 ISO8601 compact format first---@samp{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}. If you want to
10577 match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in every year, you
10578 could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string, for instance.
10579 (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so this will
10580 match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where the article
10581 was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the whole
10584 @item Head, Body, All
10585 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
10589 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
10590 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
10591 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
10592 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
10593 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
10594 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
10598 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
10599 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread that is
10600 started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
10601 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
10602 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
10603 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
10604 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
10605 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
10606 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
10607 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread.
10612 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10613 lower than this number will be marked as read.
10616 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10617 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
10619 @item mark-and-expunge
10620 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10621 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
10624 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
10625 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
10626 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
10627 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
10628 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
10631 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
10632 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
10635 @item exclude-files
10636 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
10637 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
10641 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
10642 ignored when handling global score files.
10645 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
10646 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
10649 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
10650 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
10651 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
10652 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
10654 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
10658 (mark-and-expunge -100)
10661 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
10662 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
10663 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
10664 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
10665 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
10667 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
10668 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
10669 ordinary scoring rules.
10672 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
10673 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
10674 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
10675 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
10676 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
10677 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
10678 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10679 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
10680 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
10681 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
10682 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
10686 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
10687 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
10688 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
10689 file for a number of groups.
10692 @cindex local variables
10693 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
10694 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
10695 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
10696 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
10701 @node Score File Editing
10702 @section Score File Editing
10704 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
10705 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
10706 with a mode for that.
10708 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
10709 additional commands:
10714 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
10715 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
10716 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
10717 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
10720 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
10721 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
10722 Insert the current date in numerical format
10723 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
10724 you were wondering.
10727 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
10728 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
10729 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
10730 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
10731 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
10736 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
10738 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
10739 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
10741 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
10742 e} to begin editing score files.
10745 @node Adaptive Scoring
10746 @section Adaptive Scoring
10747 @cindex adaptive scoring
10749 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
10750 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
10751 stupidity, to be precise.
10753 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
10754 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
10755 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
10756 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
10757 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10758 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
10759 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
10760 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
10761 variable to @code{(word line)}.
10763 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
10764 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
10765 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
10766 might look something like this:
10769 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
10770 '((gnus-unread-mark)
10771 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
10772 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
10773 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
10774 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
10775 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
10776 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
10777 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
10778 (gnus-ancient-mark)
10779 (gnus-low-score-mark)
10780 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
10783 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
10784 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
10785 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
10786 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
10787 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
10788 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
10791 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
10792 will be applied to each article.
10794 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
10795 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
10796 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
10797 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
10799 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
10800 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
10801 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
10802 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
10804 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
10805 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
10806 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
10807 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
10808 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
10809 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
10811 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
10812 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
10813 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
10814 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
10815 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
10816 aspirins afterwards.)
10818 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
10819 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
10820 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
10822 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
10823 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
10824 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
10826 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
10827 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
10828 let you use different rules in different groups.
10830 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
10831 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
10832 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
10835 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
10836 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
10837 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
10838 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
10839 the length of the match is less than
10840 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
10841 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
10844 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
10845 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
10846 headers. If you adapt on words, the
10847 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
10848 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
10851 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
10852 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
10853 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
10854 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
10855 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
10858 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
10859 word that appears in subjects of articles that are marked with
10860 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
10861 score with 30 points.
10863 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
10864 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
10865 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
10866 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
10867 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
10869 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
10870 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
10871 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
10872 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
10874 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
10875 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
10876 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
10879 @node Home Score File
10880 @section Home Score File
10882 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
10883 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
10884 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
10885 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
10887 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
10888 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
10889 could perhaps use the same home score file.
10891 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
10892 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
10897 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
10901 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
10902 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
10906 A list. The elements in this list can be:
10910 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
10911 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
10914 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
10915 the home score file.
10918 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
10921 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
10926 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
10929 (setq gnus-home-score-file
10930 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
10933 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
10934 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
10937 (setq gnus-home-score-file
10938 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
10941 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
10943 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
10944 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
10945 their own home score files:
10948 (setq gnus-home-score-file
10949 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
10950 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
10951 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
10952 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
10955 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
10956 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
10957 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
10958 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
10959 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
10961 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
10962 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
10963 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
10964 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
10965 precedence over this variable.
10968 @node Followups To Yourself
10969 @section Followups To Yourself
10971 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
10972 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
10973 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
10974 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
10975 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
10976 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
10980 @item gnus-score-followup-article
10981 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
10982 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
10985 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
10986 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
10987 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
10991 @vindex message-sent-hook
10992 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
10993 @code{message-sent-hook}.
10995 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
10996 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
11000 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11001 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11004 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
11005 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
11010 "<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf@@.*eyesore.no>" 1000 nil r)
11013 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
11014 is system-dependent.
11018 @section Scoring Tips
11019 @cindex scoring tips
11025 @cindex scoring crossposts
11026 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
11027 the @code{Xref} header.
11029 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
11032 @item Multiple crossposts
11033 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
11034 more than, say, 3 groups:
11036 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
11039 @item Matching on the body
11040 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
11041 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
11042 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
11043 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
11044 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
11045 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
11046 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
11049 @item Marking as read
11050 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
11051 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
11052 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
11056 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
11058 @item Negated character classes
11059 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
11060 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
11061 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
11065 @node Reverse Scoring
11066 @section Reverse Scoring
11067 @cindex reverse scoring
11069 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
11070 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
11071 like this in your score file:
11075 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
11080 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
11081 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
11084 @node Global Score Files
11085 @section Global Score Files
11086 @cindex global score files
11088 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
11089 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
11090 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
11092 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
11093 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
11094 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
11096 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
11097 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
11098 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
11099 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
11100 files are applicable to which group.
11102 Say you want to use the score file
11103 @file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
11104 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
11107 (setq gnus-global-score-files
11108 '("/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
11109 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
11112 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
11113 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
11114 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
11115 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
11116 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
11118 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
11119 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
11121 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
11122 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
11123 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
11124 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
11125 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
11126 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
11128 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
11134 Articles that are heavily crossposted are probably junk.
11136 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
11138 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
11140 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
11141 lowered out of existence.
11143 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
11144 articles completely.
11147 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
11148 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
11149 old articles for a long time.
11152 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
11153 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
11154 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
11155 holding our breath yet?
11159 @section Kill Files
11162 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
11163 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
11164 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
11166 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
11167 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
11168 files into score files.
11170 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
11171 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
11172 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
11173 that isn't a very good idea.
11175 Normal kill files look like this:
11178 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11179 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
11183 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove them from
11184 the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
11186 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
11187 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
11190 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
11195 @kindex M-k (Summary)
11196 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
11197 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
11200 @kindex M-K (Summary)
11201 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
11202 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
11205 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
11210 @kindex M-k (Group)
11211 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
11212 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
11215 @kindex M-K (Group)
11216 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
11217 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
11220 Kill file variables:
11223 @item gnus-kill-file-name
11224 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
11225 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
11226 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
11227 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
11228 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
11229 course) is called just @file{KILL}.
11231 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11232 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11233 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
11234 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
11237 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
11238 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
11239 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
11240 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
11241 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
11242 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
11243 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
11244 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
11245 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
11247 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11248 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11249 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
11258 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
11259 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
11260 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
11262 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
11263 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
11264 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
11265 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
11266 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
11267 Once it has found for you some people you agree with it tells you, in
11268 the form of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use
11269 this prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
11273 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
11274 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
11275 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
11276 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
11280 @node Using GroupLens
11281 @subsection Using GroupLens
11283 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
11285 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
11286 better bit in town is at the moment.
11288 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
11292 @item gnus-use-grouplens
11293 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
11294 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
11295 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
11297 @item grouplens-pseudonym
11298 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
11299 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
11300 with the Better Bit Bureau.
11302 @item grouplens-newsgroups
11303 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
11304 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
11308 Thats the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
11309 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
11310 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
11311 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
11312 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
11313 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
11316 @node Rating Articles
11317 @subsection Rating Articles
11319 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
11320 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
11321 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
11322 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
11325 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
11330 @kindex r (GroupLens)
11331 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
11332 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
11335 @kindex k (GroupLens)
11336 @findex grouplens-score-thread
11337 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
11338 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
11339 threads in rec.humor.
11343 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
11344 the score of the article you're reading.
11349 @kindex n (GroupLens)
11350 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
11351 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
11354 @kindex , (GroupLens)
11355 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
11356 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
11360 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
11361 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
11364 @node Displaying Predictions
11365 @subsection Displaying Predictions
11367 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
11368 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
11369 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
11370 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
11371 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
11373 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
11374 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
11375 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
11376 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
11377 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
11378 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
11379 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
11380 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
11381 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
11382 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
11383 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
11384 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
11385 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
11387 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
11388 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
11389 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
11390 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
11392 The following are legal values for that variable.
11395 @item prediction-spot
11396 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
11399 @item confidence-interval
11400 A numeric confidence interval.
11402 @item prediction-bar
11403 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
11405 @item confidence-bar
11406 Numerical confidence.
11408 @item confidence-spot
11409 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
11411 @item prediction-num
11412 Plain-old numeric value.
11414 @item confidence-plus-minus
11415 Prediction +/i confidence.
11420 @node GroupLens Variables
11421 @subsection GroupLens Variables
11425 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
11426 The summary line format used in summary buffers that are GroupLens
11427 enhanced. It accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format
11428 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). The default is
11429 @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
11431 @item grouplens-bbb-host
11432 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
11435 @item grouplens-bbb-port
11436 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
11438 @item grouplens-score-offset
11439 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
11440 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
11443 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
11444 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
11445 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
11450 @node Advanced Scoring
11451 @section Advanced Scoring
11453 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
11454 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
11455 about a particular subject? Or what about if you really don't want to
11456 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
11457 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
11459 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
11463 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
11464 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
11465 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
11469 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
11470 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
11472 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
11473 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
11474 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
11475 non-@code{nil} value.
11477 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
11478 operator, and various match operators.
11485 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11486 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
11487 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
11492 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11493 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
11494 then this operator will return @code{false}.
11499 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
11500 inverse of the value of its argument.
11504 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
11505 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
11506 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
11507 current article. @code{2-} will make score fules apply to the
11508 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
11509 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) say how far back into
11510 the ancestry you want to go.
11512 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
11513 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
11514 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
11515 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
11516 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
11519 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
11520 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
11522 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
11523 when he's talking about Gnus:
11527 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11528 ("subject" "Gnus"))
11534 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
11538 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11545 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
11546 really don't want to read what he's written:
11550 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11551 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
11555 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
11556 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
11557 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
11564 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
11565 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
11566 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
11567 ("body" "white.*socks"))
11571 The possibilities are endless.
11574 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
11575 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
11577 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
11578 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
11579 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
11580 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
11581 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
11582 (@samp{body}, @code{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
11583 @samp{subject}) first.
11585 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
11586 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
11597 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
11598 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
11604 ("subject" "Gnus")))
11611 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
11612 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
11617 @section Score Decays
11618 @cindex score decays
11621 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
11622 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
11623 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
11624 use them in any sensible way.
11626 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
11627 @findex gnus-decay-score
11628 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
11629 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
11630 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
11631 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
11632 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
11633 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
11634 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
11635 definition of that function:
11638 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
11641 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
11643 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
11645 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
11648 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
11649 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
11650 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
11651 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
11655 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
11658 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
11661 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
11665 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
11666 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
11667 the new score, which should be an integer.
11669 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
11670 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
11677 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
11678 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
11679 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
11680 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
11681 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
11682 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
11683 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
11684 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
11685 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
11686 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
11687 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
11688 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
11689 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
11690 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
11691 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
11695 @node Process/Prefix
11696 @section Process/Prefix
11697 @cindex process/prefix convention
11699 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
11700 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
11702 This is a method for figuring out what articles that the user wants the
11703 command to be performed on.
11707 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
11708 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
11709 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
11710 with the current one.
11712 @vindex transient-mark-mode
11713 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
11714 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
11716 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
11717 process mark, perform the operation on the articles that are marked with
11720 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
11721 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
11723 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
11726 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
11727 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
11728 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
11729 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11731 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
11732 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
11733 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
11734 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
11735 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
11736 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
11737 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
11738 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
11742 @section Interactive
11743 @cindex interaction
11747 @item gnus-novice-user
11748 @vindex gnus-novice-user
11749 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
11750 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
11751 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
11752 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
11755 @item gnus-expert-user
11756 @vindex gnus-expert-user
11757 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
11758 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
11759 matter how strange.
11761 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
11762 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
11763 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
11764 is @code{t} by default.
11766 @item gnus-interactive-exit
11767 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
11768 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
11773 @node Formatting Variables
11774 @section Formatting Variables
11775 @cindex formatting variables
11777 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables that
11778 are called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
11779 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
11780 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
11781 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
11784 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
11785 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
11786 lots of percentages everywhere.
11789 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
11790 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
11791 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
11792 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
11795 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
11796 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
11797 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
11798 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
11799 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
11800 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
11801 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
11802 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
11804 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
11805 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
11807 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
11808 @findex gnus-update-format
11809 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
11810 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
11811 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
11812 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
11816 @node Formatting Basics
11817 @subsection Formatting Basics
11819 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
11820 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
11821 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
11823 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
11824 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
11825 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
11826 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
11827 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
11830 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
11831 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
11832 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
11833 less than 4 characters wide.
11836 @node Advanced Formatting
11837 @subsection Advanced Formatting
11839 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
11840 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
11841 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
11842 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
11844 These are the legal modifiers:
11849 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
11853 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
11858 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
11861 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
11866 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
11869 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
11872 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
11875 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
11879 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
11880 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
11881 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
11882 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
11883 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
11884 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
11885 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
11887 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
11888 last operation, padding.
11890 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
11891 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
11892 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
11893 @xref{Compilation}.
11896 @node User-Defined Specs
11897 @subsection User-Defined Specs
11899 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
11900 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
11901 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
11902 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
11903 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
11904 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
11905 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
11906 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
11907 should protect against that.
11909 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
11910 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
11911 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
11912 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
11916 @node Formatting Fonts
11917 @subsection Formatting Fonts
11919 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
11920 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
11921 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
11922 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
11925 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
11926 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
11927 default. If you say @samp{%1[} instead, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1}
11928 instead, and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes
11929 for the @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
11930 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
11932 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
11935 ;; Create three face types.
11936 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
11937 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
11939 ;; We want the article count to be in
11940 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
11941 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
11942 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
11944 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
11945 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
11947 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
11948 (setq gnus-group-line-format
11949 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
11952 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
11953 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
11955 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
11956 mode-line variables.
11959 @node Windows Configuration
11960 @section Windows Configuration
11961 @cindex windows configuration
11963 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
11965 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
11966 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
11967 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
11968 @code{t} by default.
11970 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
11971 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
11972 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
11975 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
11976 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
11977 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
11981 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
11982 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
11983 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
11984 possible names is listed below.
11986 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
11987 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
11990 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
11994 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
11995 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
11996 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
11997 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
11998 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
11999 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
12000 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
12001 size spec per split.
12003 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
12006 Here's a more complicated example:
12009 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
12010 (summary 0.25 point)
12011 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
12015 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
12016 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
12017 occupy, not a percentage.
12019 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
12020 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
12021 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
12022 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
12023 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
12026 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
12029 (article (horizontal 1.0
12034 (summary 0.25 point)
12039 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
12040 @code{horizontal} thingie?
12042 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
12043 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
12044 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
12045 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
12046 the screen is to be given to this strip.
12048 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
12049 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
12050 lines from the splits.
12052 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a legal split
12056 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
12057 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
12058 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
12059 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
12060 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
12061 size = number | frame-params
12062 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
12065 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
12066 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
12067 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
12068 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
12070 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
12071 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
12072 @cindex window height
12073 @cindex window width
12074 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
12075 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
12076 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
12077 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
12078 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
12079 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
12081 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
12082 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
12083 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
12084 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
12086 @findex gnus-configure-frame
12087 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
12088 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
12089 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
12090 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
12091 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
12092 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
12093 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
12094 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
12095 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
12096 configuration list.
12099 (gnus-configure-frame
12103 (article 0.3 point))
12111 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
12112 @code{frame} split:
12115 (gnus-configure-frame
12118 (summary 0.25 point)
12120 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
12121 (user-position . t)
12122 (left . -1) (top . 1))
12127 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
12128 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
12129 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
12130 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
12131 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
12132 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
12135 Here's a list of all possible keys for
12136 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
12138 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
12139 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
12140 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
12141 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
12142 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft},
12143 @code{pipe}, @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}.
12145 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
12146 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
12147 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
12151 (message (horizontal 1.0
12152 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
12154 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
12159 @findex gnus-add-configuration
12160 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
12161 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
12162 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
12163 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
12166 (gnus-add-configuration
12167 '(article (vertical 1.0
12169 (summary .25 point)
12173 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
12174 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
12175 Gnus has been loaded.
12177 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
12178 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
12179 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
12180 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
12181 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
12185 @section Compilation
12186 @cindex compilation
12187 @cindex byte-compilation
12189 @findex gnus-compile
12191 Remember all those line format specification variables?
12192 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
12193 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
12194 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
12195 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
12196 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
12199 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
12200 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
12201 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
12202 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
12203 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
12204 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
12205 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
12209 @section Mode Lines
12212 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
12213 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
12214 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
12215 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
12216 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
12217 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
12218 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
12221 @cindex display-time
12223 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
12224 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
12225 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
12226 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
12227 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
12228 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
12229 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
12230 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
12233 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
12235 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
12236 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
12238 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
12239 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
12240 (length display-time-string)))))
12243 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
12244 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either.
12247 @node Highlighting and Menus
12248 @section Highlighting and Menus
12250 @cindex highlighting
12253 @vindex gnus-visual
12254 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the prettifying Gnus
12255 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
12256 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
12259 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
12260 following elements are legal, and are all included by default:
12263 @item group-highlight
12264 Do highlights in the group buffer.
12265 @item summary-highlight
12266 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
12267 @item article-highlight
12268 Do highlights in the article buffer.
12270 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
12272 Create menus in the group buffer.
12274 Create menus in the summary buffers.
12276 Create menus in the article buffer.
12278 Create menus in the browse buffer.
12280 Create menus in the server buffer.
12282 Create menus in the score buffers.
12284 Create menus in all buffers.
12287 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
12288 buffers, you could say something like:
12291 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
12294 If you want only highlighting and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
12297 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
12300 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
12301 in all Gnus buffers.
12303 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
12306 @item gnus-mouse-face
12307 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
12308 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
12309 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
12311 @item gnus-display-type
12312 @vindex gnus-display-type
12313 This variable is symbol indicating the display type Emacs is running
12314 under. The symbol should be one of @code{color}, @code{grayscale} or
12315 @code{mono}. If Gnus guesses this display attribute wrongly, either set
12316 this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or set the resource
12317 @code{Emacs.displayType} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
12319 @item gnus-background-mode
12320 @vindex gnus-background-mode
12321 This is a symbol indicating the Emacs background brightness. The symbol
12322 should be one of @code{light} or @code{dark}. If Gnus guesses this
12323 frame attribute wrongly, either set this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or
12324 set the resource @code{Emacs.backgroundMode} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
12325 `gnus-display-type'.
12328 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
12332 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
12333 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
12334 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
12336 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
12337 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
12338 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
12340 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
12341 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
12342 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
12344 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
12345 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
12346 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
12348 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
12349 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
12350 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
12352 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
12353 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
12354 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
12365 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
12366 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
12367 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
12368 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
12369 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
12373 @vindex gnus-carpal
12374 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
12375 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
12376 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
12381 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12382 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12383 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
12385 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
12386 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
12387 Face used on buttons.
12389 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
12390 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
12391 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
12393 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12394 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12395 Buttons in the group buffer.
12397 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12398 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12399 Buttons in the summary buffer.
12401 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12402 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12403 Buttons in the server buffer.
12405 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12406 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12407 Buttons in the browse buffer.
12410 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
12411 is either a cons cell where the car contains a text to be displayed and
12412 the cdr contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
12420 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
12421 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
12422 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
12423 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
12424 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
12426 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
12427 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
12428 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
12430 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
12431 been idle for thirty minutes:
12434 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12437 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
12441 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
12444 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter works together
12445 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
12446 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12448 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
12449 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
12450 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
12451 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12453 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
12454 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
12455 @var{idle} minutes.
12457 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
12458 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
12461 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
12462 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
12463 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
12465 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
12466 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
12467 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
12468 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
12470 @vindex gnus-use-demon
12471 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
12472 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
12474 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
12475 your @file{.gnus} file:
12477 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
12479 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12482 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
12483 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
12484 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
12485 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
12486 Some ready-made functions to do this has been created:
12487 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
12488 @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just
12489 put those functions in your @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
12491 @findex gnus-demon-init
12492 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
12493 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
12494 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
12495 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
12496 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
12498 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
12499 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
12500 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
12509 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
12510 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
12512 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
12513 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
12514 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
12515 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
12518 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
12519 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
12520 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
12521 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
12523 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
12524 this will make spam disappear.
12526 There are some variables to customize, of course:
12529 @item gnus-use-nocem
12530 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
12531 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
12534 @item gnus-nocem-groups
12535 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
12536 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
12537 default is @code{("alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
12539 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
12540 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
12541 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
12542 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
12543 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
12544 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
12546 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
12549 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
12550 @cindex Chris Lewis
12551 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
12552 usenet abuse than anybody else.
12555 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
12556 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
12557 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
12559 @item jem@@xpat.com;
12561 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
12564 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
12565 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
12566 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
12569 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
12570 ones you want to listen to.
12572 @item gnus-nocem-directory
12573 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
12574 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
12575 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
12577 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12578 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12579 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
12580 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
12581 might then see old spam.
12589 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
12590 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
12591 over your shoulder as you read news.
12594 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
12595 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
12596 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
12597 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
12598 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
12603 @subsection Picon Basics
12605 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
12608 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
12609 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
12610 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
12611 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
12612 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
12613 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
12614 @code{GIF} formats.
12617 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
12618 your Web browser at
12619 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
12621 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12622 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
12623 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
12626 @node Picon Requirements
12627 @subsection Picon Requirements
12629 To use have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
12630 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
12633 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
12635 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12636 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
12637 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
12638 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
12642 @subsection Easy Picons
12644 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
12645 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
12648 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
12649 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12650 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
12651 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
12656 @subsection Hard Picons
12658 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
12659 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
12660 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
12661 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
12662 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
12666 @item gnus-picons-display-where
12667 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12668 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
12669 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
12670 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
12671 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
12672 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
12673 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
12677 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
12678 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
12680 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
12681 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
12682 displayed at the right time.
12684 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
12685 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12687 @item gnus-article-display-picons
12688 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12689 Looks up and display the picons for the author and the author's domain
12690 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to
12691 the @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12693 @item gnus-group-display-picons
12694 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12695 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
12696 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
12697 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
12698 is set to @code{article}.
12700 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
12701 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12702 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
12703 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12707 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
12708 to the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
12711 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12715 @node Picon Configuration
12716 @subsection Picon Configuration
12718 The following variables offer further control over how things are
12719 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
12720 don't need to worry about.
12723 @item gnus-picons-database
12724 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12725 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
12726 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
12727 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
12729 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
12730 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
12731 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
12734 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
12735 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
12736 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
12737 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc/MISC")} is the default.
12739 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
12740 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
12741 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
12742 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
12743 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
12745 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12746 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12747 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
12748 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
12749 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
12750 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
12752 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
12753 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
12754 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
12755 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
12757 @item gnus-picons-buffer
12758 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
12759 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
12760 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
12769 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
12770 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
12771 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
12773 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
12774 Gnus---it's all just data that is designed to look nice to the user.
12775 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
12776 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
12777 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
12778 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
12779 @code{undo} function.
12781 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
12782 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
12783 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
12784 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
12785 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
12786 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
12787 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
12788 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
12789 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
12790 never be totally undoable.
12792 @findex gnus-undo-mode
12793 @vindex gnus-use-undo
12795 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
12796 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
12797 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
12798 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
12803 @section Moderation
12806 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
12807 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
12808 @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
12811 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
12815 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
12818 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
12820 If you are the moderation of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
12825 You split your incoming mail by matching on
12826 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
12827 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
12830 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
12831 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
12834 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
12835 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
12839 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
12842 (setq gnus-moderated-list
12843 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
12847 @node XEmacs Enhancements
12848 @section XEmacs Enhancements
12851 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
12852 advantage of that. Relevant variables include:
12855 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
12856 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
12857 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
12858 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
12859 unusual directory structure.
12861 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
12862 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
12863 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
12864 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
12866 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
12867 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
12868 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
12869 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
12870 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
12871 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
12873 @item gnus-use-toolbar
12874 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
12875 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
12876 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
12877 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
12879 @item gnus-group-toolbar
12880 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
12881 The toolbar in the group buffer.
12883 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
12884 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
12885 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
12887 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
12888 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
12889 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
12891 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
12892 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
12893 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
12899 @node Various Various
12900 @section Various Various
12906 @item gnus-directory
12907 @vindex gnus-directory
12908 All Gnus directories will be initialized from this variable, which
12909 defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or @file{~/News/}
12910 if that variable isn't set.
12912 @item gnus-default-directory
12913 @vindex gnus-default-directory
12914 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
12915 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
12916 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
12917 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
12918 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
12919 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
12922 @vindex gnus-verbose
12923 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
12924 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
12925 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
12926 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
12927 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
12929 @item gnus-verbose-backends
12930 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
12931 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
12932 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
12934 @item nnheader-max-head-length
12935 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
12936 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
12937 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
12938 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
12939 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
12940 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
12941 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
12942 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
12945 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
12946 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
12947 This variable says how big a piece of each article to read when doing
12948 the operation described above.
12950 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
12951 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
12953 @cindex illegal characters in file names
12954 @cindex characters in file names
12955 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
12956 For instance, if @samp{:} is illegal as a file character in file names
12957 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
12960 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
12964 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
12965 Windows (phooey) systems.
12967 @item gnus-hidden-properties
12968 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
12969 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
12970 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
12971 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
12973 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
12974 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
12975 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
12976 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
12977 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
12979 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
12980 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
12981 String used to separate to shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
12990 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
12991 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
12993 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
12995 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
13001 Not because of victories @*
13004 but for the common sunshine,@*
13006 the largess of the spring.
13010 but for the day's work done@*
13011 as well as I was able;@*
13012 not for a seat upon the dais@*
13013 but at the common table.@*
13018 @chapter Appendices
13021 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
13022 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
13023 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
13024 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
13025 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
13026 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
13027 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
13035 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
13036 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
13038 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
13039 can point your (feh!) web browser to
13040 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
13041 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
13042 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
13044 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
13045 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
13046 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
13047 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
13048 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
13049 appropriate name, don't you think?)
13051 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
13052 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
13053 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
13054 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
13056 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
13057 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution.
13059 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'') was
13060 released under the name ``Gnus 5.2''.
13062 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun.
13065 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
13066 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
13067 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
13068 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
13069 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
13070 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
13071 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
13078 What's the point of Gnus?
13080 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
13081 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
13082 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
13083 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
13084 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
13085 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
13086 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
13087 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
13088 keep track of millions of people who post?
13090 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
13091 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
13092 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
13093 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
13094 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
13095 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
13096 everywhere I could imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one
13097 of you to explore and invent.
13099 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
13102 @node Compatibility
13103 @subsection Compatibility
13105 @cindex compatibility
13106 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
13107 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
13108 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
13113 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
13117 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
13120 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @pxref{Decoding
13123 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
13124 buffers. All variables that are relevant while reading a group are
13125 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
13126 important variables have their values copied into their global
13127 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
13128 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
13130 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
13131 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
13132 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
13133 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
13134 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
13138 @cindex highlighting
13139 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
13140 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
13141 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
13142 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
13143 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
13144 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
13147 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
13148 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
13149 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
13150 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
13152 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
13153 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
13154 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
13155 to stop doing it the old way.
13157 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
13159 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
13161 @cindex reporting bugs
13163 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
13164 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
13165 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
13169 @subsection Conformity
13171 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
13172 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
13179 There are no known breaches of this standard.
13183 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
13185 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13186 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13187 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
13188 the next inspection.
13190 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
13191 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
13192 We do have some breaches to this one.
13197 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
13198 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
13201 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
13202 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
13203 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
13204 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
13205 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
13208 Gnus does line breaking on this header. I infer from RFC1036 that being
13209 conservative in what you output is not creating 5000-character lines, so
13210 it seems like a good idea to me. However, this standard-to-be says that
13211 whitespace in the @code{References} header is to be preserved, so... It
13212 doesn't matter one way or the other to Gnus, so if somebody tells me
13213 what The Way is, I'll change it. Or not.
13218 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliantly with regards to the texts
13219 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
13224 @subsection Emacsen
13230 Gnus should work on :
13235 Emacs 19.30 and up.
13238 XEmacs 19.13 and up.
13241 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.30 and up.
13245 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
13246 reliably, at least.
13248 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various platforms:
13253 The mouse-face on Gnus lines under Emacs and Mule is delimited to
13254 certain parts of the lines while they cover the entire line under
13258 The same with current-article marking---XEmacs puts an underline under
13259 the entire summary line while Emacs and Mule are nicer and kinder.
13262 XEmacs features more graphics---a logo and a toolbar.
13265 Citation highlighting us better under Emacs and Mule than under XEmacs.
13268 Emacs 19.26-19.28 have tangible hidden headers, which can be a bit
13275 @subsection Contributors
13276 @cindex contributors
13278 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
13279 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
13280 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
13281 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
13282 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
13283 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
13284 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
13285 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
13286 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
13287 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
13289 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
13295 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
13298 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
13299 well as numerous other things).
13302 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
13305 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
13306 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
13309 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
13310 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13313 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
13316 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
13319 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
13322 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
13325 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
13326 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
13329 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
13332 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
13335 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
13338 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
13342 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
13345 Ricardo Nassif, Mark Borges, and Jost Krieger---proof-reading.
13348 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
13351 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
13355 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
13364 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
13368 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
13377 Massimo Campostrini,
13381 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
13395 Francois Felix Ingrand,
13398 Thor Kristoffersen,
13433 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
13436 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
13437 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
13441 @subsection New Features
13442 @cindex new features
13445 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
13446 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
13447 * Red Gnus:: The future.
13450 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
13451 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
13452 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
13456 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
13458 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
13463 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
13464 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
13467 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
13468 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
13471 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
13474 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
13475 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
13476 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
13479 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
13480 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
13481 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
13482 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
13485 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
13486 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13489 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
13490 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
13491 (@pxref{The Active File}).
13494 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
13495 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
13498 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
13499 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
13500 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
13503 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
13504 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
13505 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
13508 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
13509 the @file{.emacs} file.
13512 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
13513 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13516 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
13517 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
13520 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
13521 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13524 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
13525 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
13528 Gnus can fetch articles asynchronously on a second connection to the
13529 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
13532 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
13535 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
13536 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
13539 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
13540 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
13543 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
13544 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
13547 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
13550 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
13551 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
13554 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
13558 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
13562 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
13563 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
13566 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
13572 @node September Gnus
13573 @subsubsection September Gnus
13575 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
13580 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
13581 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
13585 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
13586 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
13590 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
13594 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
13595 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
13598 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
13602 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13605 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
13608 A @code{trn}-line tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
13611 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
13615 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
13616 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
13619 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
13623 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
13627 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
13631 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
13635 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
13638 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
13639 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
13642 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
13646 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
13647 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
13650 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
13653 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
13654 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
13655 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
13658 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
13662 The Gnus cache is much faster.
13665 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
13669 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-address and
13670 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13673 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
13674 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
13677 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
13678 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13681 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
13682 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
13683 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
13686 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
13687 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
13690 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
13693 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
13696 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
13697 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
13701 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
13704 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
13707 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
13708 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
13711 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
13715 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
13718 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
13721 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
13725 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13728 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
13732 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
13735 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
13738 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
13739 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
13742 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
13743 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
13747 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
13748 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
13751 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
13755 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
13756 buffer to allow easier treatment.
13759 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
13762 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
13766 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
13770 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
13771 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
13774 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
13778 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
13779 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
13782 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
13783 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
13786 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
13790 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
13793 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
13794 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers)
13798 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
13801 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
13807 @subsubsection Red Gnus
13809 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
13814 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
13817 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
13818 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
13821 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
13822 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
13826 Article washing status can be displayed in the
13827 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
13830 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
13833 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
13834 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
13837 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
13841 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
13842 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}).
13845 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
13846 Server Internals}).
13849 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
13853 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
13856 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
13857 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
13860 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
13861 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
13862 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
13865 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
13866 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
13869 A way to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed when
13870 generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
13873 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
13877 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
13878 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
13881 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
13882 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
13885 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
13889 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
13892 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
13896 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
13897 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
13900 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
13901 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
13904 A new command for reading collections of documents
13905 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
13906 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
13909 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
13913 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
13914 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
13917 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
13918 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
13919 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
13922 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
13923 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
13927 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
13931 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
13935 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
13939 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
13943 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
13944 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
13949 @node Newest Features
13950 @subsection Newest Features
13953 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
13956 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
13960 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
13962 Really do unbinhexing.
13965 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
13966 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
13968 @file{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/sgnus/todo>} is where the actual
13969 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
13970 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
13975 @section The Manual
13979 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
13980 either @code{texi2dvi}
13982 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
13983 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
13985 to get what you hold in your hands now.
13987 The following conventions have been used:
13992 This is a @samp{string}
13995 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
13998 This is a @file{file}
14001 This is a @code{symbol}
14005 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
14009 (setq flargnoze "yes")
14012 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
14015 (setq flumphel 'yes)
14018 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
14019 ever get them confused.
14023 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
14024 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
14025 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
14026 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
14027 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
14028 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
14029 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
14036 @section Terminology
14038 @cindex terminology
14043 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
14044 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
14045 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
14046 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
14047 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
14051 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
14052 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
14053 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
14054 not posting, and replying is not following up.
14058 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
14062 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
14067 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
14068 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
14069 is all done by the backends.
14073 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
14074 default, way of getting news.
14078 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
14079 These are groups that use different backends for getting news.
14083 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
14084 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
14088 A message that has been posted as news.
14091 @cindex mail message
14092 A message that has been mailed.
14096 A mail message or news article
14100 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
14105 The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
14110 A line from the head of an article.
14114 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
14115 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
14119 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
14120 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
14121 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
14122 normal @sc{head} format.
14126 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
14127 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
14128 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
14129 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
14130 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
14131 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
14133 @item killed groups
14134 @cindex killed groups
14135 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
14136 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
14138 @item zombie groups
14139 @cindex zombie groups
14140 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
14143 @cindex active file
14144 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
14145 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
14146 is rather large, as you might surmise.
14149 @cindex bogus groups
14150 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
14151 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
14152 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
14156 A machine than one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
14158 @item select method
14159 @cindex select method
14160 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
14163 @item virtual server
14164 @cindex virtual server
14165 A named select method. Since a select methods defines all there is to
14166 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the things as a
14167 whole is a virtual server.
14171 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
14172 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
14175 @item ephemeral groups
14176 @cindex ephemeral groups
14177 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
14178 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
14179 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
14182 @cindex solid groups
14183 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
14184 group buffer are solid groups.
14189 @node Customization
14190 @section Customization
14191 @cindex general customization
14193 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
14194 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
14195 for some quite common situations.
14198 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
14199 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
14200 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
14201 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
14205 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
14206 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
14208 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
14209 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
14210 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
14214 @item gnus-read-active-file
14215 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
14216 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
14217 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-news} and
14218 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
14219 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
14221 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
14222 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
14223 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
14224 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
14228 @node Slow Terminal Connection
14229 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
14231 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that
14232 runs Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce the
14233 amount of data that is sent over the wires as much as possible.
14237 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
14238 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
14239 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
14240 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
14241 horizontal and vertical recentering.
14243 @item gnus-visible-headers
14244 Cut down on the headers that are included in the articles to the
14245 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
14246 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
14247 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
14249 @item gnus-article-display-hook
14250 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
14252 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
14253 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
14254 gnus-article-hide-citation))
14257 @item gnus-use-full-window
14258 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
14259 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
14260 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
14261 want to read them anyway.
14263 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
14264 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
14267 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
14268 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
14269 lines, which might save some time.
14273 @node Little Disk Space
14274 @subsection Little Disk Space
14277 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
14278 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
14282 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
14283 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
14284 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
14285 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14288 @item gnus-save-killed-list
14289 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
14290 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
14291 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
14292 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
14298 @subsection Slow Machine
14299 @cindex slow machine
14301 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
14302 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
14304 Set@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
14305 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
14307 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
14308 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
14309 summary buffer faster.
14311 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
14312 processing a bit faster.
14315 @node Troubleshooting
14316 @section Troubleshooting
14317 @cindex troubleshooting
14319 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
14327 Make sure your computer is switched on.
14330 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
14331 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
14335 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
14336 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
14337 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
14338 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
14341 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
14345 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
14346 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
14347 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
14348 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
14349 something like that.
14352 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
14355 @cindex reporting bugs
14357 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
14359 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
14360 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
14361 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
14362 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
14364 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
14365 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
14366 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
14367 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
14370 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
14371 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you send back
14372 just ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
14373 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
14374 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
14375 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
14377 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
14378 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
14379 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
14382 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
14383 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
14385 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
14386 @cindex ding mailing list
14387 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@ifi.uio.no}.
14388 Write to @samp{ding-request@@ifi.uio.no} to subscribe.
14391 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
14392 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
14394 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
14395 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
14396 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
14397 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
14400 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
14401 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
14402 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
14403 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
14404 and general method of operations.
14407 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
14408 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
14409 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
14410 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
14411 * Group Info:: The group info format.
14412 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
14413 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
14417 @node Backend Interface
14418 @subsection Backend Interface
14420 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
14421 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
14422 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
14423 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
14424 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
14425 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
14427 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
14428 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
14429 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
14430 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
14431 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
14432 been opened, the function should fail.
14434 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
14435 name. Take this example:
14439 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
14440 (nntp-port-number 4324))
14443 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
14444 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
14446 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
14447 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
14448 server environments that it pulls down/pushes up when needed.
14450 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
14451 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
14452 always check whether are present before attempting to call.
14454 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
14455 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
14456 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
14457 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
14458 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
14459 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
14462 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
14463 some might be said to not be. The latter are backends that generally
14464 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
14465 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
14468 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
14471 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
14474 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
14475 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
14476 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
14477 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
14478 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
14482 @node Required Backend Functions
14483 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
14487 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
14489 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
14490 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
14491 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
14492 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
14494 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
14495 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
14496 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
14497 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
14499 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try to fetch "extra
14500 headers, in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
14501 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
14502 article number in @code{articles}, and fill in the gaps as well. The
14503 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
14504 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
14505 number, do maximum fetches.
14507 Here's an example HEAD:
14510 221 1056 Article retrieved.
14511 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
14512 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
14513 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
14514 Subject: Re: Something very droll
14515 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
14516 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
14518 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
14519 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
14520 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
14524 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
14525 these in the data buffer.
14527 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
14531 head = error / valid-head
14532 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
14533 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
14534 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
14535 header = <text> eol
14538 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
14539 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
14543 nov-buffer = *nov-line
14544 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
14545 field = <text except TAB>
14548 For a closer explanation what should be in those fields,
14552 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
14554 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
14555 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that defines this virtual server.
14557 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
14558 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
14559 server. In fact, it should do so.
14561 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
14562 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
14565 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
14567 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
14568 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
14571 There should be no data returned.
14574 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
14576 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
14577 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
14578 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
14579 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
14581 There should be no data returned.
14584 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
14586 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
14587 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
14588 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
14589 attempt to reconnect to a server that is has lost connection to.
14591 There should be no data returned.
14594 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
14596 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
14598 There should be no data returned.
14601 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
14603 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
14604 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
14605 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
14606 it would be nice if that were possible.
14608 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
14609 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
14610 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
14611 another, and Gnus mainly request articles to be inserted directly into
14612 its article buffer.
14614 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
14615 the car is the group name the article was fetched from, and the cdr is
14616 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
14617 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
14618 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
14619 on successful article retrievement.
14622 @item (nnchoke-open-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14624 Make @var{group} the current group.
14626 There should be no data returned by this function.
14629 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
14631 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
14632 making @var{group} the current group.
14634 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
14637 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
14640 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
14643 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
14644 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
14645 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
14646 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
14647 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
14648 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
14649 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
14650 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
14653 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
14654 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
14655 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
14659 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14661 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
14662 a no-op on most backends.
14664 There should be no data returned.
14667 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
14669 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
14672 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
14675 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
14676 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
14679 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
14680 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
14683 active-file = *active-line
14684 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
14686 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
14689 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
14690 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
14691 (@samp{=other-group} or none of the above (@samp{y}).
14694 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
14696 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
14697 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
14698 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
14699 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
14700 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
14701 clear if the posting could not be completed.
14703 There should be no result data from this function.
14708 @node Optional Backend Functions
14709 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
14713 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
14715 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
14716 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
14717 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
14719 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
14720 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
14721 former is in the same format as the data from
14722 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
14723 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
14726 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
14730 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
14732 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
14733 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
14734 information (as is the case with virtual an imap groups). This function
14735 may alter the info in any manner it sees fit, and should return the
14736 (altered) group info. This function may alter the group info
14737 destructively, so no copying is needed before boogeying.
14739 There should be no result data from this function.
14742 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
14744 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
14745 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
14746 user is following up is news or mail. This function should return
14747 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
14748 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
14749 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
14750 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
14751 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
14753 There should be no result data from this function.
14756 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
14758 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
14759 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
14760 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
14761 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
14762 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
14764 The only use for this that I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
14765 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
14766 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
14769 There should be no result data from this function.
14772 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
14774 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
14775 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
14776 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
14777 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
14778 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
14779 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
14780 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
14782 There should be no result data from this function.
14785 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
14787 The result data from this function should be a description of
14791 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
14793 description = <text>
14796 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
14798 The result data from this function should be the description of all
14799 groups available on the server.
14802 description-buffer = *description-line
14806 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
14808 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
14809 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
14810 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
14813 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14815 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
14817 There should be no return data.
14820 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
14822 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
14823 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
14824 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
14825 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
14826 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
14829 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
14832 There should be no result data returned.
14835 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
14838 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
14839 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
14841 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
14842 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
14843 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
14844 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
14845 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
14846 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
14848 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
14849 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
14852 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
14853 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
14855 There should be no data returned.
14858 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
14860 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
14861 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
14862 this function in short order.
14864 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
14865 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
14867 There should be no data returned.
14870 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
14872 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
14873 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
14875 There should be no data returned.
14878 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
14880 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
14881 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
14882 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
14884 There should be no data returned.
14887 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
14889 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
14890 articles that are in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
14892 There should be no data returned.
14897 @node Error Messaging
14898 @subsubsection Error Messaging
14900 @findex nnheader-report
14901 @findex nnheader-get-report
14902 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
14903 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
14904 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
14905 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
14906 there are many of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
14907 This function always returns @code{nil}.
14910 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
14912 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
14915 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
14916 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
14917 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
14918 takes one argument---the server symbol.
14920 Internally, these function access @var{backend}@code{-status-string}, so
14921 the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
14922 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
14925 @node Writing New Backends
14926 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
14928 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
14929 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
14930 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
14931 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
14932 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
14935 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
14936 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
14937 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
14939 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
14940 package called @code{nnoo}.
14942 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
14943 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
14950 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
14951 parameters. For instance:
14954 (nnoo-declare nndir
14958 @code{nndir} has here declared that it intends to inherit functions from
14959 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
14962 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
14963 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
14964 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
14966 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
14967 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
14968 a function in those backends.
14971 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
14972 "Where nndir will look for groups."
14973 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
14976 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
14977 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
14978 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
14980 @item nnoo-define-basics
14981 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
14985 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
14989 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
14990 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
14991 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
14993 @item nnoo-map-functions
14994 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
14995 functions from the parent backends.
14998 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
14999 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15000 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
15003 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
15004 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
15005 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
15006 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
15009 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
15010 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
15011 haven't already been defined.
15017 nnmh-request-newgroups)
15021 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
15022 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
15023 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
15028 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
15031 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
15032 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
15036 (require 'nnheader)
15040 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
15042 (nnoo-declare nndir
15045 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15046 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15047 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15049 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
15050 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
15053 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
15054 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
15055 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
15057 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
15058 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
15060 ;;; Interface functions.
15062 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15064 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
15065 (setq nndir-directory
15066 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
15068 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
15069 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
15070 (push `(nndir-current-group
15071 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15073 (push `(nndir-top-directory
15074 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15076 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
15078 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15079 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15080 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15081 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
15082 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
15086 nnmh-status-message
15088 nnmh-request-newgroups))
15094 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15095 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15097 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
15098 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
15099 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
15100 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
15102 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
15103 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
15108 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
15111 The abilities can be:
15115 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
15117 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
15119 This backend supports both mail and news.
15121 This is neither a post or mail backend---it's something completely
15124 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
15125 articles and groups.
15127 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
15128 true for almost all backends.
15129 @item prompt-address
15130 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
15131 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
15132 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
15137 @node Score File Syntax
15138 @subsection Score File Syntax
15140 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
15141 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
15142 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
15144 Here's a typical score file:
15148 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
15155 BNF definition of a score file:
15158 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
15159 element = rule / atom
15160 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
15161 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
15162 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
15163 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
15165 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
15166 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
15167 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
15168 date-header = "date"
15169 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15170 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15171 score = "nil" / <integer>
15172 date = "nil" / <natural number>
15173 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
15174 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
15175 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
15176 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
15177 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15178 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15179 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
15180 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15181 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
15182 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
15183 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
15184 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
15185 exclude-files / read-only / touched
15186 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
15187 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
15188 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
15189 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
15190 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
15191 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
15192 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
15193 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
15194 adapt = "adapt" [ space "nil" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
15195 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
15196 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
15197 eval = "eval" space <form>
15198 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
15201 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
15204 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
15205 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
15206 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
15207 one looong line, then that's ok.
15209 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
15214 @subsection Headers
15216 Gnus uses internally a format for storing article headers that
15217 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
15218 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
15219 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
15221 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
15222 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
15223 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
15224 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
15225 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
15226 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
15227 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
15229 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
15230 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
15231 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
15232 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
15233 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
15235 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
15242 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
15243 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
15245 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
15246 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
15247 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
15248 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
15250 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
15254 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
15257 is transformed into
15260 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
15263 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
15264 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
15267 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
15270 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
15271 is slightly tricky:
15274 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
15280 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
15283 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
15289 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
15296 and is equal to the previous range.
15298 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
15299 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
15300 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
15304 range = simple-range / normal-range
15305 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
15306 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
15307 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
15308 number *[ " " contents ]
15311 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
15312 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
15313 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
15314 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
15315 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
15320 @subsection Group Info
15322 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
15323 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
15324 describes the group.
15326 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
15327 second is a more complex one:
15330 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
15332 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
15333 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
15335 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
15338 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
15339 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
15340 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
15341 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
15342 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
15343 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
15344 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
15346 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
15347 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
15348 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
15350 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
15353 info = "(" group space level space read
15354 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
15355 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15356 group = quote <string> quote
15357 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
15359 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
15360 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
15361 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
15362 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
15365 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
15366 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
15370 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
15371 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
15375 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
15376 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
15377 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
15379 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
15380 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
15381 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
15382 Gnus, that's very useful.
15384 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
15385 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
15386 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
15387 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
15388 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
15389 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
15390 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
15391 following function:
15394 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
15398 (,function ,@@args))
15402 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
15403 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
15404 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
15407 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
15408 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
15409 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
15412 @node Various File Formats
15413 @subsection Various File Formats
15416 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
15417 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
15421 @node Active File Format
15422 @subsubsection Active File Format
15424 The active file lists all groups that are available on the server in
15425 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
15428 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
15431 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
15432 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
15433 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
15434 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
15435 no.general 1000 900 y
15438 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
15441 active = *group-line
15442 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
15443 group = <non-white-space string>
15445 high-number = <non-negative integer>
15446 low-number = <positive integer>
15447 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
15451 @node Newsgroups File Format
15452 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
15454 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
15455 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
15456 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
15459 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
15460 Here's the definition:
15464 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
15465 group = <non-white-space string>
15467 description = <string>
15471 @node Emacs for Heathens
15472 @section Emacs for Heathens
15474 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
15475 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
15476 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
15477 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
15478 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
15479 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
15480 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
15484 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
15485 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
15490 @subsection Keystrokes
15494 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
15497 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
15500 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
15501 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
15502 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
15503 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
15504 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
15505 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
15507 The shift key is normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
15508 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
15509 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
15510 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
15511 keyboards. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
15512 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
15513 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
15515 Now, us Emacs people doesn't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
15516 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
15517 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
15518 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
15519 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
15520 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
15521 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
15523 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
15524 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
15525 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
15526 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
15527 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
15533 @subsection Emacs Lisp
15535 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
15536 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
15537 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
15538 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
15540 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
15541 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
15542 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
15543 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
15544 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
15545 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
15546 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
15549 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
15550 write the following:
15553 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
15556 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
15557 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
15558 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
15561 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
15562 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
15563 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
15564 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
15565 previous ``form'', which here is a simple @code{setq} statement.
15567 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
15568 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
15569 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
15573 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
15577 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
15580 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
15581 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
15584 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
15587 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
15588 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
15591 @include gnus-faq.texi