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4 @settitle Red Gnus 0.53 Manual
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233 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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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 0.53 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
965 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
966 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
968 @item gnus-no-groups-message
969 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
970 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
972 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
973 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
974 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
976 @item gnus-startup-jingle
977 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
978 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
979 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
984 @node The Group Buffer
985 @chapter The Group Buffer
988 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
989 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
990 long as Gnus is active.
993 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
994 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
995 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
996 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
997 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
998 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
999 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1000 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1001 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1002 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1003 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1004 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1005 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1006 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1007 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1008 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1009 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1013 @node Group Buffer Format
1014 @section Group Buffer Format
1017 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1018 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1019 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1023 @node Group Line Specification
1024 @subsection Group Line Specification
1025 @cindex group buffer format
1027 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1028 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1030 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1033 25: news.announce.newusers
1034 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1039 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1040 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1041 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1042 asterisk at the beginning of the line?)
1044 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1045 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1046 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1047 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1048 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1049 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1051 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1053 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1054 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1055 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1056 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1059 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1060 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1061 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1063 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1068 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1071 Whether the group is subscribed.
1074 Level of subscribedness.
1077 Number of unread articles.
1080 Number of dormant articles.
1083 Number of ticked articles.
1086 Number of read articles.
1089 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1090 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1093 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1096 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1105 Newsgroup description.
1108 @samp{m} if moderated.
1111 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1120 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1124 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1127 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1128 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1129 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1130 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1131 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1134 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1136 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1140 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1144 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1145 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
1146 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1147 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1148 paratere as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1149 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1154 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1155 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1156 group, or a bogus native group.
1159 @node Group Modeline Specification
1160 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1161 @cindex group modeline
1163 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1164 The mode line can be changed by setting
1165 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1166 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1170 The native news server.
1172 The native select method.
1176 @node Group Highlighting
1177 @subsection Group Highlighting
1178 @cindex highlighting
1179 @cindex group highlighting
1181 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1182 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1183 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1184 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1185 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1187 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1191 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1193 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1194 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1195 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1197 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1199 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1201 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1205 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1212 The number of unread articles in the group.
1216 Whether the group is a mail group.
1218 The level of the group.
1220 The score of the group.
1222 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1224 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1227 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1228 topic being inserted.
1231 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1232 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1233 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1235 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1236 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1237 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1238 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1239 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1242 @node Group Maneuvering
1243 @section Group Maneuvering
1244 @cindex group movement
1246 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1247 expected, hopefully.
1253 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1254 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1255 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1261 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1262 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1263 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1267 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1268 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1272 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1273 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1277 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1278 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1279 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1283 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1284 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1285 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1288 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1294 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1295 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1296 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1301 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1302 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1303 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1307 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1308 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1309 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1312 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1313 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1314 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1315 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1319 @node Selecting a Group
1320 @section Selecting a Group
1321 @cindex group selection
1326 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1327 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1328 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1329 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1330 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1331 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1332 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1333 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1334 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1335 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1339 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1340 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1341 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1342 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1343 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1347 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1348 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1349 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1350 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1351 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1352 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1353 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1354 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer.
1355 This might be useful if you want to toggle threading before entering the
1359 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1360 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1361 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1362 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1363 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1367 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1368 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1369 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1370 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1371 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1372 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1373 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1374 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1377 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1378 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1379 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1380 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1385 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1386 full summary buffer.
1389 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1392 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1396 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1397 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1398 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1402 @node Subscription Commands
1403 @section Subscription Commands
1404 @cindex subscription
1412 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1413 Toggle subscription to the current group
1414 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1420 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1421 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1422 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1423 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1429 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1430 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1436 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1437 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1440 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1441 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1442 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1443 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1444 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1450 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1451 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1455 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1456 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1459 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1460 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1461 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1462 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1463 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1464 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1465 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1466 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1467 @file{.newsrc} file.
1471 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1481 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1482 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1483 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1484 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1485 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1490 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1491 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1492 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1496 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1497 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1498 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1500 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1501 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1502 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1503 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1504 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1505 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1512 @section Group Levels
1516 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1517 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1518 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1519 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1520 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1522 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1528 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1529 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1530 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1531 prompted for a level.
1534 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1535 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1536 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1537 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1538 Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
1539 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1540 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1541 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1542 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1543 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (default 9),
1544 completely dead. Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly
1545 the same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what
1546 articles you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and
1547 living groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely
1548 for reasons of efficiency.
1550 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1551 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1553 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1554 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1555 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1557 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1558 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1559 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1560 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1561 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1562 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1563 relevant legal ranges.
1565 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1566 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1567 will only move to groups that are of the same level (or lower). In
1568 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1569 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1570 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1573 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1574 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1575 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1578 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1579 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1580 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1581 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1584 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1585 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1586 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1587 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1589 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1590 Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
1591 @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
1592 unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
1593 5. The default is 6.
1597 @section Group Score
1600 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1601 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1602 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1605 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1606 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1607 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1608 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1609 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1610 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1611 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1613 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1614 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1615 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1616 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1617 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1618 action after each summary exit, you can add
1619 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1620 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1621 slow things down somewhat.
1624 @node Marking Groups
1625 @section Marking Groups
1626 @cindex marking groups
1628 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1629 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1630 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1631 bidding on those groups.
1633 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1634 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1635 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1643 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1644 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1650 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1651 Remove the mark from the current group
1652 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1656 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1657 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1661 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1662 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1666 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1667 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1671 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1672 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1673 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1676 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1678 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1679 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1680 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1681 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1682 the command to be executed.
1685 @node Foreign Groups
1686 @section Foreign Groups
1687 @cindex foreign groups
1689 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1690 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1691 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1692 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1699 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1700 @cindex making groups
1701 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1702 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1703 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1707 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1708 @cindex renaming groups
1709 Rename the current group to something else
1710 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some
1711 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1717 @findex gnus-group-customize
1718 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1722 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1723 @cindex renaming groups
1724 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1725 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1729 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1730 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1731 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1735 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1736 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1737 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1741 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1743 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1744 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1749 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1750 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1754 @cindex (ding) archive
1755 @cindex archive group
1756 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1757 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1758 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1759 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1760 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1761 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1762 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1766 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1768 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1769 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1770 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1771 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1775 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1777 Read an arbitrary directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
1778 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1779 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1783 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1784 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1786 Make a group based on some file or other
1787 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1788 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1789 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1790 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs}, and
1791 @code{forward}. If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will
1792 guess at the file type. @xref{Document Groups}.
1796 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1801 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1802 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1803 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1804 search engine type and the search string. Legal search engine types
1805 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1806 @xref{Web Searches}.
1809 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1810 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1811 This function will delete the current group
1812 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1813 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1814 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1815 absolutely sure of what you are doing.
1819 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1820 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1821 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1825 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1826 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1827 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1830 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1833 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1834 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1835 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1836 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1837 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1840 @node Group Parameters
1841 @section Group Parameters
1842 @cindex group parameters
1844 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1849 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1850 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1851 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1852 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1853 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1854 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1855 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1856 copies of your followups.
1858 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1859 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1860 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1861 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1862 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1863 list address instead.
1867 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1868 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1869 doing a @kbd{a} in any group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1870 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1871 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1873 @item broken-reply-to
1874 @cindex broken-reply-to
1875 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1876 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1877 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1878 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1879 broken behavior. So there!
1883 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
1884 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
1888 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
1889 @code{t}, new composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
1890 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
1891 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
1892 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence over
1893 any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later).
1897 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, all articles that
1898 are read will be marked as expirable. For an alternative approach,
1899 @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
1902 @cindex total-expire
1903 If this symbol is present, all read articles will be put through the
1904 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
1909 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
1910 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
1911 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
1912 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
1913 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
1914 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
1917 @cindex score file group parameter
1918 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
1919 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
1920 means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
1923 @cindex adapt file group parameter
1924 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
1925 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
1926 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
1929 When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
1930 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
1931 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
1932 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
1935 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} says which articles to
1936 display on entering the group. Legal values are:
1940 Display all articles, both read and unread.
1943 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
1948 This parameter allows you to enter an arbitrary comment on the group.
1950 @item @var{(variable form)}
1951 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
1952 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
1953 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
1954 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
1955 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
1956 @code{eval}ed there.
1958 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
1959 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
1960 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
1961 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
1962 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
1966 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
1968 Also @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
1971 @node Listing Groups
1972 @section Listing Groups
1973 @cindex group listing
1975 These commands all list various slices of the groups that are available.
1983 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
1984 List all groups that have unread articles
1985 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
1986 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
1987 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
1988 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
1995 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
1996 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
1997 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
1998 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
1999 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2000 unsubscribed groups).
2004 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2005 List all unread groups on a specific level
2006 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2007 with no unread articles.
2011 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2012 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2013 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2014 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2019 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2020 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2024 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2025 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2026 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2030 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2031 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2035 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2036 List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
2037 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2038 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2039 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2040 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list group that
2041 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they are killed groups.
2042 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2046 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2047 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2048 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2052 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2053 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2054 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2058 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2059 @cindex visible group parameter
2060 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2061 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2062 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2063 get the same effect.
2065 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2066 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2067 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2068 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2069 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2072 @node Sorting Groups
2073 @section Sorting Groups
2074 @cindex sorting groups
2076 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2077 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2078 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2079 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2080 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2081 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2086 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2087 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2088 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2090 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2091 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2092 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2094 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2095 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2096 Sort by group level.
2098 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2099 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2100 Sort by group score.
2102 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2103 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2104 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2105 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
2107 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2108 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2109 Sort by number of unread articles.
2111 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2112 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2113 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2118 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2119 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2123 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2124 some sorting criteria:
2128 @kindex G S a (Group)
2129 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2130 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2131 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2134 @kindex G S u (Group)
2135 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2136 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2137 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2140 @kindex G S l (Group)
2141 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2142 Sort the group buffer by group level
2143 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2146 @kindex G S v (Group)
2147 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2148 Sort the group buffer by group score
2149 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
2152 @kindex G S r (Group)
2153 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2154 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2155 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2158 @kindex G S m (Group)
2159 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2160 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2161 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2165 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2167 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2171 @kindex G P a (Group)
2172 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2173 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2174 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2177 @kindex G P u (Group)
2178 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2179 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2180 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2183 @kindex G P l (Group)
2184 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2185 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2186 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2189 @kindex G P v (Group)
2190 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2191 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2192 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}).
2195 @kindex G P r (Group)
2196 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2197 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2198 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}).
2201 @kindex G P m (Group)
2202 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2203 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2204 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2210 @node Group Maintenance
2211 @section Group Maintenance
2212 @cindex bogus groups
2217 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2218 Find bogus groups and delete them
2219 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2223 @findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
2224 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}). If
2225 given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server for
2229 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2230 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2231 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2232 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2235 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2236 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2237 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2238 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2243 @node Browse Foreign Server
2244 @section Browse Foreign Server
2245 @cindex foreign servers
2246 @cindex browsing servers
2251 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2252 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2253 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2254 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2257 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2258 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2259 will be use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2260 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2262 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2267 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2268 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2272 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2273 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2276 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2277 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2278 Enter the current group and display the first article
2279 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2282 @kindex RET (Browse)
2283 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2284 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2288 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2289 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2290 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2296 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2297 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2301 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2302 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2303 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2308 @section Exiting Gnus
2309 @cindex exiting Gnus
2311 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2316 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2317 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2318 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2319 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2323 @findex gnus-group-exit
2324 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2328 @findex gnus-group-quit
2329 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2330 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2333 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2334 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2335 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2336 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2337 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2342 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2343 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2344 trying to customize meta-variables.
2349 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2350 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2351 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2357 @section Group Topics
2360 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2361 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2362 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2363 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2364 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2365 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2373 2: alt.religion.emacs
2376 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2378 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2379 13: comp.sources.unix
2382 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2384 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2385 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2386 is a toggling command.)
2388 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2389 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2390 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2391 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2394 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2395 the hook for the group mode:
2398 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2402 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2403 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2404 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2405 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2406 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2410 @node Topic Variables
2411 @subsection Topic Variables
2412 @cindex topic variables
2414 Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2415 really neat, I think.
2417 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2418 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2419 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2432 Number of groups in the topic.
2434 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2436 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2439 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2440 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2441 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2444 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2445 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2447 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2448 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2449 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2452 @node Topic Commands
2453 @subsection Topic Commands
2454 @cindex topic commands
2456 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2457 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2458 definitions slightly.
2464 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2465 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2466 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2470 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2471 Move the current group to some other topic
2472 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2473 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2477 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2478 Copy the current group to some other topic
2479 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2480 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2484 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2485 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2486 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2487 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2491 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2492 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2493 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2497 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2498 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2499 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2503 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2504 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2505 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2508 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2509 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2510 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2511 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2515 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2517 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2518 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2519 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2520 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2521 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2522 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2525 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2526 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2527 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2528 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2529 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2533 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2534 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2535 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2539 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2540 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2541 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2546 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2547 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2550 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2551 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2552 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2556 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2557 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2558 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2562 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2563 @cindex group parameters
2564 @cindex topic parameters
2566 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2567 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2573 @subsection Topic Sorting
2574 @cindex topic sorting
2576 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2582 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2583 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2584 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2585 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2588 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2589 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2590 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2591 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2594 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2595 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2596 Sort the current topic by group level
2597 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2600 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2601 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2602 Sort the current topic by group score
2603 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}).
2606 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2607 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2608 Sort the current topic by group rank
2609 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2612 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2613 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2614 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2615 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2619 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2622 @node Topic Topology
2623 @subsection Topic Topology
2624 @cindex topic topology
2627 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2633 2: alt.religion.emacs
2636 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2638 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2639 13: comp.sources.unix
2642 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2643 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2644 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2649 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2650 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2654 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2655 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2656 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2657 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2658 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2659 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2661 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2662 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2663 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2666 @node Topic Parameters
2667 @subsection Topic Parameters
2668 @cindex topic parameters
2670 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2671 ancestor) topic parameters. All legal group parameters are legal topic
2672 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2674 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2675 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2676 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2677 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2683 2: alt.religion.emacs
2687 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2689 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2690 13: comp.sources.unix
2694 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2695 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2696 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2697 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2698 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2699 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2701 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2702 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2703 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2704 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2705 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2707 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2708 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2709 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2710 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2711 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2712 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2713 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2714 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2717 @node Misc Group Stuff
2718 @section Misc Group Stuff
2721 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2722 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2723 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2724 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2731 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2732 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2733 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2737 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2738 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). The current
2739 group name will be used as the default.
2743 @findex gnus-group-mail
2744 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2748 Variables for the group buffer:
2752 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2753 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2754 @code{gnus-group-mode-hook} is called after the group buffer has been
2757 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2758 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2759 @code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} is called after the group buffer is
2760 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2763 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2764 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2765 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2766 whether they are empty or not.
2771 @node Scanning New Messages
2772 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2773 @cindex new messages
2774 @cindex scanning new news
2780 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2781 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2782 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2783 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2784 command will force a total rereading of the active file(s) from the
2789 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2790 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2791 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2792 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2793 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2794 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2796 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2797 @cindex activating groups
2799 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2800 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2805 @findex gnus-group-restart
2806 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}).
2810 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2811 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2813 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2814 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2818 @node Group Information
2819 @subsection Group Information
2820 @cindex group information
2821 @cindex information on groups
2829 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2830 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2833 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2834 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2835 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2836 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2837 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2838 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
2839 for fetching the file.
2841 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
2842 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
2847 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
2848 @cindex describing groups
2849 @cindex group description
2850 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2851 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2852 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2856 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2857 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2858 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2863 @findex gnus-version
2864 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
2868 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
2869 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
2872 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
2875 @findex gnus-info-find-node
2876 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
2880 @node Group Timestamp
2881 @subsection Group Timestamp
2883 @cindex group timestamps
2885 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
2886 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
2887 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
2890 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
2893 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
2895 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
2896 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
2899 (setq gnus-group-line-format
2900 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
2903 This will result in lines looking like:
2906 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
2907 0: custom 19961002T012713
2910 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
2911 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
2915 (setq gnus-group-line-format
2916 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
2921 @subsection File Commands
2922 @cindex file commands
2928 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
2929 @vindex gnus-init-file
2930 @cindex reading init file
2931 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
2932 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
2936 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
2937 @cindex saving .newsrc
2938 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
2939 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
2940 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
2943 @c @kindex Z (Group)
2944 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
2945 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
2950 @node The Summary Buffer
2951 @chapter The Summary Buffer
2952 @cindex summary buffer
2954 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
2955 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
2957 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
2958 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
2960 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
2963 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
2964 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
2965 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
2966 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
2967 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
2968 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
2969 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
2970 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
2971 * Threading:: How threads are made.
2972 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
2973 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
2974 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
2975 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
2976 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
2977 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
2978 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
2979 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
2980 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
2981 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
2982 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
2983 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
2984 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
2985 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
2986 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
2987 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
2988 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
2992 @node Summary Buffer Format
2993 @section Summary Buffer Format
2994 @cindex summary buffer format
2997 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
2998 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
2999 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3002 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3003 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3004 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3005 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3006 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3007 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
3008 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3009 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3010 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3011 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3012 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3014 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3015 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3016 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3017 with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{}.
3020 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3021 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3023 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3024 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3025 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3026 lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3027 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3029 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3031 The following format specification characters are understood:
3039 Subject if the article is the root or the previous article had a
3040 different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3041 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
3043 Full @code{From} header.
3045 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3047 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3048 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3049 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3050 may be more thorough.
3052 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3055 Number of lines in the article.
3057 Number of characters in the article.
3059 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3061 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3062 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3064 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3065 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3067 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3068 for adopted articles.
3070 One space for each thread level.
3072 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3080 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3081 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3082 default level. If the difference between
3083 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3084 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3092 The @code{Date} in @code{YY-MMM} format.
3094 The @code{Date} in @code{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS} format.
3100 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3101 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3103 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3104 article has any children.
3108 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3109 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
3110 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3111 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3112 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3113 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3116 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3117 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3118 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3119 that. This means that it is illegal to have these specs after a
3120 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3121 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3123 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3124 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3126 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3129 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3130 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3132 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3133 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3134 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3135 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3137 Here are the elements you can play with:
3143 Unprefixed group name.
3145 Current article number.
3149 Number of unread articles in this group.
3151 Number of unselected articles in this group.
3153 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3154 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3155 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3156 and no unselected ones.
3158 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3159 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3161 Subject of the current article.
3165 Name of the current score file.
3167 Number of dormant articles.
3169 Number of ticked articles.
3171 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3173 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3177 @node Summary Highlighting
3178 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3182 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3183 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3184 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3185 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3186 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3188 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3189 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3190 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3191 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3193 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3194 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3195 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) that is used to
3196 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3198 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3199 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3200 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3201 list where the elements are on the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3202 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3203 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3205 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3206 ((> score default) . bold))
3208 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3209 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3213 @node Summary Maneuvering
3214 @section Summary Maneuvering
3215 @cindex summary movement
3217 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3218 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3220 None of these commands select articles.
3225 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3226 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3227 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3228 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3229 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3233 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3234 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3235 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3236 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3237 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3242 @kindex G j (Summary)
3243 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3244 Ask for an article number and then go to that article
3245 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3248 @kindex G g (Summary)
3249 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3250 Ask for an article number and then go the summary line of that article
3251 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3254 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3255 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3256 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3257 to the group buffer.
3259 Variables related to summary movement:
3263 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3264 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3265 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3266 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3267 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3268 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3269 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3270 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3271 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3272 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3273 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3274 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3275 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3276 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3278 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3279 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3280 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3281 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3282 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3283 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3284 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3286 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3287 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3288 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3289 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3290 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3292 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3293 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3294 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3295 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3296 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3297 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3298 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3299 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3305 @node Choosing Articles
3306 @section Choosing Articles
3307 @cindex selecting articles
3310 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3311 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3315 @node Choosing Commands
3316 @subsection Choosing Commands
3318 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3319 and they all select and display an article.
3323 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3324 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3325 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3326 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3331 @kindex G n (Summary)
3332 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3333 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3338 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3339 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3344 @kindex G N (Summary)
3345 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3346 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3351 @kindex G P (Summary)
3352 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3353 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3356 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3357 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3358 Go to the next article with the same subject
3359 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3362 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3363 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3364 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3365 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3369 @kindex G f (Summary)
3371 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3372 Go to the first unread article
3373 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3377 @kindex G b (Summary)
3379 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3380 Go to the article with the highest score
3381 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3386 @kindex G l (Summary)
3387 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3388 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3391 @kindex G p (Summary)
3392 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3393 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3394 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3395 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3396 history as you like.
3400 @node Choosing Variables
3401 @subsection Choosing Variables
3403 Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3406 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3407 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3408 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3409 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3410 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3411 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3413 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3414 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3415 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3416 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3418 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3419 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3420 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3421 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3422 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3423 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3424 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3425 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3426 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3427 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3428 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3429 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3430 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3431 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3436 @node Paging the Article
3437 @section Scrolling the Article
3438 @cindex article scrolling
3443 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3444 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3445 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3446 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3447 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3450 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3451 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3452 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3455 @kindex RET (Summary)
3456 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3457 Scroll the current article one line forward
3458 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3462 @kindex A g (Summary)
3464 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3465 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3466 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3467 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3468 the way it came from the server.
3473 @kindex A < (Summary)
3474 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3475 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3476 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3481 @kindex A > (Summary)
3482 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3483 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3487 @kindex A s (Summary)
3489 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3490 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3491 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3496 @node Reply Followup and Post
3497 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3500 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3501 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3505 @node Summary Mail Commands
3506 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3508 @cindex composing mail
3510 Commands for composing a mail message:
3516 @kindex S r (Summary)
3518 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3519 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3520 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3525 @kindex S R (Summary)
3526 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3527 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3528 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3529 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3532 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3533 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3534 Forward the current article to some other person
3535 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3536 headers of the forwarded article.
3541 @kindex S m (Summary)
3542 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3543 Send a mail to some other person
3544 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3547 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3548 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3549 @cindex bouncing mail
3550 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3551 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3552 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3553 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3554 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3555 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3556 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3557 very well fail, though.
3560 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3561 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3562 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3563 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3564 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3565 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3566 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3567 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3568 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3569 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3571 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3572 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3573 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3574 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3575 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3578 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3579 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3580 Digest the current series and forward the result using mail
3581 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3582 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3585 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3586 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3587 @cindex crossposting
3588 @cindex excessive crossposting
3589 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3590 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3592 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3593 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3594 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3595 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3596 command understands the process/prefix convention
3597 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3602 @node Summary Post Commands
3603 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3605 @cindex composing news
3607 Commands for posting a news article:
3613 @kindex S p (Summary)
3614 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3615 Post an article to the current group
3616 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3621 @kindex S f (Summary)
3622 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3623 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3627 @kindex S F (Summary)
3629 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3630 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3631 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3632 process/prefix convention.
3635 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3636 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3637 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3638 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3639 headers of the forwarded article.
3642 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3643 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3644 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3645 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
3648 @kindex S u (Summary)
3649 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3650 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3651 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3655 @node Canceling and Superseding
3656 @section Canceling Articles
3657 @cindex canceling articles
3658 @cindex superseding articles
3660 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3661 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3663 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3665 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3667 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3668 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3669 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3670 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3672 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3673 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3676 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3677 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3678 your original article.
3680 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3682 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3683 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3684 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3687 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3688 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3689 have posted almost the same article twice.
3691 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3692 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3693 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3694 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*post-buf*}). There you will
3695 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3696 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3697 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3698 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3699 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3700 canceled/superseded.
3702 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3705 @node Marking Articles
3706 @section Marking Articles
3707 @cindex article marking
3708 @cindex article ticking
3711 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3713 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3714 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3715 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3717 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3720 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3721 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3722 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3726 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3730 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3731 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3735 @node Unread Articles
3736 @subsection Unread Articles
3738 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3743 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3744 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3746 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3747 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3748 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3749 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3750 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3754 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3755 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3757 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3758 are followups to it.
3761 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3762 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
3764 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
3769 @subsection Read Articles
3770 @cindex expirable mark
3772 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3777 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3778 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
3779 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
3782 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3783 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3786 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3787 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
3788 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3791 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3792 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3795 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3796 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3799 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
3800 Marked as read by having a too low score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
3803 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
3804 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
3807 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
3808 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
3811 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
3812 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
3815 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
3816 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
3820 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
3821 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
3822 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
3826 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
3827 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
3829 One more special mark, though:
3833 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
3834 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
3836 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
3837 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
3838 control the expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
3839 articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
3845 @subsection Other Marks
3846 @cindex process mark
3849 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
3855 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
3856 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
3857 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
3858 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
3859 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
3862 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
3863 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
3864 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
3865 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
3868 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
3869 Articles that are stored in the article cache will be marked with an
3870 @samp{*} in the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}).
3873 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
3874 Articles that are ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
3875 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
3876 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}.
3879 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
3880 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
3881 It the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
3882 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
3883 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
3886 @vindex gnus-process-mark
3887 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}. A
3888 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
3889 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
3890 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
3891 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
3895 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
3896 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
3897 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
3899 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
3900 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
3901 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
3905 @subsection Setting Marks
3906 @cindex setting marks
3908 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
3914 @kindex M t (Summary)
3915 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
3916 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
3921 @kindex M ? (Summary)
3922 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
3923 Mark the current article as dormant
3924 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}).
3928 @kindex M d (Summary)
3930 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
3931 Mark the current article as read
3932 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
3936 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
3937 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
3938 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
3943 @kindex M k (Summary)
3944 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
3945 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
3946 and then select the next unread article
3947 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
3951 @kindex M K (Summary)
3952 @kindex C-k (Summary)
3953 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
3954 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
3955 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
3958 @kindex M C (Summary)
3959 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
3960 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
3963 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
3964 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
3965 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
3966 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
3969 @kindex M H (Summary)
3970 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
3971 Catchup the current group to point
3972 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
3975 @kindex C-w (Summary)
3976 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
3977 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
3978 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
3981 @kindex M V k (Summary)
3982 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
3983 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
3984 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
3988 @kindex M c (Summary)
3989 @kindex M-u (Summary)
3990 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
3991 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
3992 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}).
3996 @kindex M e (Summary)
3998 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
3999 Mark the current article as expirable
4000 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4003 @kindex M b (Summary)
4004 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4005 Set a bookmark in the current article
4006 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4009 @kindex M B (Summary)
4010 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4011 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4012 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4015 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4016 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4017 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4018 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4021 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4022 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4023 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4024 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4027 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4028 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4029 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4030 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4031 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4034 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4035 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4036 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4037 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4038 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4039 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4040 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4041 The default is @code{t}.
4044 @node Setting Process Marks
4045 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4046 @cindex setting process marks
4053 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4054 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4055 Mark the current article with the process mark
4056 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4057 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4061 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4062 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4063 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4064 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4067 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4068 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4069 Remove the process mark from all articles
4070 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4073 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4074 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4075 Invert the list of process marked articles
4076 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4079 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4080 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4081 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4084 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4085 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4086 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4089 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4090 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4091 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4092 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4095 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4096 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4097 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4098 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4101 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4102 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4103 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4104 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4107 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4108 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4109 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4112 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4113 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4114 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4115 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4118 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4119 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4120 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4123 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4124 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4125 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4126 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4129 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4130 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4131 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4132 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4135 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4136 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4137 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4138 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4141 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4142 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4143 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4144 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4153 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4154 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4155 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4162 @kindex / / (Summary)
4163 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4164 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4165 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4168 @kindex / a (Summary)
4169 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4170 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4171 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4175 @kindex / u (Summary)
4177 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4178 Limit the summary buffer to articles that are not marked as read
4179 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4180 buffer to articles that are strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4181 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4184 @kindex / m (Summary)
4185 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4186 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4187 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4190 @kindex / n (Summary)
4191 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4192 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4193 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4194 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4197 @kindex / w (Summary)
4198 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4199 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4200 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4204 @kindex / v (Summary)
4205 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4206 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4207 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4211 @kindex M S (Summary)
4212 @kindex / E (Summary)
4213 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4214 Display all expunged articles
4215 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4218 @kindex / D (Summary)
4219 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4220 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4223 @kindex / d (Summary)
4224 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4225 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4228 @kindex / c (Summary)
4229 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4230 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4231 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4234 @kindex / C (Summary)
4235 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4236 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4237 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4238 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4246 @cindex article threading
4248 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put replies to
4249 articles directly after the articles they reply to---in a hierarchical
4253 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4254 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4258 @node Customizing Threading
4259 @subsection Customizing Threading
4260 @cindex customizing threading
4266 @item gnus-show-threads
4267 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4268 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4269 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4270 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4271 slower and more awkward.
4273 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4274 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4275 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4276 more old headers---headers to articles that are marked as read. If you
4277 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4278 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4279 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4280 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4281 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4282 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4283 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4284 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4286 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4287 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4288 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4289 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4290 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4291 articles that belong in the same thread together. This will leave
4292 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4293 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4294 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4295 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4296 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4297 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4298 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4299 @code{nil} by default.
4301 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4302 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4303 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4304 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4305 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4306 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4307 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subjects lines. If
4308 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4309 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4310 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4311 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4313 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4314 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4315 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects.
4317 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4318 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4319 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4320 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4321 simplification is used.
4323 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4324 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4325 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4326 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4328 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4330 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4336 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4337 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4338 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4339 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4344 (mapconcat 'identity
4345 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4347 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4350 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4353 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4354 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4355 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4356 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4357 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4358 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4359 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process. The
4360 default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4362 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4363 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4364 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4365 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4366 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4367 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4368 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever includes unrelated
4369 articles, but it's also means that people who have posted with broken
4370 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4374 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4375 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4376 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4377 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4379 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4380 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4381 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4384 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4388 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4389 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4392 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4393 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4394 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4395 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4396 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4397 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4399 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4400 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4401 There are four possible values:
4403 @cindex adopting articles
4408 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4409 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4410 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4411 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4414 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4415 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4416 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4417 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4418 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4419 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4420 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4423 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4424 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4425 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4429 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4430 display them after one another.
4433 Don't gather loose threads.
4436 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4437 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4438 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4441 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4442 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4443 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4446 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4447 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4448 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4449 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4450 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4453 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4454 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4455 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4460 @node Thread Commands
4461 @subsection Thread Commands
4462 @cindex thread commands
4468 @kindex T k (Summary)
4469 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4470 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4471 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4472 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4473 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4478 @kindex T l (Summary)
4479 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4480 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4481 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4482 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4485 @kindex T i (Summary)
4486 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4487 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4488 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4491 @kindex T # (Summary)
4492 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4493 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4494 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4497 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4498 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4499 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4500 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4503 @kindex T T (Summary)
4504 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4505 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4508 @kindex T s (Summary)
4509 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4510 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4511 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4514 @kindex T h (Summary)
4515 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4516 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4519 @kindex T S (Summary)
4520 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4521 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4524 @kindex T H (Summary)
4525 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4526 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4529 @kindex T t (Summary)
4530 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4531 Re-thread the thread the current article is part of
4532 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4533 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4536 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4537 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4538 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4539 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}.
4543 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4544 understand the numeric prefix.
4549 @kindex T n (Summary)
4550 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4551 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4554 @kindex T p (Summary)
4555 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4556 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4559 @kindex T d (Summary)
4560 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4561 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4564 @kindex T u (Summary)
4565 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4566 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4569 @kindex T o (Summary)
4570 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4571 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4574 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4575 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4576 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4577 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4578 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4579 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4580 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If is
4581 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4582 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4583 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4584 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4585 that have subjects that are fuzzily equal will be included.
4591 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4592 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4593 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4594 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4595 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4596 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4597 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
4598 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
4599 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
4600 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
4601 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
4602 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
4603 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
4604 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
4606 Each function takes two threads and return non-@code{nil} if the first
4607 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
4608 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
4609 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
4610 in the list. You should probably always include
4611 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
4612 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
4613 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
4614 ascending article order.
4616 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
4617 number, you could do something like:
4620 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4621 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4622 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4623 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4626 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
4627 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
4628 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
4629 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
4630 which the articles arrived.
4632 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
4636 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4638 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
4639 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4642 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
4643 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
4644 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
4645 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
4648 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
4649 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
4650 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
4651 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
4652 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
4653 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
4654 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
4655 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
4656 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
4657 is uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
4658 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
4659 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
4660 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
4662 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
4666 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
4667 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
4668 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
4673 @node Asynchronous Fetching
4674 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
4675 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
4676 @cindex article pre-fetch
4679 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
4680 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
4681 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
4682 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
4683 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
4685 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
4686 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
4688 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
4689 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
4690 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
4691 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
4692 connection is blocked.
4694 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
4695 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
4696 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
4697 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
4699 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
4700 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
4701 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
4702 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
4705 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
4708 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
4709 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
4710 happen automatically.
4712 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
4713 You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
4714 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
4715 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
4716 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
4717 pre-fetch all the articles that it can without bound. If it is
4718 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be made.
4720 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
4721 @findex gnus-async-read-p
4722 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
4723 articles, for instance. Which articles to pre-fetch is controlled by
4724 the @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable. This function should
4725 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
4726 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
4727 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
4728 data structure as the only parameter.
4730 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles that are
4731 shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
4734 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
4735 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
4736 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
4737 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
4740 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
4743 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
4744 preferrably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
4745 It's also probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
4747 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
4748 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
4749 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
4750 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
4754 Remove articles when they are read.
4757 Remove articles when exiting the group.
4760 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
4762 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
4763 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
4764 from the next group.
4767 @node Article Caching
4768 @section Article Caching
4769 @cindex article caching
4772 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
4773 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
4774 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
4775 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
4776 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
4778 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
4780 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4781 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
4782 @vindex gnus-use-cache
4783 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
4784 all articles that are ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
4785 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
4786 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
4787 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
4789 When re-select a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
4790 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
4791 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
4792 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
4793 as dormant, and don't worry.
4795 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
4797 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
4798 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
4799 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
4800 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
4801 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
4802 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
4803 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
4804 articles that are marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
4805 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
4806 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
4808 @findex gnus-jog-cache
4809 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
4810 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
4811 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, and store them in
4812 the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if 1)
4813 your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really, really slow
4814 and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk. Seriously.
4816 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
4817 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
4818 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
4819 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
4820 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
4821 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
4822 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
4825 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
4826 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
4827 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
4828 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
4829 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
4830 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
4831 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
4832 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
4833 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
4837 @node Persistent Articles
4838 @section Persistent Articles
4839 @cindex persistent articles
4841 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
4842 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
4843 useful in my opinion.
4845 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
4846 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
4847 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
4848 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
4849 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
4850 the expiry going on at the news server.
4852 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
4853 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
4854 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
4860 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
4861 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
4864 @kindex M-* (Summary)
4865 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
4866 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
4867 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
4871 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
4873 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
4874 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
4875 interested in persistent articles:
4878 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
4882 @node Article Backlog
4883 @section Article Backlog
4885 @cindex article backlog
4887 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
4888 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
4889 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
4890 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
4891 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
4892 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
4893 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
4894 increase memory usage some.
4896 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
4897 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
4898 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
4899 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
4900 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
4901 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
4902 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
4904 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
4907 @node Saving Articles
4908 @section Saving Articles
4909 @cindex saving articles
4911 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
4912 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
4913 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
4914 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
4915 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
4917 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
4918 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
4919 unwanted headers before saving the article.
4921 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
4922 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
4923 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
4924 deleted before saving.
4930 @kindex O o (Summary)
4932 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
4933 Save the current article using the default article saver
4934 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
4937 @kindex O m (Summary)
4938 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
4939 Save the current article in mail format
4940 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
4943 @kindex O r (Summary)
4944 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
4945 Save the current article in rmail format
4946 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
4949 @kindex O f (Summary)
4950 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
4951 Save the current article in plain file format
4952 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
4955 @kindex O F (Summary)
4956 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
4957 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
4958 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
4961 @kindex O b (Summary)
4962 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
4963 Save the current article body in plain file format
4964 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
4967 @kindex O h (Summary)
4968 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
4969 Save the current article in mh folder format
4970 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
4973 @kindex O v (Summary)
4974 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
4975 Save the current article in a VM folder
4976 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
4979 @kindex O p (Summary)
4980 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
4981 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
4982 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
4985 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
4986 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
4987 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
4988 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
4989 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
4990 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
4991 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
4992 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
4993 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
4994 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
4995 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
4996 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5000 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5001 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5002 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5003 functions below, or you can create your own.
5007 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5008 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5009 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5010 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5011 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5012 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5013 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5015 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5016 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5017 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5018 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5019 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5020 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5022 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5023 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5024 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5025 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5026 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5027 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5028 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5030 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5031 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5032 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5033 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5034 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5036 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5037 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5038 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5039 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5040 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5043 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5044 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5045 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5046 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5047 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}. The former creates capitalized names, and
5048 the latter does not.
5050 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5051 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5052 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5053 reader to use this setting.
5056 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5057 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5058 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5059 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5062 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5063 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5064 available functions that generate names:
5068 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5069 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5070 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5072 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5073 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5074 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5076 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5077 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5078 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5080 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5081 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5082 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5085 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5086 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5087 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5088 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5089 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5093 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5094 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5095 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5096 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5099 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5100 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5101 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5102 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5103 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5104 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5105 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5106 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5107 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5109 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5110 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5111 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5112 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5114 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5115 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5116 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5119 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5120 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5121 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5122 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5123 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5124 all the files in the toplevel directory
5125 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5126 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5127 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5128 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5130 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5131 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5132 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5133 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5134 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5137 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5141 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5142 (setq gnus-default-article-save 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5145 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5146 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5147 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5148 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5151 @node Decoding Articles
5152 @section Decoding Articles
5153 @cindex decoding articles
5155 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5156 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5159 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5160 * Shared Articles:: Unshar articles.
5161 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5162 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5163 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5166 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5167 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5168 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5169 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5170 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5172 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5173 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5174 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5176 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5177 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5178 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5180 Subjects that are nonstandard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5181 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5182 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5185 @node Uuencoded Articles
5186 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5188 @cindex uuencoded articles
5193 @kindex X u (Summary)
5194 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5195 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5198 @kindex X U (Summary)
5199 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5200 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5201 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5204 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5205 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5206 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5209 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5210 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5211 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5212 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5215 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5216 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5217 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5218 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5219 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5221 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5222 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5223 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5224 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5227 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5228 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5229 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5230 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5231 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5232 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5236 @node Shared Articles
5237 @subsection Shared Articles
5239 @cindex shared articles
5244 @kindex X s (Summary)
5245 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5246 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5249 @kindex X S (Summary)
5250 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5251 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5254 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5255 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5256 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5259 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5260 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5261 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5262 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5266 @node PostScript Files
5267 @subsection PostScript Files
5273 @kindex X p (Summary)
5274 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5275 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5278 @kindex X P (Summary)
5279 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5280 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5281 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5284 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5285 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5286 View the current PostScript series
5287 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5290 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5291 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5292 View and save the current PostScript series
5293 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5297 @node Decoding Variables
5298 @subsection Decoding Variables
5300 Adjective, not verb.
5303 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5304 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5305 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5309 @node Rule Variables
5310 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5311 @cindex rule variables
5313 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5314 variables are on the form
5317 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5324 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5325 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5327 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5328 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5331 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5332 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5335 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5336 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5337 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5338 user and default view rules.
5340 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5341 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5342 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5347 @node Other Decode Variables
5348 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5351 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5353 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5354 All functions in this list will be called right each file has been
5355 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5356 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5357 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5361 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5362 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5365 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5366 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5367 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5370 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5371 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5372 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5374 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5375 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5376 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5377 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5378 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5381 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5382 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5383 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5385 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5386 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5387 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5388 looking for files to display.
5390 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5391 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5392 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5395 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5396 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5397 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5400 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5401 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5402 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5405 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5406 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5407 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5410 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5411 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5412 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark articles that were
5413 unsuccessfully decoded as unread.
5415 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5416 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5417 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5418 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5420 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5421 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5423 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5424 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5425 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5426 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5428 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5429 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5430 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5431 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5432 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5433 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5434 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5435 simply dropped them.
5440 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5441 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5445 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5446 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5447 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5448 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5449 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5450 for you when you post the article.
5452 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5453 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5454 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5455 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5457 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5458 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5459 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5460 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen are able
5461 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5462 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5463 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5465 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5466 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5467 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5468 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5469 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5470 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5471 Default is @code{t}.
5477 @subsection Viewing Files
5478 @cindex viewing files
5479 @cindex pseudo-articles
5481 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5482 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5483 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5484 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5485 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5486 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5487 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5489 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5490 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5491 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5492 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5494 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5495 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5496 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5498 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5499 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5500 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5501 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5502 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5504 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5505 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5506 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5507 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5508 a list of parameters to that command.
5510 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5511 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5512 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5514 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5515 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5516 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5519 @node Article Treatment
5520 @section Article Treatment
5522 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5523 object of newsreaders are to actually, like, read what people have
5524 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5525 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5526 these articles easier.
5529 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5530 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5531 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5532 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5533 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5534 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5538 @node Article Highlighting
5539 @subsection Article Highlighting
5542 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
5543 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
5548 @kindex W H a (Summary)
5549 @findex gnus-article-highlight
5550 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
5553 @kindex W H h (Summary)
5554 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
5555 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
5556 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
5557 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
5558 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
5559 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
5560 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
5561 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
5562 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
5563 prepended---Gnus will add one.
5566 @kindex W H c (Summary)
5567 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
5568 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
5570 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
5573 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5575 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5576 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
5577 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
5579 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5580 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5581 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
5583 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
5584 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
5585 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
5587 @item gnus-cite-face-list
5588 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
5589 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
5590 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
5591 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
5594 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
5595 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
5596 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
5598 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5599 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5600 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
5602 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5603 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5604 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
5605 that it's a citation.
5607 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5608 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5609 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
5611 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5612 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5613 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
5615 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
5616 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
5617 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
5618 cited text belonging to the attribution.
5624 @kindex W H s (Summary)
5625 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5626 @vindex gnus-signature-face
5627 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
5628 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
5629 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
5630 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
5631 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
5637 @node Article Hiding
5638 @subsection Article Hiding
5639 @cindex article hiding
5641 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
5642 too much cruft in most articles.
5647 @kindex W W a (Summary)
5648 @findex gnus-article-hide
5649 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
5652 @kindex W W h (Summary)
5653 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
5654 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
5658 @kindex W W b (Summary)
5659 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
5660 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
5661 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
5664 @kindex W W s (Summary)
5665 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
5666 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
5670 @kindex W W p (Summary)
5671 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
5672 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
5675 @kindex W W P (Summary)
5676 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
5677 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) gruft
5678 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
5681 @kindex W W c (Summary)
5682 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
5683 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
5684 customizing the hiding:
5688 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5689 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5690 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
5691 50), hide the cited text.
5693 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5694 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5695 The cited text must be have at least this length (default 10) before it
5698 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5699 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5700 Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
5701 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
5702 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
5707 Start point of the hidden text.
5709 End point of the hidden text.
5711 Length of the hidden text.
5714 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
5715 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
5716 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
5721 @kindex W W C (Summary)
5722 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
5723 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
5724 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
5725 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
5726 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
5730 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
5731 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
5732 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
5734 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
5735 citation customization.
5738 @node Article Washing
5739 @subsection Article Washing
5741 @cindex article washing
5743 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
5744 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
5746 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
5747 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
5753 @kindex W l (Summary)
5754 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
5755 Remove page breaks from the current article
5756 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
5759 @kindex W r (Summary)
5760 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
5761 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
5762 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
5765 @kindex W t (Summary)
5766 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
5767 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
5768 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
5771 @kindex W v (Summary)
5772 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
5773 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
5774 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
5777 @kindex W m (Summary)
5778 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
5779 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
5780 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
5783 @kindex W o (Summary)
5784 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
5785 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
5788 @kindex W w (Summary)
5789 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
5790 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
5791 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
5792 late and certainly after any highlighting.
5795 @kindex W c (Summary)
5796 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
5797 Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
5800 @kindex W q (Summary)
5801 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
5802 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
5805 @kindex W f (Summary)
5807 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
5808 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
5809 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
5810 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
5811 Look for and display any X-Face headers
5812 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
5813 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
5814 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
5815 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
5816 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
5817 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
5818 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
5819 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
5820 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
5821 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
5822 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
5823 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
5824 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
5828 @kindex W b (Summary)
5829 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
5830 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
5833 @kindex W B (Summary)
5834 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
5835 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
5836 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
5839 @kindex W E l (Summary)
5840 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
5841 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
5842 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
5845 @kindex W E m (Summary)
5846 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
5847 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
5848 lines with a single empty line.
5849 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
5852 @kindex W E t (Summary)
5853 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
5854 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
5855 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
5858 @kindex W E a (Summary)
5859 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
5860 Do all the three commands above
5861 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
5866 @node Article Buttons
5867 @subsection Article Buttons
5870 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
5871 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
5872 with the minimum of fuzz.
5874 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
5875 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
5876 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
5881 @item gnus-button-alist
5882 @vindex gnus-button-alist
5883 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
5886 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5892 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
5893 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that match embedded URLs:
5894 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
5897 Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
5898 a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
5899 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
5902 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
5903 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
5904 avoid false matches.
5907 This function will be called when you click on this button.
5910 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
5911 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
5915 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
5918 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
5921 @item gnus-header-button-alist
5922 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
5923 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
5924 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
5925 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
5928 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5931 @var{header} is a regular expression.
5933 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
5934 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
5935 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
5936 default values of the variables above.
5938 @item gnus-article-button-face
5939 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
5940 Face used on buttons.
5942 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
5943 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
5944 Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
5950 @subsection Article Date
5952 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
5953 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
5954 when the article was sent.
5959 @kindex W T u (Summary)
5960 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
5961 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
5962 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
5965 @kindex W T l (Summary)
5966 @findex gnus-article-date-local
5967 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
5970 @kindex W T e (Summary)
5971 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
5972 Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and now
5973 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
5976 @kindex W T o (Summary)
5977 @findex gnus-article-date-original
5978 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
5979 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
5980 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
5981 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
5982 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
5987 @node Article Signature
5988 @subsection Article Signature
5990 @cindex article signature
5992 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5993 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
5994 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
5995 that says what is to be considered a signature is
5996 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
5997 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
5998 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
5999 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6000 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6003 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6004 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6005 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6006 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6007 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6008 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6009 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6010 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6013 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6016 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6017 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6022 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6025 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6028 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6029 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6031 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6032 in question is not a signature.
6035 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6039 @node Summary Sorting
6040 @section Summary Sorting
6041 @cindex summary sorting
6043 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6044 can't really see why you'd want that.
6049 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6050 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6051 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6054 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6055 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6056 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6059 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6060 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6061 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6064 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6065 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6066 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6069 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6070 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6071 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6074 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6075 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6076 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6077 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6078 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6082 @node Finding the Parent
6083 @section Finding the Parent
6084 @cindex parent articles
6085 @cindex referring articles
6087 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6089 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6090 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6091 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6092 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6093 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6094 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6095 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6096 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6098 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6099 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6100 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6101 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6102 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6105 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6106 @kindex A R (Summary)
6107 You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
6108 header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
6109 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6111 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6112 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6113 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6114 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6115 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6116 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6117 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6118 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6120 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6121 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6122 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6123 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6124 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the same
6125 as the one that keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's
6126 not really necessary.
6128 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6129 not do a particularly excellent job of it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6130 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6131 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6132 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6133 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6136 @node Alternative Approaches
6137 @section Alternative Approaches
6139 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6140 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6143 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6144 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6149 @subsection Pick and Read
6150 @cindex pick and read
6152 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{nn}) use a two-phased
6153 reading interface. The user first marks the articles she wants to read
6154 from a summary buffer. Then she starts reading the articles with just
6155 an article buffer displayed.
6157 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6158 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6159 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6160 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6161 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6162 it makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
6165 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6170 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6171 Pick the article on the current line
6172 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6173 go to the article on that line and pick that article. (The line number
6174 is normally displayed on the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6177 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6178 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6179 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6180 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6184 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6185 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6189 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6190 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6194 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6195 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6199 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6200 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6204 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6205 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6209 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6210 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6214 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6215 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6219 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6220 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6224 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6225 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6229 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6230 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6234 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6235 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6236 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6237 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6238 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6239 will still be visible when you are reading.
6243 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6246 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6249 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6250 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6252 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6253 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6254 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6256 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6257 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different than the
6258 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6259 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6260 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6261 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6262 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6266 @subsection Binary Groups
6267 @cindex binary groups
6269 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6270 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6271 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6272 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6273 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6274 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6275 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6278 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6279 In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned this
6280 mode on is the @kbd{g} command (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6282 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6283 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6287 @section Tree Display
6290 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6291 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6292 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6293 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6296 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6299 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6300 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6301 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6303 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6304 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6305 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6306 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of legal specs, @pxref{Summary
6309 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6310 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6311 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6312 default is @code{modeline}.
6314 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6315 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6316 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6317 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6318 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6319 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6320 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6326 The name of the poster.
6328 The @code{From} header.
6330 The number of the article.
6332 The opening bracket.
6334 The closing bracket.
6339 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6341 Variables related to the display are:
6344 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6345 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6346 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6347 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6348 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6349 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
6351 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6352 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6353 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6354 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
6358 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
6359 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
6360 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
6361 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
6362 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
6363 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}.
6365 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
6366 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
6367 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6368 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
6369 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
6370 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
6371 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
6375 Here's and example from a horizontal tree buffer:
6378 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
6388 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
6392 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
6393 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
6395 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
6397 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
6403 @node Mail Group Commands
6404 @section Mail Group Commands
6405 @cindex mail group commands
6407 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
6408 illegal in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
6410 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
6411 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6416 @kindex B e (Summary)
6417 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
6418 Expire all expirable articles in the group
6419 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
6422 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
6423 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
6424 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
6425 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
6426 articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
6427 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
6430 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
6431 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
6432 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
6433 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
6434 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
6437 @kindex B m (Summary)
6439 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
6440 Move the article from one mail group to another
6441 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6444 @kindex B c (Summary)
6446 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
6447 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
6448 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
6451 @kindex B C (Summary)
6452 @cindex crosspost mail
6453 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
6454 Crosspost the current article to some other group
6455 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
6456 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
6457 be properly updated.
6460 @kindex B i (Summary)
6461 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
6462 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
6463 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
6464 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
6467 @kindex B r (Summary)
6468 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
6469 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6473 @kindex B w (Summary)
6475 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
6476 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
6477 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
6478 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
6479 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
6482 @kindex B q (Summary)
6483 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
6484 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
6485 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
6486 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
6489 @kindex B p (Summary)
6490 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
6491 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
6492 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
6493 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
6494 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
6495 article from your news server (or rather, from
6496 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
6497 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
6498 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
6499 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
6500 just not have arrived yet.
6504 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
6505 @cindex moving articles
6506 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
6507 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
6508 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
6509 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
6510 suggestions you find reasonable.
6513 @node Various Summary Stuff
6514 @section Various Summary Stuff
6517 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
6518 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
6519 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
6520 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
6524 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
6525 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
6526 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
6528 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
6529 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
6530 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
6531 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
6532 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
6533 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
6536 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6537 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6538 Is is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
6539 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
6540 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
6545 @node Summary Group Information
6546 @subsection Summary Group Information
6551 @kindex H f (Summary)
6552 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
6553 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
6554 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
6555 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
6556 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
6557 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
6558 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
6559 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} probably will be used for
6563 @kindex H d (Summary)
6564 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
6565 Give a brief description of the current group
6566 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
6567 rereading the description from the server.
6570 @kindex H h (Summary)
6571 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
6572 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
6573 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
6576 @kindex H i (Summary)
6577 @findex gnus-info-find-node
6578 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
6582 @node Searching for Articles
6583 @subsection Searching for Articles
6588 @kindex M-s (Summary)
6589 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
6590 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
6591 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
6594 @kindex M-r (Summary)
6595 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
6596 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
6597 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
6601 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
6602 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
6603 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
6604 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}).
6607 @kindex M-& (Summary)
6608 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
6609 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
6610 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
6613 @node Summary Generation Commands
6614 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
6619 @kindex Y g (Summary)
6620 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
6621 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
6624 @kindex Y c (Summary)
6625 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
6626 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
6627 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
6632 @node Really Various Summary Commands
6633 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
6638 @kindex C-d (Summary)
6639 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
6640 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
6641 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
6642 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
6643 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
6644 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
6645 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
6646 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
6650 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
6651 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
6652 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
6653 several documents into one biiig group
6654 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
6655 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
6656 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
6657 command understands the process/prefix convention
6658 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6661 @kindex C-t (Summary)
6662 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
6663 Toggle truncation of summary lines
6664 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
6665 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
6666 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
6670 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
6671 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
6672 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
6677 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
6678 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
6679 @cindex summary exit
6680 @cindex exiting groups
6682 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
6683 group and return you to the group buffer.
6689 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
6691 @findex gnus-summary-exit
6692 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
6693 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
6694 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
6695 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
6696 called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
6697 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
6698 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
6703 @kindex Z E (Summary)
6705 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
6706 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
6707 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
6711 @kindex Z c (Summary)
6713 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
6714 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
6715 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
6718 @kindex Z C (Summary)
6719 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
6720 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
6721 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
6724 @kindex Z n (Summary)
6725 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
6726 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
6727 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
6730 @kindex Z R (Summary)
6731 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
6732 Exit this group, and then enter it again
6733 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
6734 all articles, both read and unread.
6738 @kindex Z G (Summary)
6739 @kindex M-g (Summary)
6740 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
6741 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
6742 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
6743 articles, both read and unread.
6746 @kindex Z N (Summary)
6747 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
6748 Exit the group and go to the next group
6749 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
6752 @kindex Z P (Summary)
6753 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
6754 Exit the group and go to the previous group
6755 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
6758 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
6759 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
6762 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
6763 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
6764 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
6765 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
6766 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
6767 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
6768 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
6769 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
6770 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
6771 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
6772 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
6773 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
6775 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
6777 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
6778 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
6779 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
6780 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
6781 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
6782 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
6783 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
6784 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
6785 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
6788 @node Crosspost Handling
6789 @section Crosspost Handling
6793 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
6794 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
6795 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
6796 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
6797 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
6798 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
6801 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
6802 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
6803 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
6804 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
6805 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
6807 @cindex cross-posting
6810 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
6811 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
6812 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
6813 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
6814 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
6815 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
6816 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
6817 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
6818 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
6819 the cross reference mechanism.
6821 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
6822 @cindex overview.fmt
6823 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
6824 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
6825 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
6826 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
6827 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
6828 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
6831 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
6832 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
6833 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
6838 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6841 @node Duplicate Suppression
6842 @section Duplicate Suppression
6844 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
6845 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
6846 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
6847 approach may not work satisfactorily for some users for various
6852 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
6853 is evil and not very common.
6856 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
6857 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
6860 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
6861 different @sc{nntp} servers.
6864 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
6867 I'm sure there are other situations that @code{Xref} handling fails as
6868 well, but these four are the most common situations.
6870 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
6871 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
6872 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
6873 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
6874 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
6875 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
6876 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
6879 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
6880 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
6881 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
6882 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
6883 article as read the the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
6887 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
6888 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
6889 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
6891 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
6892 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
6893 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
6894 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
6895 However, this means that only duplicate articles that is read in a
6896 single Gnus session are suppressed.
6898 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
6899 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
6900 This variables says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
6901 suppression list. The default is 10000.
6903 @item gnus-duplicate-file
6904 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
6905 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list. The
6906 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
6909 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
6910 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
6911 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
6912 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
6913 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
6914 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
6915 to you to figure out, I think.
6918 @node The Article Buffer
6919 @chapter The Article Buffer
6920 @cindex article buffer
6922 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
6923 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
6924 tell Gnus otherwise.
6927 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
6928 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
6929 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
6930 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
6931 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
6935 @node Hiding Headers
6936 @section Hiding Headers
6937 @cindex hiding headers
6938 @cindex deleting headers
6940 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
6941 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
6943 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
6944 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
6945 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
6946 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
6947 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
6948 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
6949 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
6950 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
6951 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
6953 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
6957 @item gnus-visible-headers
6958 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
6959 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
6960 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
6961 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
6963 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
6964 the article and the subject, you'd say:
6967 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
6970 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6973 @item gnus-ignored-headers
6974 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
6975 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
6976 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
6977 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
6978 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
6980 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
6981 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
6984 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
6987 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6990 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
6991 variable will have no effect.
6995 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
6996 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
6997 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
6998 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
6999 the headers are to be displayed.
7001 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7002 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7005 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7008 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7009 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers that
7010 are listed in this variable.
7012 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7013 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7014 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7015 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7016 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7017 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7018 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7019 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7020 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7022 These conditions are:
7025 Remove all empty headers.
7027 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7030 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7031 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7033 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7036 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7040 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7043 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7044 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7047 This is also the default value for this variable.
7051 @section Using @sc{mime}
7054 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7055 while people stand around yawning.
7057 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7058 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7060 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7061 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7062 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7064 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7065 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7066 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7067 @findex metamail-buffer
7068 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7069 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7070 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7071 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7072 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7073 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7074 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7075 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7077 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7078 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7079 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7080 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7081 comes streaming out out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7082 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7083 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7084 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7085 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7087 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7090 @node Customizing Articles
7091 @section Customizing Articles
7092 @cindex article customization
7094 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7095 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7096 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7097 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7099 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7100 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7101 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7102 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7103 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7104 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7105 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7106 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7107 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7109 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7110 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7111 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7112 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7113 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7116 @node Article Keymap
7117 @section Article Keymap
7119 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7120 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7121 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7122 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7125 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7130 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7131 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7132 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7135 @kindex DEL (Article)
7136 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7137 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7140 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7141 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7142 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7143 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7144 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7147 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7148 @findex gnus-article-mail
7149 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7150 given a prefix, include the mail.
7154 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7155 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7156 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7160 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7161 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7162 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7165 @kindex TAB (Article)
7166 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7167 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}. This
7168 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7171 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7172 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7173 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}.
7179 @section Misc Article
7183 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7184 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7185 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7186 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7189 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7190 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7191 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7192 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7193 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7194 the contents of the article buffer.
7196 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7197 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7198 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7199 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7200 hiding headers, and the like.
7202 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7203 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7204 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7206 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7207 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7208 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7209 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7210 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7214 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7215 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7219 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7221 @item gnus-break-pages
7222 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7223 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7224 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7225 paging will not be done.
7227 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7228 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7229 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7234 @node Composing Messages
7235 @chapter Composing Messages
7240 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7241 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7242 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7243 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7244 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7245 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7246 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7249 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7250 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7251 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7252 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7253 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7254 @c * Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
7255 @c * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7256 @c * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7259 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7260 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
7266 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
7269 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
7270 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
7271 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
7272 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
7280 Variables for composing news articles:
7283 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7284 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7285 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
7286 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
7287 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
7288 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to sent the
7289 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
7290 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
7291 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
7294 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7295 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7296 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
7297 file. It is 1000 by default.
7302 @node Posting Server
7303 @section Posting Server
7305 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
7306 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
7308 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
7310 @vindex gnus-post-method
7312 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
7313 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
7314 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
7315 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
7316 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
7319 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
7322 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
7323 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
7324 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
7325 the ``current'' server for posting.
7327 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
7328 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
7330 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
7331 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
7336 @section Mail and Post
7338 Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
7342 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
7343 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
7344 @cindex mailing lists
7346 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists that are
7347 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
7348 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
7349 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
7350 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
7351 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that match the groups that
7352 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
7353 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
7354 still a pain, though.
7358 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
7359 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
7360 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
7363 @findex ispell-message
7365 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
7369 @node Archived Messages
7370 @section Archived Messages
7371 @cindex archived messages
7372 @cindex sent messages
7374 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail you send.
7375 The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to store
7376 the mail. If you want to disable this completely, you should set
7377 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}.
7379 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
7380 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
7381 use to store sent messages. The default is:
7385 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))
7388 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
7389 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
7390 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
7391 directory chosen, you could say something like:
7394 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
7395 '(nnfolder "archive"
7396 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
7397 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
7398 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
7401 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
7403 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
7404 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
7405 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
7407 This variable can be:
7411 Messages will be saved in that group.
7412 @item a list of strings
7413 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
7414 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
7415 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
7417 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
7422 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
7424 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
7427 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
7429 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
7432 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
7434 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7435 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
7436 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
7437 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
7442 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7443 '((if (message-news-p)
7448 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
7449 messages in one file per month:
7452 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7453 '((if (message-news-p)
7455 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
7456 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
7459 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
7460 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
7461 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
7462 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
7463 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
7464 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
7465 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
7466 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
7467 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
7468 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
7470 That's the default method of archiving sent mail. Gnus also a different
7471 way for the people who don't like the default method. In that case you
7472 should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}; this will
7475 XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
7476 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.
7479 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
7480 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
7481 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
7482 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
7483 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
7486 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
7487 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
7488 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
7493 @c @node Posting Styles
7494 @c @section Posting Styles
7495 @c @cindex posting styles
7498 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
7500 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
7501 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
7502 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
7505 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
7506 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
7507 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
7508 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
7509 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
7514 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
7515 @c (organization . "What me?"))
7517 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
7518 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
7519 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
7522 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
7523 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
7524 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
7525 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
7526 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
7527 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
7528 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
7529 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
7531 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
7532 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
7533 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
7534 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
7535 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
7536 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
7539 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
7540 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
7541 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
7542 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
7543 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
7546 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
7547 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
7548 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
7550 @c So here's a new example:
7553 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
7555 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
7556 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
7557 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
7558 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
7560 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
7561 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
7562 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
7563 @c (posting-from-work-p
7564 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
7565 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
7566 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
7568 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
7575 @c If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
7576 @c you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
7577 @c craazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save the
7578 @c message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some other
7579 @c day, and send it when you feel its finished.
7581 @c Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
7582 @c some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
7583 @c automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
7584 @c If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
7585 @c article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
7589 @c @vindex gnus-draft-group-directory
7590 @c The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
7591 @c @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
7592 @c @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{gnus-draft-group-directory}
7593 @c controls both the name of the group and the location---the leaf element
7594 @c in the path will be used as the name of the group. What makes this
7595 @c group special is that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any
7596 @c articles as read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
7598 @c If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
7601 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
7602 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
7603 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
7604 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
7605 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
7606 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
7607 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
7608 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
7609 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
7610 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
7611 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
7612 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
7613 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
7614 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
7616 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
7617 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
7618 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
7620 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-draft
7621 @c @kindex S D c (Summary)
7622 @c When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
7623 @c draft group and push @kbd{S D c} (@code{gnus-summary-send-draft}) to do
7624 @c that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
7626 @c Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
7629 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-all-drafts
7630 @c If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
7631 @c doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{S D a} command
7632 @c (@code{gnus-summary-send-all-drafts}). This command understands the
7633 @c process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7636 @c @node Rejected Articles
7637 @c @section Rejected Articles
7638 @c @cindex rejected articles
7640 @c Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
7641 @c doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
7642 @c @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
7643 @c Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
7645 @c These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
7646 @c (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
7647 @c fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
7648 @c you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
7649 @c articles until some later time when the server feels better.
7651 @c The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
7652 @c (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
7653 @c typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
7656 @node Select Methods
7657 @chapter Select Methods
7658 @cindex foreign groups
7659 @cindex select methods
7661 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group that is not read by the usual (or
7662 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
7663 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
7664 personal mail group.
7666 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
7667 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
7668 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
7669 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
7670 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
7671 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
7673 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
7674 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
7676 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
7679 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
7680 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
7681 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
7682 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
7683 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
7685 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
7688 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
7689 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
7690 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
7691 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
7692 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
7696 @node The Server Buffer
7697 @section The Server Buffer
7699 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
7700 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
7701 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
7702 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
7703 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
7704 backend represents a virtual server.
7706 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
7707 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
7708 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
7709 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
7711 These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
7712 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
7713 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
7714 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
7715 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
7716 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
7717 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
7719 To enter the server buffer, user the @kbd{^}
7720 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
7723 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
7724 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
7725 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
7726 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
7727 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
7728 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
7731 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
7732 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
7735 @node Server Buffer Format
7736 @subsection Server Buffer Format
7737 @cindex server buffer format
7739 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
7740 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
7741 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
7742 variable, with some simple extensions:
7747 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
7750 The name of this server.
7753 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
7756 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
7759 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
7760 The mode line can also be customized by using the
7761 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
7772 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
7775 @node Server Commands
7776 @subsection Server Commands
7777 @cindex server commands
7783 @findex gnus-server-add-server
7784 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
7788 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
7789 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
7792 @kindex SPACE (Server)
7793 @findex gnus-server-read-server
7794 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
7798 @findex gnus-server-exit
7799 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
7803 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
7804 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
7808 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
7809 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
7813 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
7814 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
7818 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
7819 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
7823 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
7824 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
7825 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
7831 @node Example Methods
7832 @subsection Example Methods
7834 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
7837 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
7840 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
7846 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
7847 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
7850 After these two elements, there may be a arbitrary number of
7851 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
7853 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
7854 port 15 from that machine. This is what the select method should
7858 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
7861 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
7862 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example.
7864 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
7865 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
7866 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
7870 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
7873 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
7876 Here's the method for a public spool:
7880 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
7881 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
7885 @node Creating a Virtual Server
7886 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
7888 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
7889 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
7891 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
7892 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
7893 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
7895 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
7897 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
7898 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
7899 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
7900 will contain the following:
7910 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
7911 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
7912 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
7915 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
7916 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
7917 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
7920 @node Servers and Methods
7921 @subsection Servers and Methods
7923 Wherever you would normally use a select method
7924 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
7925 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
7926 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
7930 @node Unavailable Servers
7931 @subsection Unavailable Servers
7933 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
7934 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
7935 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
7936 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
7937 actually the case or not.
7939 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
7940 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to the server
7941 @samp{nepholococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
7942 away from you, the machine is quite, so it takes 1 minute just to find
7943 out that it refuses connection from you today. If Gnus were to attempt
7944 to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't attempt to do
7945 that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'', it will
7946 regard that server as ``down''.
7948 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
7949 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
7951 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
7952 with the following commands:
7958 @findex gnus-server-open-server
7959 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
7960 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
7964 @findex gnus-server-close-server
7965 Close the connection (if any) to the server
7966 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
7970 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
7971 Mark the current server as unreachable
7972 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
7975 @kindex M-o (Server)
7976 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
7977 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
7978 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
7981 @kindex M-c (Server)
7982 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
7983 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
7984 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
7988 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
7989 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from all servers
7990 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
7996 @section Getting News
7997 @cindex reading news
7998 @cindex news backends
8000 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8001 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8002 or it can read from a local spool.
8005 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8006 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8011 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8014 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8015 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8016 server as the, uhm, address.
8018 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8019 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8020 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8021 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8023 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8024 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8025 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8027 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8032 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8033 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8034 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8036 @cindex authentification
8037 @cindex nntp authentification
8038 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8039 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8040 @code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
8041 It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
8042 been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
8043 the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function.
8045 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8046 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8047 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8048 server. Available functions include:
8051 @item nntp-send-authinfo
8052 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8053 This function will used you current login name as the user name and will
8054 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
8056 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8057 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8058 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
8060 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8061 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8062 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8063 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
8066 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8067 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8068 This is an list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8069 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8070 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8073 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8077 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8079 The default value is
8082 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8083 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8086 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8087 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8089 @item nntp-maximum-request
8090 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8091 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8092 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8093 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8094 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8095 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8096 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8098 @item nntp-connection-timeout
8099 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8100 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8101 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
8102 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
8103 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
8104 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
8105 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
8106 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
8107 no timeouts are done.
8109 @item nntp-command-timeout
8110 @vindex nntp-command-timeout
8111 @cindex PPP connections
8112 @cindex dynamic IP addresses
8113 If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
8114 address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
8115 changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
8116 waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
8117 unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
8118 then, if it sits waiting longer than that number of seconds for a reply
8119 from the server, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
8120 the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
8121 likely number is 30 seconds.
8123 @item nntp-retry-on-break
8124 @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8125 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8126 hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8129 @item nntp-server-hook
8130 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8131 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8134 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8135 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8136 @item nntp-open-server-function
8137 @vindex nntp-open-server-function
8138 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
8139 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8140 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8141 is @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an rlogin on the remote system,
8142 and then does a telnet to the @sc{nntp} server available there.
8144 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8145 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8146 If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
8147 @code{nntp-open-server-function}, this list will be used as the
8148 parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8150 @item nntp-end-of-line
8151 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
8152 String to use as end-of-line markers when talking to the @sc{nntp}
8153 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
8154 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
8156 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8157 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8158 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
8162 @vindex nntp-address
8163 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
8165 @item nntp-port-number
8166 @vindex nntp-port-number
8167 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
8170 @item nntp-buggy-select
8171 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
8172 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
8174 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
8175 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
8176 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
8177 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks whether @sc{nov}
8178 can be used automatically.
8180 @item nntp-xover-commands
8181 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
8184 List of strings that are used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
8185 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
8189 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
8190 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
8191 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
8192 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
8193 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
8194 lines that you do not want, and will not use. This variable says how
8195 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
8196 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
8197 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
8198 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
8199 @code{nntp} will never split requests.
8201 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
8202 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
8203 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
8205 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8206 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8207 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
8208 server closes connection.
8214 @subsection News Spool
8218 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
8219 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
8220 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
8223 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
8224 anything else) as the address.
8226 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
8227 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
8228 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
8229 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
8233 @item nnspool-inews-program
8234 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
8235 Program used to post an article.
8237 @item nnspool-inews-switches
8238 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
8239 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
8241 @item nnspool-spool-directory
8242 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
8243 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
8244 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
8246 @item nnspool-nov-directory
8247 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
8248 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
8249 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
8251 @item nnspool-lib-dir
8252 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
8253 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
8255 @item nnspool-active-file
8256 @vindex nnspool-active-file
8257 The path of the active file.
8259 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
8260 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
8261 The path of the group descriptions file.
8263 @item nnspool-history-file
8264 @vindex nnspool-history-file
8265 The path of the news history file.
8267 @item nnspool-active-times-file
8268 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
8269 The path of the active date file.
8271 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
8272 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
8273 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
8276 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8277 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8279 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
8280 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
8281 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
8287 @section Getting Mail
8288 @cindex reading mail
8291 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
8295 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
8296 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
8297 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
8298 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
8299 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
8300 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
8301 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
8302 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
8303 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
8304 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
8305 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
8309 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
8310 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
8312 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
8313 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
8314 and things will happen automatically.
8316 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a one file per
8317 mail backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
8320 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
8321 '((nnml "private")))
8324 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
8325 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
8326 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
8327 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
8328 like any other group.
8330 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
8333 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8334 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8335 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8339 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
8340 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
8341 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
8344 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
8345 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though,
8346 especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
8349 @node Splitting Mail
8350 @subsection Splitting Mail
8351 @cindex splitting mail
8352 @cindex mail splitting
8354 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
8355 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
8356 to be split into groups.
8359 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8360 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8361 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8365 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
8366 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
8367 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
8368 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
8369 determine if it belongs in this mail group.
8371 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
8372 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
8375 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
8376 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
8377 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
8378 mail belongs in that group.
8380 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
8381 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any
8382 mails that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps.
8384 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
8385 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
8386 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
8387 message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
8388 thinks should carry this mail message.
8390 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
8391 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
8392 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
8393 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
8395 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
8396 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
8397 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
8398 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
8399 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
8401 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
8404 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
8405 the crossposted articles. However, not all files systems support hard
8406 links. If that's the case for you, set
8407 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
8408 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
8410 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
8411 @kindex nnmail-split-history
8412 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
8413 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
8415 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
8416 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
8417 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
8418 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
8419 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
8420 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
8421 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
8422 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
8426 @node Mail Backend Variables
8427 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
8429 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
8433 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8434 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8435 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
8436 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
8438 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
8439 @item nnmail-spool-file
8443 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
8444 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
8445 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
8446 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
8447 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
8448 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
8449 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
8450 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
8451 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
8452 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
8453 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
8454 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
8455 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
8456 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
8457 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
8459 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
8460 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
8463 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
8464 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
8465 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
8466 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
8467 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
8468 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
8470 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
8471 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8472 @item nnmail-use-procmail
8473 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
8474 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
8475 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
8476 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
8479 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
8480 @item nnmail-crash-box
8481 When the mail backends read a spool file, it is first moved to this
8482 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
8483 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
8486 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8487 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8488 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
8489 used for, well, anything, really.
8491 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
8492 @item nnmail-split-hook
8493 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
8494 @findex RFC1522 decoding
8495 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
8496 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
8497 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
8498 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
8499 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{article-decode-rfc1522}
8500 is one likely function to add to this hook.
8502 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8503 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8504 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8505 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8506 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
8507 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
8508 starting to handle the new mail) and
8509 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
8510 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
8511 default file modes the new mail files get:
8514 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8515 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
8517 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
8518 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
8521 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
8522 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
8523 This variable says where to move the incoming mail to while processing
8524 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
8525 inhabits (i.e., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
8526 it will be used instead.
8528 @item nnmail-movemail-program
8529 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
8530 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
8531 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
8533 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
8534 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
8537 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
8538 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
8539 @cindex incoming mail files
8540 @cindex deleting incoming files
8541 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
8542 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{nil} by
8543 default for reasons of security.
8545 Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
8546 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
8547 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point.) By not deleting the
8548 Incoming* files, one can be sure to not lose mail -- if Gnus totally
8549 whacks out, one can always recover what was lost.
8551 Delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
8553 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
8554 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
8555 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
8556 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories like
8557 @file{mail.misc/}. If it is @code{nil}, the same group will end up in
8560 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
8561 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
8563 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
8568 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
8569 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
8570 @cindex mail splitting
8571 @cindex fancy mail splitting
8573 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
8574 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
8575 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
8576 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
8577 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
8578 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
8580 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
8583 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
8584 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
8585 ;; from real errors.
8586 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
8588 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
8589 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
8590 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
8591 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
8592 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
8593 ;; Other mailing lists...
8594 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
8595 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
8597 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
8598 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
8602 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
8603 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
8604 the five possible split syntaxes:
8609 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
8612 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, and the first
8613 element is a string, then that means that if header FIELD (a regexp)
8614 contains VALUE (also a regexp), then store the message as specified by
8618 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8619 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
8620 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
8621 be stored in one or more groups.
8624 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8625 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
8628 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
8629 this message anywhere.
8633 In these splits, FIELD must match a complete field name. VALUE must
8634 match a complete word according to the fundamental mode syntax table.
8635 You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial field names or
8638 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
8639 FIELD and VALUE can also be lisp symbols, in that case they are expanded
8640 as specified by the variable @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is
8641 an alist of cons cells, where the car of the cells contains the key, and
8642 the cdr contains a string.
8644 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
8645 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
8646 when all this splitting is performed.
8649 @node Mail and Procmail
8650 @subsection Mail and Procmail
8655 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
8656 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
8657 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
8658 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
8659 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
8661 This also means that you probably don't want to set
8662 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
8665 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
8666 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
8667 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends (except
8668 @code{nnmh}) actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
8669 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
8670 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
8672 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) what groups
8675 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example.
8677 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
8678 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
8680 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
8681 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
8682 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
8683 to include all your mail groups.
8685 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
8686 method will be created automatically.
8688 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8689 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
8690 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
8691 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
8692 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
8693 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
8694 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
8695 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
8697 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
8698 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
8699 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
8700 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
8701 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
8703 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8704 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
8705 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
8706 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
8707 ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
8710 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
8711 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i. e., the incoming
8712 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
8713 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
8714 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
8717 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
8718 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
8719 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
8720 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
8721 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
8725 @node Incorporating Old Mail
8726 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
8728 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
8729 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
8730 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
8733 Doing so can be quite easy.
8735 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
8736 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
8737 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
8738 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
8739 your @code{nnml} groups.
8745 Go to the group buffer.
8748 Type `G f' and give the path of the mbox file when prompted to create an
8749 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8752 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
8755 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group (@pxref{Setting
8759 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
8760 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
8763 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
8764 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
8765 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
8766 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
8767 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
8769 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
8770 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
8771 using the new mail backend.
8775 @subsection Expiring Mail
8776 @cindex article expiry
8778 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
8779 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
8780 different approach to mail reading.
8782 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
8783 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
8784 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
8785 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
8786 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
8787 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
8790 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
8791 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
8792 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
8793 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
8794 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
8795 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
8796 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
8797 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
8799 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8800 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
8801 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
8802 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
8803 articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
8804 column in the summary buffer.
8806 Note that making a group auto-expirable don't mean that all read
8807 articles are expired---only the articles that are marked as expirable
8808 will be expired. Also note the using the @kbd{d} command won't make
8809 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
8810 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
8812 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
8813 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
8816 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8817 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
8820 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
8821 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
8823 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
8824 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
8825 doesn't really mix very well.
8827 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
8828 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
8829 expirable article has to live. The default is seven days.
8831 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
8832 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
8833 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
8834 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
8837 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8839 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8841 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
8843 ((string= group "mail.junk")
8845 ((string= group "important")
8851 The group names that this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
8852 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
8854 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
8855 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can be either a number (not
8856 necessarily an integer) or the symbols @code{immediate} or
8859 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
8860 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8862 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8863 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
8864 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
8865 easier for procmail users.
8867 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
8868 By the way, that line up there about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
8869 articles is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
8870 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
8871 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
8872 caution. Even more dangerous is the
8873 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
8874 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
8875 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
8876 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
8877 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
8878 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
8879 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
8882 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
8886 @subsection Washing Mail
8887 @cindex mail washing
8888 @cindex list server brain damage
8889 @cindex incoming mail treatment
8891 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
8892 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
8893 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
8894 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
8895 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
8896 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
8898 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
8899 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
8900 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
8903 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
8904 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
8905 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
8906 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
8909 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8910 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8911 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
8912 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
8915 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
8916 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
8917 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
8918 Emacs running on MS machines.
8922 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
8923 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
8924 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
8925 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
8928 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
8929 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
8930 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
8931 headers too make them look nice. Aaah.
8933 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
8934 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
8935 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
8936 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
8937 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
8938 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
8939 also be a list of regexp.
8941 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
8942 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
8945 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
8946 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
8949 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
8950 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
8951 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
8955 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
8956 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
8957 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
8961 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
8962 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
8963 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
8970 @subsection Duplicates
8972 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
8973 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
8974 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
8975 @cindex duplicate mails
8976 If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
8977 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
8978 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
8979 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
8980 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
8981 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
8982 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
8983 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
8984 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
8985 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
8986 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
8987 will generate a brand new @code{Message-ID} for the mail and insert a
8988 warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks that this is a
8989 duplicate of a different message.
8991 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
8992 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
8993 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
8994 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
8996 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
8999 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
9000 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
9004 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
9005 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
9006 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
9007 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
9008 (any mail "mail.misc")
9015 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9016 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
9021 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
9022 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
9023 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
9024 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
9025 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
9028 @node Not Reading Mail
9029 @subsection Not Reading Mail
9031 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
9032 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
9033 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
9035 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
9036 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
9038 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9039 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9040 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9041 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9042 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9043 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
9044 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
9045 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
9046 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
9047 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
9048 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
9050 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
9051 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
9055 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
9056 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
9058 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
9059 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
9060 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
9063 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
9064 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
9065 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
9066 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
9067 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
9072 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
9074 @cindex unix mail box
9076 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9077 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9078 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
9079 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
9080 which group it belongs in.
9082 Virtual server settings:
9085 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
9086 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9087 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
9089 @item nnmbox-active-file
9090 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9091 The name of the active file for the mail box.
9093 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
9094 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9095 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
9101 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
9105 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9106 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9107 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
9108 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
9109 article to say which group it belongs in.
9111 Virtual server settings:
9114 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
9115 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9116 The name of the rmail mbox file.
9118 @item nnbabyl-active-file
9119 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9120 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
9122 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9123 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9124 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
9129 @subsubsection Mail Spool
9131 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
9133 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
9134 format. It should be used with some caution.
9136 @vindex nnml-directory
9137 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files;
9138 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the correct
9139 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
9140 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
9142 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
9145 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
9146 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
9147 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
9148 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
9149 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
9150 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
9151 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
9152 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
9154 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
9155 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
9156 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes is the fastest
9157 backend when it comes to reading mail.
9159 Virtual server settings:
9162 @item nnml-directory
9163 @vindex nnml-directory
9164 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
9166 @item nnml-active-file
9167 @vindex nnml-active-file
9168 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
9170 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
9171 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
9172 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
9175 @item nnml-get-new-mail
9176 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9177 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
9179 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
9180 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
9181 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
9183 @item nnml-nov-file-name
9184 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
9185 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
9187 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9188 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9189 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
9193 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
9194 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
9195 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
9196 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
9197 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
9198 might take a while to complete.
9202 @subsubsection MH Spool
9204 @cindex mh-e mail spool
9206 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
9207 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
9208 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
9209 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
9211 Virtual server settings:
9214 @item nnmh-directory
9215 @vindex nnmh-directory
9216 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
9218 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
9219 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9220 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
9223 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
9224 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
9225 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
9226 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
9227 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
9228 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
9229 to set this variable to @code{t}.
9234 @subsubsection Mail Folders
9236 @cindex mbox folders
9237 @cindex mail folders
9239 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
9240 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
9241 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
9244 Virtual server settings:
9247 @item nnfolder-directory
9248 @vindex nnfolder-directory
9249 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
9251 @item nnfolder-active-file
9252 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
9253 The name of the active file.
9255 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9256 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9257 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
9259 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
9260 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9261 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
9264 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
9265 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
9266 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
9267 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
9268 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
9269 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
9273 @section Other Sources
9275 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
9276 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
9280 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
9281 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
9282 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
9283 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
9284 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
9285 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
9289 @node Directory Groups
9290 @subsection Directory Groups
9292 @cindex directory groups
9294 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
9295 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
9298 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp}, that most
9299 wonderful of all wonderful Emacs packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I
9300 didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
9302 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
9303 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
9304 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the the directory name,
9305 @code{ange-ftp} will actually allow you to read this directory over at
9306 @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
9308 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
9310 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
9311 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
9312 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
9313 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
9316 @node Anything Groups
9317 @subsection Anything Groups
9320 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
9321 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
9322 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
9325 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
9326 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
9327 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
9328 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
9329 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
9330 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
9331 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
9332 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
9333 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
9334 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
9337 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
9338 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
9339 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
9340 in the article buffer, just as usual.
9342 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
9343 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
9344 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
9345 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
9347 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
9348 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
9349 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
9350 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
9351 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
9352 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
9353 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
9354 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
9359 @item nneething-map-file-directory
9360 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
9361 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
9362 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
9364 @item nneething-exclude-files
9365 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
9366 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
9367 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
9369 @item nneething-map-file
9370 @vindex nneething-map-file
9371 Name of the map files.
9375 @node Document Groups
9376 @subsection Document Groups
9378 @cindex documentation group
9381 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
9382 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
9389 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
9394 The standard Unix mbox file.
9396 @cindex MMDF mail box
9398 The MMDF mail box format.
9401 Several news articles appended into a file.
9404 @cindex rnews batch files
9405 The rnews batch transport format.
9406 @cindex forwarded messages
9415 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
9416 @cindex RFC 341 digest
9417 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
9419 @item standard-digest
9420 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
9423 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
9426 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
9427 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
9428 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
9431 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
9432 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
9433 group. And that's it.
9435 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
9436 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
9437 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
9438 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
9439 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
9440 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
9441 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
9442 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
9443 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
9444 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
9446 Virtual server variables:
9449 @item nndoc-article-type
9450 @vindex nndoc-article-type
9451 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
9452 @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{news}, @code{rnews},
9453 @code{mime-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, or @code{guess}.
9455 @item nndoc-post-type
9456 @vindex nndoc-post-type
9457 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
9458 a mail group. There are two legal values: @code{mail} (the default)
9463 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
9467 @node Document Server Internals
9468 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
9470 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
9471 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
9472 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
9473 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
9475 First, here's an example document type definition:
9479 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
9480 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
9483 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
9484 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
9485 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
9486 types can be defined with very few settings:
9490 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
9491 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
9495 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
9496 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
9498 @item head-begin-function
9499 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
9502 @item nndoc-head-begin
9503 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
9506 @item nndoc-head-end
9507 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
9508 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
9510 @item body-begin-function
9511 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
9515 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
9518 @item body-end-function
9519 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
9523 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
9525 @item nndoc-file-end
9526 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
9527 regexp will be totally ignored.
9531 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
9532 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
9533 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
9534 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
9535 something that's palatable for Gnus:
9538 @item prepare-body-function
9539 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
9540 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
9541 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
9543 @item article-transform-function
9544 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
9545 meant to be used how more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
9546 body of the article.
9548 @item generate-head-function
9549 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
9550 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
9551 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
9552 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
9556 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
9561 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9562 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9563 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
9564 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
9566 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
9567 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
9568 (subtype digest guess))
9571 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
9572 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
9573 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
9574 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
9575 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
9577 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
9578 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
9579 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
9580 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
9581 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for each
9582 type. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
9583 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
9584 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
9585 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
9586 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
9587 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest legal number.
9595 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
9596 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
9597 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
9599 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
9600 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
9601 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
9604 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
9605 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
9606 that interested in doing things properly.
9608 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
9609 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
9612 First some terminology:
9617 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
9618 get news and/or mail from.
9621 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
9622 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
9625 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
9629 @item message packets
9630 These are packets made at the server, and typically contains lots of
9631 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
9632 default, where @var{X} is a number.
9634 @item response packets
9635 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
9636 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
9637 default, where @var{X} is a number.
9647 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
9648 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
9649 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
9650 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
9653 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
9656 You put the packet in your home directory.
9659 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
9660 the native or secondary server.
9663 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
9664 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
9667 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
9671 You transfer this packet to the server.
9674 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
9677 You then repeat until you die.
9681 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
9682 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
9685 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
9686 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
9687 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
9692 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
9694 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
9698 @kindex G s b (Group)
9699 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
9700 Pack all unread articles in the current group
9701 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
9702 process/prefix convention.
9705 @kindex G s w (Group)
9706 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
9707 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
9710 @kindex G s s (Group)
9711 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
9712 Send all replies from the replies packet
9713 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
9716 @kindex G s p (Group)
9717 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
9718 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
9721 @kindex G s r (Group)
9722 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
9723 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
9726 @kindex O s (Summary)
9727 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
9728 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
9729 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
9730 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9735 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
9740 @item gnus-soup-directory
9741 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
9742 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
9743 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
9745 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
9746 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
9747 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
9748 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
9750 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
9751 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
9752 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
9755 @item gnus-soup-packer
9756 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
9757 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9758 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
9760 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
9761 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
9762 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9763 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9765 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
9766 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
9767 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
9769 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9770 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9771 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
9772 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
9778 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
9781 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
9782 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
9783 you can read them at leisure.
9785 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
9789 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
9790 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
9791 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
9792 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
9794 @item nnsoup-directory
9795 @vindex nnsoup-directory
9796 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
9797 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
9799 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
9800 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
9801 All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
9802 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
9804 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
9805 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
9806 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
9807 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
9808 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
9810 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
9811 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
9812 The index type of the replies packet. The is @samp{?n}, which means
9813 ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
9815 @item nnsoup-active-file
9816 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
9817 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
9818 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
9819 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
9820 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
9823 @vindex nnsoup-packer
9824 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
9825 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
9827 @item nnsoup-unpacker
9828 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
9829 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
9830 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9832 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
9833 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
9834 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
9837 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
9838 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
9839 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
9846 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
9848 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
9849 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
9850 more for that to happen.
9852 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
9853 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
9854 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
9857 In specific, this is what it does:
9860 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
9861 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
9864 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
9865 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
9866 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
9870 @subsection Web Searches
9875 @cindex Usenet searches
9876 @cindex searching the Usenet
9878 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
9879 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
9880 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
9881 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
9882 searches without having to use a browser.
9884 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
9885 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
9886 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
9887 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
9888 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
9890 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
9891 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
9892 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
9893 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
9894 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@code{Duplicate
9895 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
9896 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
9897 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
9898 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
9899 header---mark all articles that were posted before the last date you
9900 read the group as read.
9902 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
9903 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
9904 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
9905 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
9906 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
9907 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
9909 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
9910 to use @code{nnweb}.
9912 Virtual server variables:
9917 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
9918 are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
9921 @vindex nnweb-search
9922 The search string to feed to the search engine.
9924 @item nnweb-max-hits
9925 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
9926 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
9929 @item nnweb-type-definition
9930 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
9931 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
9932 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
9937 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
9941 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
9944 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
9947 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
9951 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
9958 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
9959 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
9960 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
9963 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
9964 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
9965 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
9967 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
9973 @item nngateway-address
9974 @vindex nngateway-address
9975 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
9977 @item nngateway-header-transformation
9978 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
9979 News headers have often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
9980 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
9981 transformation should be called, and defaults to
9982 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
9983 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
9986 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
9987 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address---an article with this
9988 @code{Newsgroups} header:
9991 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
9994 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
9997 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
10002 So, to use this, simply say something like:
10005 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
10009 @node Combined Groups
10010 @section Combined Groups
10012 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
10016 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
10017 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
10021 @node Virtual Groups
10022 @subsection Virtual Groups
10024 @cindex virtual groups
10026 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
10029 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small group, you can
10030 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
10031 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
10033 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
10034 regexp to match component groups.
10036 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
10037 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
10038 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
10039 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
10040 the virtual group.)
10042 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
10043 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
10046 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
10049 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
10050 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
10052 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
10053 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
10054 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
10055 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
10058 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
10061 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
10062 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
10063 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
10064 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
10065 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}.
10067 One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
10068 group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
10069 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
10071 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
10072 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
10073 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
10074 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
10075 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
10076 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
10077 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
10078 effect if you have two virtual groups that contain the same component
10079 group. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
10080 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
10081 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
10084 @node Kibozed Groups
10085 @subsection Kibozed Groups
10089 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
10090 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
10091 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
10092 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
10094 @kindex G k (Group)
10095 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
10098 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
10099 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
10100 @code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
10101 and @code{nnvirtual} ends.
10103 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
10104 must have a score file to say what articles that are to be included in
10105 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
10107 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
10108 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
10109 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
10110 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
10111 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
10112 all the articles in all the components groups and run them through the
10113 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
10114 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
10116 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
10117 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
10118 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
10119 Stranger things have happened.
10121 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
10122 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
10124 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
10125 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
10126 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
10127 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
10128 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
10129 on what groups that have been searched through to find component
10132 Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
10133 @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
10140 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
10141 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
10142 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
10145 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
10146 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
10147 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
10148 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
10149 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
10151 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
10152 before generating the summary buffer.
10154 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
10155 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
10156 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
10158 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
10159 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
10160 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
10161 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
10164 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
10165 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
10166 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
10167 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
10168 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
10169 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus @emph{knows} what you read.
10170 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
10171 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
10172 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
10173 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
10174 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
10175 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
10176 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
10177 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
10178 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
10179 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
10183 @node Summary Score Commands
10184 @section Summary Score Commands
10185 @cindex score commands
10187 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
10188 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
10189 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
10190 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
10191 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
10193 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
10194 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
10195 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
10196 score file the current one.
10198 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
10203 @kindex V s (Summary)
10204 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
10205 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
10208 @kindex V S (Summary)
10209 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
10210 Display the score of the current article
10211 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
10214 @kindex V t (Summary)
10215 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
10216 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
10217 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
10220 @kindex V R (Summary)
10221 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
10222 Run the current summary through the scoring process
10223 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
10224 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
10225 effect you're having.
10228 @kindex V a (Summary)
10229 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
10230 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
10231 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
10234 @kindex V c (Summary)
10235 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
10236 Make a different score file the current
10237 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
10240 @kindex V e (Summary)
10241 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
10242 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
10243 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
10247 @kindex V f (Summary)
10248 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
10249 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
10250 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
10253 @kindex V F (Summary)
10254 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10255 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
10256 after editing score files.
10259 @kindex V C (Summary)
10260 @findex gnus-score-customize
10261 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
10262 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
10265 @kindex I C-i (Summary)
10266 @findex gnus-summary-raise-score
10267 Increase the score of the current article
10268 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-score}).
10271 @kindex L C-l (Summary)
10272 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
10273 Lower the score of the current article
10274 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-score}).
10277 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
10282 @kindex V m (Summary)
10283 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
10284 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
10285 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
10288 @kindex V x (Summary)
10289 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
10290 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
10291 expunge all articles below this score
10292 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
10295 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
10296 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
10301 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
10302 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
10304 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
10305 keys are available:
10309 Score on the author name.
10312 Score on the subject line.
10315 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
10318 Score on thread---the References line.
10324 Score on the number of lines.
10327 Score on the Message-ID.
10330 Score on followups.
10340 The third key is the match type. Which match types are legal depends on
10341 what headers you are scoring on.
10353 Substring matching.
10385 Greater than number.
10390 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
10391 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
10392 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
10396 Temporary score entry.
10399 Permanent score entry.
10402 Immediately scoring.
10407 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
10408 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
10409 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
10410 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
10412 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
10413 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
10414 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
10415 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
10416 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
10418 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
10419 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
10420 pretend they are keymaps or not.
10423 @node Group Score Commands
10424 @section Group Score Commands
10425 @cindex group score commands
10427 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
10432 @kindex W f (Group)
10433 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10434 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
10435 all the time. This command will flush the cache
10436 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
10441 @node Score Variables
10442 @section Score Variables
10443 @cindex score variables
10447 @item gnus-use-scoring
10448 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
10449 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
10450 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
10452 @item gnus-kill-killed
10453 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
10454 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
10455 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
10456 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
10457 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
10458 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
10459 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
10461 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
10462 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
10463 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
10464 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
10465 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
10467 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
10468 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
10469 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
10470 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
10472 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10473 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10474 @cindex score cache
10475 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
10476 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
10477 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files that are
10478 unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
10479 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
10480 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
10481 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
10484 @item gnus-save-score
10485 @vindex gnus-save-score
10486 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
10487 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
10488 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
10490 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10491 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10492 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
10493 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
10494 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
10495 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
10496 manually entered data.
10498 @item gnus-summary-default-score
10499 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
10500 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
10502 @item gnus-score-over-mark
10503 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
10504 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
10505 default. Default is @samp{+}.
10507 @item gnus-score-below-mark
10508 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
10509 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
10510 default. Default is @samp{-}.
10512 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10513 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10514 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
10515 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
10517 Predefined functions available are:
10520 @item gnus-score-find-single
10521 @findex gnus-score-find-single
10522 Only apply the group's own score file.
10524 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
10525 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
10526 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
10527 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
10528 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
10529 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
10530 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
10531 then a regexp match is done.
10533 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
10534 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
10536 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
10537 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
10538 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
10539 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
10541 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10542 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10543 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
10544 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
10545 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
10548 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
10549 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
10550 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
10551 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
10552 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
10553 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
10556 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
10557 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
10558 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
10559 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
10560 are expired. It's 7 by default.
10562 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10563 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10564 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
10565 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
10566 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
10567 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
10568 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
10571 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10572 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10573 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
10578 @node Score File Format
10579 @section Score File Format
10580 @cindex score file format
10582 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
10583 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
10584 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
10586 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
10590 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
10592 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
10594 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
10596 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
10601 (mark-and-expunge -10)
10605 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
10606 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
10607 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
10608 (gnus-summary-make-false-root 'empty))
10612 This example demonstrates absolutely everything about a score file.
10614 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
10615 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
10616 has to be legal syntactically, if not semantically.
10618 Six keys are supported by this alist:
10623 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
10624 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
10625 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
10626 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
10627 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
10628 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
10629 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
10630 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
10631 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
10632 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
10633 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
10634 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
10635 to articles that matches these score entries.
10637 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
10638 score entry has one to four elements.
10642 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
10643 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
10647 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
10648 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
10649 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
10650 is successful. If this element is not present, the
10651 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
10652 instead. This is 1000 by default.
10655 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
10656 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
10657 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
10658 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
10659 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 ce.
10662 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
10663 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
10664 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
10665 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
10668 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
10669 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
10670 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
10671 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
10672 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
10673 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
10674 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
10675 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
10676 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
10677 instead, if you feel like.
10680 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
10681 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
10684 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
10685 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
10686 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
10687 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
10688 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
10689 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
10690 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
10694 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
10695 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
10696 ISO8601 compact format first---@samp{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}. If you want to
10697 match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in every year, you
10698 could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string, for instance.
10699 (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so this will
10700 match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where the article
10701 was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the whole
10704 @item Head, Body, All
10705 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
10709 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
10710 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
10711 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
10712 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
10713 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
10714 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
10718 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
10719 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread that is
10720 started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
10721 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
10722 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
10723 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
10724 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
10725 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
10726 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
10727 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread.
10732 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10733 lower than this number will be marked as read.
10736 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10737 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
10739 @item mark-and-expunge
10740 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10741 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
10744 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
10745 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
10746 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
10747 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
10748 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
10751 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
10752 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
10755 @item exclude-files
10756 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
10757 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
10761 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
10762 ignored when handling global score files.
10765 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
10766 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
10769 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
10770 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
10771 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
10772 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
10774 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
10778 (mark-and-expunge -100)
10781 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
10782 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
10783 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
10784 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
10785 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
10787 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
10788 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
10789 ordinary scoring rules.
10792 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
10793 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
10794 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
10795 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
10796 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
10797 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
10798 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10799 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
10800 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
10801 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
10802 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
10806 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
10807 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
10808 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
10809 file for a number of groups.
10812 @cindex local variables
10813 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
10814 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
10815 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
10816 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
10821 @node Score File Editing
10822 @section Score File Editing
10824 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
10825 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
10826 with a mode for that.
10828 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
10829 additional commands:
10834 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
10835 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
10836 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
10837 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
10840 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
10841 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
10842 Insert the current date in numerical format
10843 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
10844 you were wondering.
10847 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
10848 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
10849 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
10850 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
10851 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
10856 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
10858 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
10859 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
10861 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
10862 e} to begin editing score files.
10865 @node Adaptive Scoring
10866 @section Adaptive Scoring
10867 @cindex adaptive scoring
10869 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
10870 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
10871 stupidity, to be precise.
10873 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
10874 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
10875 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
10876 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
10877 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10878 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
10879 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
10880 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
10881 variable to @code{(word line)}.
10883 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
10884 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
10885 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
10886 might look something like this:
10889 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
10890 '((gnus-unread-mark)
10891 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
10892 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
10893 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
10894 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
10895 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
10896 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
10897 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
10898 (gnus-ancient-mark)
10899 (gnus-low-score-mark)
10900 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
10903 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
10904 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
10905 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
10906 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
10907 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
10908 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
10911 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
10912 will be applied to each article.
10914 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
10915 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
10916 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
10917 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
10919 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
10920 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
10921 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
10922 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
10924 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
10925 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
10926 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
10927 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
10929 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
10930 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
10931 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
10932 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
10933 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
10934 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
10936 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
10937 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
10938 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
10939 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
10940 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
10941 aspirins afterwards.)
10943 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
10944 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
10945 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
10947 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
10948 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
10949 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
10951 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
10952 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
10953 let you use different rules in different groups.
10955 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
10956 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
10957 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
10960 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
10961 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
10962 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
10963 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
10964 the length of the match is less than
10965 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
10966 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
10969 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
10970 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
10971 headers. If you adapt on words, the
10972 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
10973 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
10976 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
10977 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
10978 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
10979 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
10980 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
10983 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
10984 word that appears in subjects of articles that are marked with
10985 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
10986 score with 30 points.
10988 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
10989 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
10990 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
10991 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
10992 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
10994 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
10995 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
10996 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
10997 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
10999 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
11000 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
11001 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
11004 @node Home Score File
11005 @section Home Score File
11007 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
11008 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
11009 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
11010 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
11012 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
11013 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
11014 could perhaps use the same home score file.
11016 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
11017 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
11022 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
11026 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
11027 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
11031 A list. The elements in this list can be:
11035 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
11036 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
11039 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
11040 the home score file.
11043 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
11046 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
11051 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
11054 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11055 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
11058 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
11059 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
11062 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11063 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
11066 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
11068 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
11069 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
11070 their own home score files:
11073 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11074 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
11075 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
11076 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
11077 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
11080 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
11081 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
11082 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
11083 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
11084 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
11086 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
11087 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
11088 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
11089 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
11090 precedence over this variable.
11093 @node Followups To Yourself
11094 @section Followups To Yourself
11096 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
11097 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
11098 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
11099 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
11100 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
11101 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
11105 @item gnus-score-followup-article
11106 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
11107 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
11110 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
11111 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
11112 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
11116 @vindex message-sent-hook
11117 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
11118 @code{message-sent-hook}.
11120 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
11121 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
11125 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11126 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11129 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
11130 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
11135 "<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf@@.*eyesore.no>" 1000 nil r)
11138 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
11139 is system-dependent.
11143 @section Scoring Tips
11144 @cindex scoring tips
11150 @cindex scoring crossposts
11151 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
11152 the @code{Xref} header.
11154 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
11157 @item Multiple crossposts
11158 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
11159 more than, say, 3 groups:
11161 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
11164 @item Matching on the body
11165 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
11166 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
11167 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
11168 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
11169 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
11170 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
11171 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
11174 @item Marking as read
11175 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
11176 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
11177 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
11181 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
11183 @item Negated character classes
11184 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
11185 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
11186 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
11190 @node Reverse Scoring
11191 @section Reverse Scoring
11192 @cindex reverse scoring
11194 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
11195 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
11196 like this in your score file:
11200 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
11205 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
11206 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
11209 @node Global Score Files
11210 @section Global Score Files
11211 @cindex global score files
11213 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
11214 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
11215 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
11217 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
11218 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
11219 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
11221 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
11222 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
11223 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
11224 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
11225 files are applicable to which group.
11227 Say you want to use the score file
11228 @file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
11229 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
11232 (setq gnus-global-score-files
11233 '("/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
11234 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
11237 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
11238 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
11239 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
11240 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
11241 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
11243 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
11244 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
11246 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
11247 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
11248 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
11249 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
11250 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
11251 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
11253 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
11259 Articles that are heavily crossposted are probably junk.
11261 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
11263 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
11265 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
11266 lowered out of existence.
11268 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
11269 articles completely.
11272 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
11273 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
11274 old articles for a long time.
11277 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
11278 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
11279 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
11280 holding our breath yet?
11284 @section Kill Files
11287 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
11288 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
11289 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
11291 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
11292 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
11293 files into score files.
11295 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
11296 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
11297 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
11298 that isn't a very good idea.
11300 Normal kill files look like this:
11303 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11304 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
11308 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove them from
11309 the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
11311 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
11312 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
11315 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
11320 @kindex M-k (Summary)
11321 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
11322 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
11325 @kindex M-K (Summary)
11326 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
11327 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
11330 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
11335 @kindex M-k (Group)
11336 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
11337 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
11340 @kindex M-K (Group)
11341 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
11342 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
11345 Kill file variables:
11348 @item gnus-kill-file-name
11349 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
11350 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
11351 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
11352 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
11353 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
11354 course) is called just @file{KILL}.
11356 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11357 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11358 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
11359 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
11362 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
11363 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
11364 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
11365 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
11366 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
11367 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
11368 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
11369 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
11370 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
11372 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11373 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11374 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
11379 @node Converting Kill Files
11380 @section Converting Kill Files
11382 @cindex converting kill files
11384 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
11385 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
11386 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
11389 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
11390 You can fetch it from
11391 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
11393 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
11394 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
11395 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
11403 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
11404 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
11405 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
11407 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
11408 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
11409 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
11410 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
11411 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
11412 Once it has found for you some people you agree with it tells you, in
11413 the form of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use
11414 this prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
11418 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
11419 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
11420 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
11421 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
11425 @node Using GroupLens
11426 @subsection Using GroupLens
11428 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
11430 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
11431 better bit in town is at the moment.
11433 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
11437 @item gnus-use-grouplens
11438 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
11439 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
11440 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
11442 @item grouplens-pseudonym
11443 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
11444 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
11445 with the Better Bit Bureau.
11447 @item grouplens-newsgroups
11448 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
11449 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
11453 Thats the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
11454 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
11455 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
11456 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
11457 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
11458 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
11461 @node Rating Articles
11462 @subsection Rating Articles
11464 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
11465 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
11466 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
11467 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
11470 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
11475 @kindex r (GroupLens)
11476 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
11477 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
11480 @kindex k (GroupLens)
11481 @findex grouplens-score-thread
11482 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
11483 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
11484 threads in rec.humor.
11488 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
11489 the score of the article you're reading.
11494 @kindex n (GroupLens)
11495 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
11496 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
11499 @kindex , (GroupLens)
11500 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
11501 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
11505 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
11506 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
11509 @node Displaying Predictions
11510 @subsection Displaying Predictions
11512 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
11513 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
11514 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
11515 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
11516 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
11518 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
11519 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
11520 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
11521 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
11522 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
11523 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
11524 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
11525 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
11526 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
11527 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
11528 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
11529 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
11530 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
11532 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
11533 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
11534 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
11535 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
11537 The following are legal values for that variable.
11540 @item prediction-spot
11541 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
11544 @item confidence-interval
11545 A numeric confidence interval.
11547 @item prediction-bar
11548 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
11550 @item confidence-bar
11551 Numerical confidence.
11553 @item confidence-spot
11554 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
11556 @item prediction-num
11557 Plain-old numeric value.
11559 @item confidence-plus-minus
11560 Prediction +/i confidence.
11565 @node GroupLens Variables
11566 @subsection GroupLens Variables
11570 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
11571 The summary line format used in summary buffers that are GroupLens
11572 enhanced. It accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format
11573 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). The default is
11574 @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
11576 @item grouplens-bbb-host
11577 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
11580 @item grouplens-bbb-port
11581 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
11583 @item grouplens-score-offset
11584 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
11585 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
11588 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
11589 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
11590 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
11595 @node Advanced Scoring
11596 @section Advanced Scoring
11598 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
11599 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
11600 about a particular subject? Or what about if you really don't want to
11601 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
11602 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
11604 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
11608 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
11609 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
11610 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
11614 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
11615 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
11617 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
11618 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
11619 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
11620 non-@code{nil} value.
11622 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
11623 operator, and various match operators.
11630 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11631 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
11632 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
11637 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11638 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
11639 then this operator will return @code{false}.
11644 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
11645 inverse of the value of its argument.
11649 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
11650 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
11651 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
11652 current article. @code{2-} will make score fules apply to the
11653 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
11654 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) say how far back into
11655 the ancestry you want to go.
11657 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
11658 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
11659 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
11660 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
11661 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
11664 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
11665 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
11667 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
11668 when he's talking about Gnus:
11672 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11673 ("subject" "Gnus"))
11679 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
11683 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11690 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
11691 really don't want to read what he's written:
11695 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11696 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
11700 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
11701 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
11702 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
11709 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
11710 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
11711 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
11712 ("body" "white.*socks"))
11716 The possibilities are endless.
11719 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
11720 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
11722 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
11723 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
11724 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
11725 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
11726 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
11727 (@samp{body}, @code{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
11728 @samp{subject}) first.
11730 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
11731 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
11742 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
11743 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
11749 ("subject" "Gnus")))
11756 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
11757 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
11762 @section Score Decays
11763 @cindex score decays
11766 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
11767 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
11768 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
11769 use them in any sensible way.
11771 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
11772 @findex gnus-decay-score
11773 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
11774 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
11775 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
11776 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
11777 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
11778 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
11779 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
11780 definition of that function:
11783 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
11786 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
11788 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
11790 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
11793 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
11794 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
11795 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
11796 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
11800 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
11803 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
11806 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
11810 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
11811 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
11812 the new score, which should be an integer.
11814 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
11815 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
11822 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
11823 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
11824 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
11825 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
11826 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
11827 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
11828 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
11829 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
11830 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
11831 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
11832 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
11833 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
11834 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
11835 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
11836 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
11840 @node Process/Prefix
11841 @section Process/Prefix
11842 @cindex process/prefix convention
11844 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
11845 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
11847 This is a method for figuring out what articles that the user wants the
11848 command to be performed on.
11852 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
11853 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
11854 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
11855 with the current one.
11857 @vindex transient-mark-mode
11858 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
11859 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
11861 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
11862 process mark, perform the operation on the articles that are marked with
11865 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
11866 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
11868 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
11871 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
11872 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
11873 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
11874 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11876 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
11877 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
11878 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
11879 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
11880 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
11881 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
11882 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
11883 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
11887 @section Interactive
11888 @cindex interaction
11892 @item gnus-novice-user
11893 @vindex gnus-novice-user
11894 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
11895 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
11896 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
11897 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
11900 @item gnus-expert-user
11901 @vindex gnus-expert-user
11902 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
11903 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
11904 matter how strange.
11906 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
11907 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
11908 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
11909 is @code{t} by default.
11911 @item gnus-interactive-exit
11912 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
11913 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
11918 @node Formatting Variables
11919 @section Formatting Variables
11920 @cindex formatting variables
11922 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables that
11923 are called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
11924 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
11925 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
11926 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
11929 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
11930 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
11931 lots of percentages everywhere.
11934 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
11935 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
11936 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
11937 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
11940 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
11941 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
11942 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
11943 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
11944 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
11945 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
11946 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
11947 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
11949 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
11950 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
11952 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
11953 @findex gnus-update-format
11954 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
11955 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
11956 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
11957 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
11961 @node Formatting Basics
11962 @subsection Formatting Basics
11964 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
11965 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
11966 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
11968 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
11969 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
11970 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
11971 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
11972 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
11975 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
11976 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
11977 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
11978 less than 4 characters wide.
11981 @node Advanced Formatting
11982 @subsection Advanced Formatting
11984 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
11985 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
11986 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
11987 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
11989 These are the legal modifiers:
11994 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
11998 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
12003 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
12006 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
12011 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
12014 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
12017 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
12020 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
12024 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
12025 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
12026 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
12027 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
12028 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
12029 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
12030 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
12032 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
12033 last operation, padding.
12035 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
12036 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
12037 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
12038 @xref{Compilation}.
12041 @node User-Defined Specs
12042 @subsection User-Defined Specs
12044 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
12045 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
12046 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
12047 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
12048 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
12049 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
12050 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
12051 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
12052 should protect against that.
12054 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
12055 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
12056 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
12057 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
12061 @node Formatting Fonts
12062 @subsection Formatting Fonts
12064 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
12065 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
12066 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
12067 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
12070 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
12071 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
12072 default. If you say @samp{%1[} instead, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1}
12073 instead, and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes
12074 for the @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
12075 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
12077 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
12080 ;; Create three face types.
12081 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
12082 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
12084 ;; We want the article count to be in
12085 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
12086 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
12087 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
12089 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
12090 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
12092 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
12093 (setq gnus-group-line-format
12094 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
12097 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
12098 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
12100 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
12101 mode-line variables.
12104 @node Windows Configuration
12105 @section Windows Configuration
12106 @cindex windows configuration
12108 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
12110 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
12111 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
12112 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
12113 @code{t} by default.
12115 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
12116 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
12117 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
12120 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
12121 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
12122 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
12126 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
12127 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
12128 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
12129 possible names is listed below.
12131 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
12132 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
12135 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
12139 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
12140 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
12141 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
12142 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
12143 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
12144 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
12145 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
12146 size spec per split.
12148 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
12151 Here's a more complicated example:
12154 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
12155 (summary 0.25 point)
12156 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
12160 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
12161 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
12162 occupy, not a percentage.
12164 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
12165 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
12166 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
12167 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
12168 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
12171 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
12174 (article (horizontal 1.0
12179 (summary 0.25 point)
12184 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
12185 @code{horizontal} thingie?
12187 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
12188 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
12189 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
12190 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
12191 the screen is to be given to this strip.
12193 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
12194 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
12195 lines from the splits.
12197 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a legal split
12201 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
12202 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
12203 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
12204 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
12205 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
12206 size = number | frame-params
12207 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
12210 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
12211 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
12212 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
12213 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
12215 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
12216 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
12217 @cindex window height
12218 @cindex window width
12219 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
12220 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
12221 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
12222 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
12223 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
12224 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
12226 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
12227 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
12228 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
12229 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
12231 @findex gnus-configure-frame
12232 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
12233 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
12234 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
12235 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
12236 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
12237 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
12238 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
12239 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
12240 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
12241 configuration list.
12244 (gnus-configure-frame
12248 (article 0.3 point))
12256 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
12257 @code{frame} split:
12260 (gnus-configure-frame
12263 (summary 0.25 point)
12265 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
12266 (user-position . t)
12267 (left . -1) (top . 1))
12272 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
12273 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
12274 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
12275 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
12276 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
12277 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
12280 Here's a list of all possible keys for
12281 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
12283 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
12284 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
12285 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
12286 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
12287 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft},
12288 @code{pipe}, @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}.
12290 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
12291 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
12292 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
12296 (message (horizontal 1.0
12297 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
12299 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
12304 @findex gnus-add-configuration
12305 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
12306 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
12307 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
12308 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
12311 (gnus-add-configuration
12312 '(article (vertical 1.0
12314 (summary .25 point)
12318 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
12319 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
12320 Gnus has been loaded.
12322 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
12323 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
12324 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
12325 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
12326 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
12330 @section Compilation
12331 @cindex compilation
12332 @cindex byte-compilation
12334 @findex gnus-compile
12336 Remember all those line format specification variables?
12337 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
12338 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
12339 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
12340 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
12341 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
12344 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
12345 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
12346 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
12347 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
12348 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
12349 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
12350 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
12354 @section Mode Lines
12357 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
12358 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
12359 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
12360 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
12361 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
12362 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
12363 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
12366 @cindex display-time
12368 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
12369 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
12370 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
12371 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
12372 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
12373 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
12374 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
12375 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
12378 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
12380 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
12381 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
12383 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
12384 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
12385 (length display-time-string)))))
12388 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
12389 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either.
12392 @node Highlighting and Menus
12393 @section Highlighting and Menus
12395 @cindex highlighting
12398 @vindex gnus-visual
12399 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the prettifying Gnus
12400 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
12401 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
12404 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
12405 following elements are legal, and are all included by default:
12408 @item group-highlight
12409 Do highlights in the group buffer.
12410 @item summary-highlight
12411 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
12412 @item article-highlight
12413 Do highlights in the article buffer.
12415 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
12417 Create menus in the group buffer.
12419 Create menus in the summary buffers.
12421 Create menus in the article buffer.
12423 Create menus in the browse buffer.
12425 Create menus in the server buffer.
12427 Create menus in the score buffers.
12429 Create menus in all buffers.
12432 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
12433 buffers, you could say something like:
12436 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
12439 If you want only highlighting and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
12442 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
12445 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
12446 in all Gnus buffers.
12448 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
12451 @item gnus-mouse-face
12452 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
12453 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
12454 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
12456 @item gnus-display-type
12457 @vindex gnus-display-type
12458 This variable is symbol indicating the display type Emacs is running
12459 under. The symbol should be one of @code{color}, @code{grayscale} or
12460 @code{mono}. If Gnus guesses this display attribute wrongly, either set
12461 this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or set the resource
12462 @code{Emacs.displayType} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
12464 @item gnus-background-mode
12465 @vindex gnus-background-mode
12466 This is a symbol indicating the Emacs background brightness. The symbol
12467 should be one of @code{light} or @code{dark}. If Gnus guesses this
12468 frame attribute wrongly, either set this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or
12469 set the resource @code{Emacs.backgroundMode} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
12470 `gnus-display-type'.
12473 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
12477 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
12478 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
12479 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
12481 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
12482 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
12483 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
12485 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
12486 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
12487 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
12489 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
12490 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
12491 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
12493 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
12494 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
12495 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
12497 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
12498 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
12499 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
12510 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
12511 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
12512 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
12513 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
12514 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
12518 @vindex gnus-carpal
12519 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
12520 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
12521 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
12526 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12527 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12528 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
12530 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
12531 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
12532 Face used on buttons.
12534 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
12535 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
12536 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
12538 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12539 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12540 Buttons in the group buffer.
12542 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12543 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12544 Buttons in the summary buffer.
12546 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12547 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12548 Buttons in the server buffer.
12550 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12551 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12552 Buttons in the browse buffer.
12555 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
12556 is either a cons cell where the car contains a text to be displayed and
12557 the cdr contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
12565 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
12566 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
12567 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
12568 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
12569 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
12571 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
12572 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
12573 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
12575 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
12576 been idle for thirty minutes:
12579 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12582 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
12586 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
12589 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter works together
12590 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
12591 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12593 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
12594 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
12595 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
12596 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12598 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
12599 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
12600 @var{idle} minutes.
12602 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
12603 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
12606 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
12607 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
12608 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
12610 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
12611 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
12612 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
12613 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
12615 @vindex gnus-use-demon
12616 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
12617 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
12619 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
12620 your @file{.gnus} file:
12622 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
12624 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12627 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
12628 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
12629 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
12630 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
12631 Some ready-made functions to do this has been created:
12632 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
12633 @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just
12634 put those functions in your @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
12636 @findex gnus-demon-init
12637 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
12638 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
12639 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
12640 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
12641 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
12643 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
12644 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
12645 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
12654 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
12655 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
12657 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
12658 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
12659 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
12660 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
12663 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
12664 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
12665 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
12666 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
12668 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
12669 this will make spam disappear.
12671 There are some variables to customize, of course:
12674 @item gnus-use-nocem
12675 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
12676 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
12679 @item gnus-nocem-groups
12680 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
12681 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
12682 default is @code{("alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
12684 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
12685 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
12686 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
12687 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
12688 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
12689 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
12691 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
12694 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
12695 @cindex Chris Lewis
12696 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
12697 usenet abuse than anybody else.
12700 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
12701 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
12702 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
12704 @item jem@@xpat.com;
12706 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
12709 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
12710 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
12711 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
12714 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
12715 ones you want to listen to.
12717 @item gnus-nocem-directory
12718 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
12719 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
12720 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
12722 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12723 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12724 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
12725 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
12726 might then see old spam.
12734 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
12735 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
12736 over your shoulder as you read news.
12739 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
12740 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
12741 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
12742 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
12743 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
12748 @subsection Picon Basics
12750 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
12753 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
12754 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
12755 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
12756 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
12757 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
12758 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
12759 @code{GIF} formats.
12762 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
12763 your Web browser at
12764 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
12766 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12767 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
12768 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
12771 @node Picon Requirements
12772 @subsection Picon Requirements
12774 To use have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
12775 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
12778 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
12780 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12781 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
12782 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
12783 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
12787 @subsection Easy Picons
12789 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
12790 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
12793 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
12794 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12795 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
12796 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
12801 @subsection Hard Picons
12803 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
12804 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
12805 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
12806 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
12807 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
12811 @item gnus-picons-display-where
12812 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12813 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
12814 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
12815 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
12816 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
12817 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
12818 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
12822 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
12823 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
12825 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
12826 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
12827 displayed at the right time.
12829 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
12830 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12832 @item gnus-article-display-picons
12833 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12834 Looks up and display the picons for the author and the author's domain
12835 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to
12836 the @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12838 @item gnus-group-display-picons
12839 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12840 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
12841 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
12842 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
12843 is set to @code{article}.
12845 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
12846 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12847 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
12848 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12852 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
12853 to the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
12856 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12860 @node Picon Configuration
12861 @subsection Picon Configuration
12863 The following variables offer further control over how things are
12864 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
12865 don't need to worry about.
12868 @item gnus-picons-database
12869 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12870 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
12871 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
12872 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
12874 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
12875 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
12876 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
12879 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
12880 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
12881 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
12882 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc/MISC")} is the default.
12884 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
12885 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
12886 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
12887 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
12888 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
12890 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12891 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12892 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
12893 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
12894 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
12895 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
12897 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
12898 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
12899 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
12900 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
12902 @item gnus-picons-buffer
12903 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
12904 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
12905 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
12914 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
12915 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
12916 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
12918 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
12919 Gnus---it's all just data that is designed to look nice to the user.
12920 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
12921 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
12922 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
12923 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
12924 @code{undo} function.
12926 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
12927 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
12928 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
12929 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
12930 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
12931 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
12932 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
12933 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
12934 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
12935 never be totally undoable.
12937 @findex gnus-undo-mode
12938 @vindex gnus-use-undo
12940 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
12941 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
12942 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
12943 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
12948 @section Moderation
12951 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
12952 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
12953 @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
12956 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
12960 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
12963 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
12965 If you are the moderation of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
12970 You split your incoming mail by matching on
12971 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
12972 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
12975 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
12976 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
12979 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
12980 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
12984 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
12987 (setq gnus-moderated-list
12988 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
12992 @node XEmacs Enhancements
12993 @section XEmacs Enhancements
12996 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
12997 advantage of that. Relevant variables include:
13000 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
13001 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
13002 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
13003 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
13004 unusual directory structure.
13006 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
13007 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
13008 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
13009 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
13011 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
13012 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
13013 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
13014 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
13015 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
13016 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
13018 @item gnus-use-toolbar
13019 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
13020 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
13021 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
13022 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
13024 @item gnus-group-toolbar
13025 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
13026 The toolbar in the group buffer.
13028 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
13029 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
13030 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
13032 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
13033 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
13034 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
13036 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
13037 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
13038 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
13044 @node Various Various
13045 @section Various Various
13051 @item gnus-directory
13052 @vindex gnus-directory
13053 All Gnus directories will be initialized from this variable, which
13054 defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or @file{~/News/}
13055 if that variable isn't set.
13057 @item gnus-default-directory
13058 @vindex gnus-default-directory
13059 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
13060 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
13061 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
13062 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
13063 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
13064 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
13067 @vindex gnus-verbose
13068 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
13069 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
13070 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
13071 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
13072 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
13074 @item gnus-verbose-backends
13075 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
13076 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
13077 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
13079 @item nnheader-max-head-length
13080 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
13081 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
13082 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
13083 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
13084 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
13085 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
13086 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
13087 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
13090 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
13091 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
13092 This variable says how big a piece of each article to read when doing
13093 the operation described above.
13095 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13096 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13098 @cindex illegal characters in file names
13099 @cindex characters in file names
13100 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
13101 For instance, if @samp{:} is illegal as a file character in file names
13102 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
13105 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13109 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
13110 Windows (phooey) systems.
13112 @item gnus-hidden-properties
13113 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
13114 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
13115 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
13116 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
13118 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
13119 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
13120 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
13121 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
13122 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
13124 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
13125 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
13126 String used to separate to shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
13135 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
13136 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
13138 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
13140 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
13146 Not because of victories @*
13149 but for the common sunshine,@*
13151 the largess of the spring.
13155 but for the day's work done@*
13156 as well as I was able;@*
13157 not for a seat upon the dais@*
13158 but at the common table.@*
13163 @chapter Appendices
13166 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
13167 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
13168 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
13169 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
13170 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
13171 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
13172 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
13180 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
13181 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
13183 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
13184 can point your (feh!) web browser to
13185 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
13186 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
13187 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
13189 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
13190 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
13191 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
13192 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
13193 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
13194 appropriate name, don't you think?)
13196 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
13197 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
13198 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
13199 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
13201 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
13202 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution.
13204 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'') was
13205 released under the name ``Gnus 5.2''.
13207 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun.
13209 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a name that is prefixed --
13210 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Mamey Sapote Gnus''
13211 -- don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
13212 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
13213 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
13217 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
13218 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
13219 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
13220 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
13221 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
13222 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
13223 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
13230 What's the point of Gnus?
13232 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
13233 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
13234 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
13235 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
13236 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
13237 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
13238 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
13239 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
13240 keep track of millions of people who post?
13242 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
13243 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
13244 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
13245 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
13246 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
13247 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
13248 everywhere I could imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one
13249 of you to explore and invent.
13251 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
13254 @node Compatibility
13255 @subsection Compatibility
13257 @cindex compatibility
13258 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
13259 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
13260 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
13265 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
13269 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
13272 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @pxref{Decoding
13275 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
13276 buffers. All variables that are relevant while reading a group are
13277 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
13278 important variables have their values copied into their global
13279 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
13280 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
13282 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
13283 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
13284 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
13285 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
13286 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
13290 @cindex highlighting
13291 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
13292 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
13293 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
13294 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
13295 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
13296 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
13299 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
13300 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
13301 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
13302 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
13304 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
13305 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
13306 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
13307 to stop doing it the old way.
13309 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
13311 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
13313 @cindex reporting bugs
13315 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
13316 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
13317 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
13321 @subsection Conformity
13323 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
13324 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
13331 There are no known breaches of this standard.
13335 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
13337 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13338 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13339 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
13340 the next inspection.
13342 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
13343 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
13344 We do have some breaches to this one.
13349 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
13350 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
13353 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
13354 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
13355 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
13356 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
13357 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
13360 Gnus does line breaking on this header. I infer from RFC1036 that being
13361 conservative in what you output is not creating 5000-character lines, so
13362 it seems like a good idea to me. However, this standard-to-be says that
13363 whitespace in the @code{References} header is to be preserved, so... It
13364 doesn't matter one way or the other to Gnus, so if somebody tells me
13365 what The Way is, I'll change it. Or not.
13370 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliantly with regards to the texts
13371 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
13376 @subsection Emacsen
13382 Gnus should work on :
13387 Emacs 19.30 and up.
13390 XEmacs 19.13 and up.
13393 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.30 and up.
13397 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
13398 reliably, at least.
13400 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various platforms:
13405 The mouse-face on Gnus lines under Emacs and Mule is delimited to
13406 certain parts of the lines while they cover the entire line under
13410 The same with current-article marking---XEmacs puts an underline under
13411 the entire summary line while Emacs and Mule are nicer and kinder.
13414 XEmacs features more graphics---a logo and a toolbar.
13417 Citation highlighting us better under Emacs and Mule than under XEmacs.
13420 Emacs 19.26-19.28 have tangible hidden headers, which can be a bit
13427 @subsection Contributors
13428 @cindex contributors
13430 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
13431 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
13432 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
13433 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
13434 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
13435 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
13436 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
13437 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
13438 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
13439 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
13441 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
13447 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
13450 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
13451 well as numerous other things).
13454 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
13457 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
13460 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
13461 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
13464 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
13465 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13468 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
13471 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
13474 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
13477 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
13480 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
13481 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
13484 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
13487 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
13490 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
13493 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
13497 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
13500 Ricardo Nassif, Mark Borges, and Jost Krieger---proof-reading.
13503 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
13506 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
13510 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
13519 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
13523 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
13534 Massimo Campostrini,
13538 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
13552 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
13553 Francois Felix Ingrand,
13557 Thor Kristoffersen,
13568 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
13573 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
13597 Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
13599 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
13602 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
13603 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
13607 @subsection New Features
13608 @cindex new features
13611 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
13612 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
13613 * Red Gnus:: The future---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
13616 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
13617 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
13618 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
13622 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
13624 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
13629 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
13630 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
13633 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
13634 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
13637 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
13640 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
13641 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
13642 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
13645 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
13646 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
13647 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
13648 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
13651 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
13652 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13655 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
13656 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
13657 (@pxref{The Active File}).
13660 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
13661 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
13664 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
13665 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
13666 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
13669 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
13670 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
13671 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
13674 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
13675 the @file{.emacs} file.
13678 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
13679 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13682 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
13683 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
13686 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
13687 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13690 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
13691 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
13694 Gnus can fetch articles asynchronously on a second connection to the
13695 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
13698 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
13701 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
13702 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
13705 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
13706 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
13709 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
13710 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
13713 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
13716 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
13717 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
13720 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
13724 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
13728 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
13729 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
13732 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
13738 @node September Gnus
13739 @subsubsection September Gnus
13741 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
13746 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
13747 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
13751 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
13752 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
13756 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
13760 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
13761 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
13764 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
13768 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13771 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
13774 A @code{trn}-line tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
13777 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
13781 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
13782 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
13785 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
13789 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
13793 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
13797 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
13801 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
13804 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
13805 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
13808 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
13812 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
13813 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
13816 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
13819 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
13820 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
13821 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
13824 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
13828 The Gnus cache is much faster.
13831 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
13835 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-address and
13836 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13839 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
13840 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
13843 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
13844 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13847 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
13848 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
13849 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
13852 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
13853 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
13856 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
13859 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
13862 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
13863 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
13867 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
13870 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
13873 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
13874 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
13877 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
13881 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
13884 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
13887 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
13891 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13894 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
13898 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
13901 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
13904 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
13905 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
13908 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
13909 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
13913 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
13914 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
13917 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
13921 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
13922 buffer to allow easier treatment.
13925 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
13928 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
13932 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
13936 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
13937 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
13940 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
13944 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
13945 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
13948 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
13949 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
13952 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
13956 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
13959 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
13960 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
13964 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
13967 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
13973 @subsubsection Red Gnus
13975 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
13980 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
13983 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
13984 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
13987 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
13988 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
13992 Article washing status can be displayed in the
13993 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
13996 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
13999 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
14000 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
14003 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
14007 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
14008 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}).
14011 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
14012 Server Internals}).
14015 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
14019 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
14022 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
14023 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
14026 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
14027 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
14028 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
14031 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
14032 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
14035 A way to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed when
14036 generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
14039 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
14043 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
14044 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
14047 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
14048 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
14051 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
14055 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
14058 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
14062 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
14063 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
14066 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
14067 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
14070 A new command for reading collections of documents
14071 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
14072 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
14075 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
14079 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
14080 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
14083 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
14084 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
14085 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
14088 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
14089 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
14093 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
14097 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
14101 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
14105 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
14109 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
14110 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
14115 @node Newest Features
14116 @subsection Newest Features
14119 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
14122 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
14126 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
14128 Really do unbinhexing.
14131 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
14132 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
14134 @file{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/rgnus/todo>} is where the actual
14135 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
14136 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
14141 @section The Manual
14145 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
14146 either @code{texi2dvi}
14148 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
14149 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
14151 to get what you hold in your hands now.
14153 The following conventions have been used:
14158 This is a @samp{string}
14161 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
14164 This is a @file{file}
14167 This is a @code{symbol}
14171 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
14175 (setq flargnoze "yes")
14178 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
14181 (setq flumphel 'yes)
14184 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
14185 ever get them confused.
14189 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
14190 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
14191 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
14192 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
14193 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
14194 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
14195 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
14202 @section Terminology
14204 @cindex terminology
14209 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
14210 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
14211 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
14212 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
14213 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
14217 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
14218 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
14219 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
14220 not posting, and replying is not following up.
14224 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
14228 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
14233 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
14234 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
14235 is all done by the backends.
14239 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
14240 default, way of getting news.
14244 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
14245 These are groups that use different backends for getting news.
14249 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
14250 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
14254 A message that has been posted as news.
14257 @cindex mail message
14258 A message that has been mailed.
14262 A mail message or news article
14266 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
14271 The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
14276 A line from the head of an article.
14280 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
14281 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
14285 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
14286 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
14287 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
14288 normal @sc{head} format.
14292 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
14293 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
14294 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
14295 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
14296 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
14297 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
14299 @item killed groups
14300 @cindex killed groups
14301 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
14302 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
14304 @item zombie groups
14305 @cindex zombie groups
14306 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
14309 @cindex active file
14310 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
14311 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
14312 is rather large, as you might surmise.
14315 @cindex bogus groups
14316 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
14317 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
14318 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
14322 A machine than one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
14324 @item select method
14325 @cindex select method
14326 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
14329 @item virtual server
14330 @cindex virtual server
14331 A named select method. Since a select methods defines all there is to
14332 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the things as a
14333 whole is a virtual server.
14337 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
14338 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
14341 @item ephemeral groups
14342 @cindex ephemeral groups
14343 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
14344 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
14345 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
14348 @cindex solid groups
14349 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
14350 group buffer are solid groups.
14355 @node Customization
14356 @section Customization
14357 @cindex general customization
14359 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
14360 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
14361 for some quite common situations.
14364 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
14365 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
14366 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
14367 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
14371 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
14372 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
14374 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
14375 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
14376 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
14380 @item gnus-read-active-file
14381 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
14382 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
14383 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-news} and
14384 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
14385 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
14387 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
14388 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
14389 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
14390 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
14394 @node Slow Terminal Connection
14395 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
14397 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that
14398 runs Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce the
14399 amount of data that is sent over the wires as much as possible.
14403 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
14404 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
14405 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
14406 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
14407 horizontal and vertical recentering.
14409 @item gnus-visible-headers
14410 Cut down on the headers that are included in the articles to the
14411 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
14412 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
14413 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
14415 @item gnus-article-display-hook
14416 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
14418 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
14419 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
14420 gnus-article-hide-citation))
14423 @item gnus-use-full-window
14424 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
14425 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
14426 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
14427 want to read them anyway.
14429 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
14430 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
14433 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
14434 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
14435 lines, which might save some time.
14439 @node Little Disk Space
14440 @subsection Little Disk Space
14443 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
14444 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
14448 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
14449 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
14450 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
14451 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14454 @item gnus-save-killed-list
14455 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
14456 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
14457 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
14458 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
14464 @subsection Slow Machine
14465 @cindex slow machine
14467 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
14468 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
14470 Set@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
14471 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
14473 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
14474 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
14475 summary buffer faster.
14477 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
14478 processing a bit faster.
14481 @node Troubleshooting
14482 @section Troubleshooting
14483 @cindex troubleshooting
14485 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
14493 Make sure your computer is switched on.
14496 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
14497 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
14501 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
14502 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
14503 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
14504 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
14507 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
14511 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
14512 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
14513 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
14514 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
14515 something like that.
14518 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
14521 @cindex reporting bugs
14523 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
14525 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
14526 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
14527 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
14528 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
14530 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
14531 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
14532 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
14533 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
14536 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
14537 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you send back
14538 just ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
14539 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
14540 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
14541 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
14543 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
14544 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
14545 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
14548 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
14549 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
14551 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
14552 @cindex ding mailing list
14553 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@ifi.uio.no}.
14554 Write to @samp{ding-request@@ifi.uio.no} to subscribe.
14557 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
14558 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
14560 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
14561 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
14562 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
14563 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
14566 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
14567 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
14568 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
14569 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
14570 and general method of operations.
14573 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
14574 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
14575 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
14576 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
14577 * Group Info:: The group info format.
14578 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
14579 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
14583 @node Backend Interface
14584 @subsection Backend Interface
14586 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
14587 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
14588 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
14589 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
14590 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
14591 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
14593 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
14594 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
14595 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
14596 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
14597 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
14598 been opened, the function should fail.
14600 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
14601 name. Take this example:
14605 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
14606 (nntp-port-number 4324))
14609 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
14610 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
14612 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
14613 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
14614 server environments that it pulls down/pushes up when needed.
14616 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
14617 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
14618 always check whether are present before attempting to call.
14620 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
14621 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
14622 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
14623 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
14624 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
14625 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
14628 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
14629 some might be said to not be. The latter are backends that generally
14630 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
14631 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
14634 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
14637 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
14640 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
14641 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
14642 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
14643 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
14644 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
14648 @node Required Backend Functions
14649 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
14653 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
14655 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
14656 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
14657 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
14658 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
14660 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
14661 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
14662 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
14663 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
14665 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try to fetch "extra
14666 headers, in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
14667 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
14668 article number in @code{articles}, and fill in the gaps as well. The
14669 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
14670 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
14671 number, do maximum fetches.
14673 Here's an example HEAD:
14676 221 1056 Article retrieved.
14677 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
14678 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
14679 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
14680 Subject: Re: Something very droll
14681 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
14682 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
14684 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
14685 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
14686 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
14690 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
14691 these in the data buffer.
14693 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
14697 head = error / valid-head
14698 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
14699 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
14700 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
14701 header = <text> eol
14704 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
14705 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
14709 nov-buffer = *nov-line
14710 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
14711 field = <text except TAB>
14714 For a closer explanation what should be in those fields,
14718 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
14720 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
14721 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that defines this virtual server.
14723 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
14724 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
14725 server. In fact, it should do so.
14727 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
14728 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
14731 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
14733 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
14734 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
14737 There should be no data returned.
14740 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
14742 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
14743 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
14744 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
14745 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
14747 There should be no data returned.
14750 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
14752 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
14753 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
14754 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
14755 attempt to reconnect to a server that is has lost connection to.
14757 There should be no data returned.
14760 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
14762 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
14764 There should be no data returned.
14767 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
14769 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
14770 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
14771 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
14772 it would be nice if that were possible.
14774 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
14775 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
14776 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
14777 another, and Gnus mainly request articles to be inserted directly into
14778 its article buffer.
14780 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
14781 the car is the group name the article was fetched from, and the cdr is
14782 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
14783 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
14784 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
14785 on successful article retrievement.
14788 @item (nnchoke-open-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14790 Make @var{group} the current group.
14792 There should be no data returned by this function.
14795 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
14797 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
14798 making @var{group} the current group.
14800 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
14803 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
14806 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
14809 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
14810 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
14811 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
14812 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
14813 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
14814 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
14815 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
14816 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
14819 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
14820 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
14821 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
14825 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14827 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
14828 a no-op on most backends.
14830 There should be no data returned.
14833 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
14835 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
14838 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
14841 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
14842 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
14845 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
14846 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
14849 active-file = *active-line
14850 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
14852 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
14855 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
14856 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
14857 (@samp{=other-group} or none of the above (@samp{y}).
14860 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
14862 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
14863 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
14864 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
14865 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
14866 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
14867 clear if the posting could not be completed.
14869 There should be no result data from this function.
14874 @node Optional Backend Functions
14875 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
14879 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
14881 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
14882 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
14883 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
14885 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
14886 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
14887 former is in the same format as the data from
14888 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
14889 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
14892 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
14896 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
14898 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
14899 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
14900 information (as is the case with virtual an imap groups). This function
14901 may alter the info in any manner it sees fit, and should return the
14902 (altered) group info. This function may alter the group info
14903 destructively, so no copying is needed before boogeying.
14905 There should be no result data from this function.
14908 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
14910 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
14911 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
14912 user is following up is news or mail. This function should return
14913 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
14914 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
14915 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
14916 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
14917 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
14919 There should be no result data from this function.
14922 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
14924 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
14925 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
14926 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
14927 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
14928 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
14930 The only use for this that I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
14931 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
14932 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
14935 There should be no result data from this function.
14938 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
14940 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
14941 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
14942 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
14943 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
14944 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
14945 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
14946 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
14948 There should be no result data from this function.
14951 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
14953 The result data from this function should be a description of
14957 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
14959 description = <text>
14962 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
14964 The result data from this function should be the description of all
14965 groups available on the server.
14968 description-buffer = *description-line
14972 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
14974 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
14975 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
14976 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
14979 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14981 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
14983 There should be no return data.
14986 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
14988 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
14989 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
14990 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
14991 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
14992 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
14995 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
14998 There should be no result data returned.
15001 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
15004 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
15005 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
15007 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
15008 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
15009 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
15010 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
15011 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
15012 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
15014 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
15015 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
15018 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
15019 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
15021 There should be no data returned.
15024 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
15026 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
15027 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
15028 this function in short order.
15030 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
15031 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
15033 There should be no data returned.
15036 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
15038 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
15039 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
15041 There should be no data returned.
15044 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
15046 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
15047 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
15048 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
15050 There should be no data returned.
15053 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
15055 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
15056 articles that are in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
15058 There should be no data returned.
15063 @node Error Messaging
15064 @subsubsection Error Messaging
15066 @findex nnheader-report
15067 @findex nnheader-get-report
15068 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
15069 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
15070 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
15071 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
15072 there are many of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
15073 This function always returns @code{nil}.
15076 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
15078 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
15081 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
15082 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
15083 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
15084 takes one argument---the server symbol.
15086 Internally, these function access @var{backend}@code{-status-string}, so
15087 the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
15088 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
15091 @node Writing New Backends
15092 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
15094 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
15095 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
15096 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
15097 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
15098 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
15101 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
15102 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
15103 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
15105 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
15106 package called @code{nnoo}.
15108 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
15109 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
15116 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
15117 parameters. For instance:
15120 (nnoo-declare nndir
15124 @code{nndir} has here declared that it intends to inherit functions from
15125 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
15128 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
15129 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
15130 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
15132 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
15133 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
15134 a function in those backends.
15137 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15138 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15139 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15142 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
15143 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
15144 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
15146 @item nnoo-define-basics
15147 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
15151 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15155 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
15156 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
15157 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
15159 @item nnoo-map-functions
15160 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
15161 functions from the parent backends.
15164 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15165 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15166 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
15169 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
15170 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
15171 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
15172 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
15175 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
15176 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
15177 haven't already been defined.
15183 nnmh-request-newgroups)
15187 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
15188 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
15189 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
15194 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
15197 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
15198 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
15202 (require 'nnheader)
15206 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
15208 (nnoo-declare nndir
15211 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15212 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15213 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15215 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
15216 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
15219 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
15220 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
15221 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
15223 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
15224 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
15226 ;;; Interface functions.
15228 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15230 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
15231 (setq nndir-directory
15232 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
15234 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
15235 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
15236 (push `(nndir-current-group
15237 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15239 (push `(nndir-top-directory
15240 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15242 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
15244 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15245 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15246 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15247 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
15248 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
15252 nnmh-status-message
15254 nnmh-request-newgroups))
15260 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15261 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15263 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
15264 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
15265 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
15266 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
15268 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
15269 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
15274 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
15277 The abilities can be:
15281 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
15283 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
15285 This backend supports both mail and news.
15287 This is neither a post or mail backend---it's something completely
15290 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
15291 articles and groups.
15293 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
15294 true for almost all backends.
15295 @item prompt-address
15296 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
15297 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
15298 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
15303 @node Score File Syntax
15304 @subsection Score File Syntax
15306 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
15307 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
15308 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
15310 Here's a typical score file:
15314 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
15321 BNF definition of a score file:
15324 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
15325 element = rule / atom
15326 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
15327 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
15328 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
15329 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
15331 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
15332 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
15333 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
15334 date-header = "date"
15335 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15336 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15337 score = "nil" / <integer>
15338 date = "nil" / <natural number>
15339 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
15340 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
15341 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
15342 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
15343 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15344 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15345 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
15346 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15347 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
15348 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
15349 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
15350 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
15351 exclude-files / read-only / touched
15352 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
15353 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
15354 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
15355 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
15356 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
15357 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
15358 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
15359 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
15360 adapt = "adapt" [ space "nil" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
15361 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
15362 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
15363 eval = "eval" space <form>
15364 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
15367 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
15370 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
15371 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
15372 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
15373 one looong line, then that's ok.
15375 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
15380 @subsection Headers
15382 Gnus uses internally a format for storing article headers that
15383 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
15384 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
15385 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
15387 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
15388 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
15389 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
15390 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
15391 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
15392 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
15393 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
15395 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
15396 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
15397 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
15398 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
15399 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
15401 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
15408 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
15409 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
15411 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
15412 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
15413 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
15414 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
15416 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
15420 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
15423 is transformed into
15426 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
15429 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
15430 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
15433 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
15436 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
15437 is slightly tricky:
15440 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
15446 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
15449 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
15455 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
15462 and is equal to the previous range.
15464 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
15465 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
15466 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
15470 range = simple-range / normal-range
15471 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
15472 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
15473 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
15474 number *[ " " contents ]
15477 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
15478 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
15479 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
15480 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
15481 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
15486 @subsection Group Info
15488 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
15489 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
15490 describes the group.
15492 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
15493 second is a more complex one:
15496 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
15498 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
15499 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
15501 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
15504 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
15505 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
15506 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
15507 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
15508 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
15509 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
15510 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
15512 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
15513 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
15514 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
15516 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
15519 info = "(" group space level space read
15520 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
15521 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15522 group = quote <string> quote
15523 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
15525 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
15526 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
15527 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
15528 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
15531 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
15532 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
15536 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
15537 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
15541 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
15542 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
15543 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
15545 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
15546 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
15547 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
15548 Gnus, that's very useful.
15550 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
15551 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
15552 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
15553 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
15554 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
15555 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
15556 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
15557 following function:
15560 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
15564 (,function ,@@args))
15568 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
15569 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
15570 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
15573 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
15574 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
15575 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
15578 @node Various File Formats
15579 @subsection Various File Formats
15582 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
15583 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
15587 @node Active File Format
15588 @subsubsection Active File Format
15590 The active file lists all groups that are available on the server in
15591 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
15594 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
15597 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
15598 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
15599 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
15600 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
15601 no.general 1000 900 y
15604 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
15607 active = *group-line
15608 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
15609 group = <non-white-space string>
15611 high-number = <non-negative integer>
15612 low-number = <positive integer>
15613 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
15617 @node Newsgroups File Format
15618 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
15620 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
15621 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
15622 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
15625 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
15626 Here's the definition:
15630 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
15631 group = <non-white-space string>
15633 description = <string>
15637 @node Emacs for Heathens
15638 @section Emacs for Heathens
15640 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
15641 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
15642 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
15643 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
15644 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
15645 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
15646 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
15650 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
15651 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
15656 @subsection Keystrokes
15660 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
15663 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
15666 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
15667 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
15668 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
15669 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
15670 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
15671 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
15673 The shift key is normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
15674 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
15675 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
15676 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
15677 keyboards. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
15678 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
15679 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
15681 Now, us Emacs people doesn't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
15682 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
15683 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
15684 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
15685 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
15686 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
15687 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
15689 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
15690 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
15691 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
15692 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
15693 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
15699 @subsection Emacs Lisp
15701 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
15702 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
15703 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
15704 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
15706 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
15707 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
15708 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
15709 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
15710 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
15711 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
15712 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
15715 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
15716 write the following:
15719 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
15722 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
15723 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
15724 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
15727 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
15728 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
15729 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
15730 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
15731 previous ``form'', which here is a simple @code{setq} statement.
15733 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
15734 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
15735 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
15739 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
15743 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
15746 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
15747 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
15750 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
15753 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
15754 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
15757 @include gnus-faq.texi