1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Red Gnus 0.19 Manual
11 @setchapternewpage odd
15 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright]{book}
16 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
17 % \usepackage{fontenc}
19 \usepackage{pagestyle}
21 % \usepackage{ifitricks}
22 \fontfamily{bembo}\selectfont
27 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
28 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
30 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
32 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
33 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
35 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
36 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
38 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\textbf{\textsf{#1}}}}
39 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
40 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``\gnustt{#1}''}
41 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
42 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
43 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
44 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
45 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
46 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
47 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
48 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}
49 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
50 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
51 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
53 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
54 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
55 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
56 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
57 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
58 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
59 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
60 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
61 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
62 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
64 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-head.eps,height=1cm}}}
65 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
66 \marginpar[\hspace{2.5cm}\gnushead]{\gnushead}
69 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[1]{
70 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
72 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#1}
74 % \epsfig{figure=gnus-herd-\arabic{chapter}.eps,height=15cm}
78 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\vspace{-\itemsep}\item#1}
80 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
81 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
85 \newenvironment{codelist}%
90 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
96 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
101 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
106 \newenvironment{samplist}%
111 \newenvironment{varlist}%
116 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
128 \makebox[\headtextwidth]{
130 \textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}}
131 \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}
139 \makebox[\headtextwidth]{
140 \textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}
149 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
151 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
165 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
166 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
168 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
170 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\\
173 \hspace*{-1cm}\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=15cm}
176 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
183 \thispagestyle{empty}
185 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
187 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
188 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
189 are preserved on all copies.
191 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
192 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
193 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
194 permission notice identical to this one.
196 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
197 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
206 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
208 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
210 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
211 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
212 are preserved on all copies.
215 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
216 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
217 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
218 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
221 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
222 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
223 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
224 permission notice identical to this one.
226 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
227 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
233 @title Red Gnus 0.19 Manual
235 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
238 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
239 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
241 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
242 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
243 are preserved on all copies.
245 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
246 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
247 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
248 permission notice identical to this one.
250 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
251 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
260 @top The Red Gnus Newsreader
264 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
265 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
266 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
274 \thispagestyle{empty}
277 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
278 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
280 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
281 being accused of plagiarism:
283 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
284 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
285 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
286 even read news with it!
288 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
289 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
290 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
291 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
292 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
299 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
300 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
301 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
302 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
303 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
304 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
305 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
306 * Various:: General purpose settings.
307 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
308 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
309 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
310 * Key Index:: Key Index.
316 @chapter Starting Gnus
321 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
322 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
325 @findex gnus-other-frame
326 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
327 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
328 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
330 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
334 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
335 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
336 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
337 * Slave Gnusii:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
338 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
339 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
340 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
341 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
342 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
343 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
344 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
348 @node Finding the News
349 @section Finding the News
351 @vindex gnus-select-method
353 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
354 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
355 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
356 native method. All groups that are not fetched with this method are
359 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
360 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
363 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
366 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
369 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
372 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
373 certainly be much faster.
375 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
377 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
378 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
379 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
380 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
381 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
382 that fails as well, Gnus will will try to use the machine that is
383 running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long-shot, though.
385 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
386 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
387 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
388 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
390 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
391 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
392 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
393 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
394 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
395 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
397 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
399 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
400 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
401 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
402 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
403 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
404 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
406 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
408 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
409 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
410 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
411 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
412 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
413 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
416 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
417 would typically set this variable to
420 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
425 @section The First Time
426 @cindex first time usage
428 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
429 be subscribed by default.
431 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
432 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
433 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
434 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
437 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
438 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is here
439 defined as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
441 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
442 help you with most common problems.
444 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
445 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
449 @node The Server is Down
450 @section The Server is Down
451 @cindex server errors
453 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
454 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
455 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
457 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
458 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
459 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
460 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
461 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
462 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
463 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
465 @findex gnus-no-server
466 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
468 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
469 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
470 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
471 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
472 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
473 1 and 2. (You should preferrably keep no native groups on those two
478 @section Slave Gnusiï
481 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
482 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (eg., if you
483 are using the two different Gnusiï to read from two different servers),
484 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
486 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusiï that use the same
489 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
490 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
491 @dfn{servants}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
492 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
493 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
494 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
495 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
497 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
498 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusiï should be started with
499 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
500 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contains information only
501 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
502 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
503 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
504 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
506 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
507 information in the normal (i. e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
510 @node Fetching a Group
511 @section Fetching a Group
513 @findex gnus-fetch-group
514 It it sometime convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
515 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
516 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
517 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
518 It takes the group name as a parameter.
525 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
526 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
527 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
529 This variable should contain a function. Some handy pre-fab values
534 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
535 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
536 Make all new groups zombies. You can browse the zombies later (with
537 @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly, or subscribe to them.
540 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
541 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
542 Subscribe all new groups randomly.
544 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
545 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
546 Subscribe all new groups alphabetically.
548 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
549 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
550 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
551 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
552 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
553 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
554 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
555 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
556 up. Or something like that.
558 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
559 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
560 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
561 you about @strong{all} new groups.
563 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
564 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
569 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
570 A closely related variable is
571 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
572 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
573 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
574 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
577 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above to
578 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
579 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
581 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
582 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
583 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
586 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
589 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
590 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
591 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
592 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
593 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
594 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
595 subscribing these groups.
596 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
597 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
599 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
600 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
601 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
602 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
603 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
604 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
605 and if the the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
606 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
608 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
609 Yet another variable that meddles here is
610 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
611 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
612 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
613 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
614 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
615 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
616 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
617 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
619 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
620 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
621 you could set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
622 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
623 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
624 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
625 is @code{t} by default.
627 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
628 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
629 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
630 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
631 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster &
632 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
633 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
634 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
635 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
636 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
638 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
639 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
640 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
641 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
642 few days. If any do, then it works. If any don't, then it doesn't
643 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
644 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
645 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
646 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
647 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
648 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
650 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
651 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
652 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
653 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
654 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
655 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
658 @node Changing Servers
659 @section Changing Servers
661 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
662 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
663 very flake and you want to use another.
665 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
666 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
670 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
671 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
672 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
673 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
676 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
677 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
678 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
679 functions more than absolutely necessary.
681 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
682 @findex gnus-change-server
683 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
684 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map
685 reads and article marks. The @kbd{M-x gnus-change-server} command will
686 do this for all your native groups. It will prompt for the method you
689 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
690 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
691 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
692 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
693 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
695 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
696 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
697 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
698 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
699 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
700 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
704 @section Startup Files
705 @cindex startup files
708 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
709 information is traditionally stored in this file.
711 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
712 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
713 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
714 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
715 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
716 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
717 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
719 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
720 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
721 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
722 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file.
724 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
725 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
726 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
727 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
728 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
729 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
731 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
732 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
733 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
734 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
735 will also means that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
736 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
737 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
738 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
739 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
740 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
741 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
742 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
744 @vindex gnus-startup-file
745 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
746 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
747 file being whatever that one is with a @samp{.eld} appended.
749 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
750 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
751 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
752 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
753 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
754 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
755 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
756 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
757 control on or off. Version control is off by default when saving the
760 @vindex gnus-init-file
761 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file} (default
762 @file{.../site-lisp/gnus.el}) and @code{gnus-init-file} (default
763 @file{~/.gnus.el}) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files and can be
764 used to avoid cluttering your @file{.emacs} and @file{site-init} files
773 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
774 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
775 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
776 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
777 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
780 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
781 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
784 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
785 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
786 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
788 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
789 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
790 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
791 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
792 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
793 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
796 @node The Active File
797 @section The Active File
799 @cindex ignored groups
801 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
802 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
803 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
805 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
806 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
807 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
808 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
809 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
810 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
811 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
814 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
815 @c if you set it to anything else.
817 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
819 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
820 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
821 reading the active file. This variable is @code{t} by default.
823 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
824 you actually subscribe to.
826 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
827 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
828 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
829 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
831 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
832 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
833 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
834 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
835 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
836 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
838 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
839 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
840 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
841 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
842 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
843 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
845 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
846 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
849 @node Startup Variables
850 @section Startup Variables
855 @vindex gnus-load-hook
856 A hook that is run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
857 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
858 times you start Gnus.
860 @item gnus-startup-hook
861 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
862 A hook that is run after starting up Gnus successfully.
864 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
865 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
866 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
867 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
868 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
869 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
870 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
871 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
873 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
874 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
875 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
876 your boss might not notice that you are reading news instead of doing
879 @item gnus-no-groups-message
880 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
881 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
885 @node The Group Buffer
886 @chapter The Group Buffer
889 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
890 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
891 long as Gnus is active.
894 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
895 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
896 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
897 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
898 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
899 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
900 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
901 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
902 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
903 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
904 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
905 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
906 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
907 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
908 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
909 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
913 @node Group Buffer Format
914 @section Group Buffer Format
915 @cindex group buffer format
918 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
919 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
920 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
924 @node Group Line Specification
925 @subsection Group Line Specification
927 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
928 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
930 Here's a couple of example group lines:
933 25: news.announce.newusers
934 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
939 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
940 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
941 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
942 asterisk at the beginning of the line?)
944 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
945 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
946 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
947 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
948 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
949 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
951 The default value that produced those lines above is
952 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n}.
954 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
955 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
956 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
957 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
960 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
961 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
962 instead of wasting time reading news.)
964 Here's a list of all available format characters:
969 Only marked articles.
972 Whether the group is subscribed.
975 Level of subscribedness.
978 Number of unread articles.
981 Number of dormant articles.
984 Number of ticked articles.
987 Number of read articles.
990 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
991 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
994 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
997 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1006 Newsgroup description.
1009 @samp{m} if moderated.
1012 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1021 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1025 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1028 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1029 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1030 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1031 The default is @code{1}.
1034 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1035 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
1036 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1037 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current headers as
1038 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
1039 into the buffer just like information from any other specifier.
1043 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1044 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1045 group, or a bogus (or semi-bogus) native group.
1048 @node Group Modeline Specification
1049 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1051 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1052 The mode line can be changed by setting
1053 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1054 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1058 The native news server.
1060 The native select method.
1064 @node Group Highlighting
1065 @subsection Group Highlighting
1067 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1068 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1069 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1070 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1071 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1073 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1077 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1079 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1080 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1081 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1083 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1085 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1087 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1091 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1098 The number of unread articles in the group.
1102 Whether the group is a mail group.
1104 The level of the group.
1106 The score of the group.
1108 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1110 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1113 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1114 topic being inserted.
1117 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1118 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1119 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1121 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1122 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1123 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1124 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1125 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1128 @node Group Maneuvering
1129 @section Group Maneuvering
1130 @cindex group movement
1132 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1133 expected, hopefully.
1139 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1140 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1141 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1148 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1149 Go to the previous group group that has unread articles
1150 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1154 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1155 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1159 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1160 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1164 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1165 Go to the next unread group on the same level (or lower)
1166 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1170 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1171 Go to the previous unread group on the same level (or lower)
1172 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1175 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1181 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1182 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1183 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1188 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1189 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1190 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1194 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1195 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1196 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1199 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1200 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1201 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1202 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1206 @node Selecting a Group
1207 @section Selecting a Group
1208 @cindex group selection
1213 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1214 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1215 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1216 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1217 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1218 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1219 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, Gnus
1220 will fetch @var{N} number of articles. If @var{N} is positive, fetch
1221 the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is negative, fetch the
1222 @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1226 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1227 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1228 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1229 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1230 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1234 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1235 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1236 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1237 minimum amount off fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1238 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1239 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1240 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1241 (i. e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer.
1242 This might be useful if you want to toggle threading before entering the
1246 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1247 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1248 This is yet one more command that does the same as the one above, but
1249 this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1250 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1254 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1255 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1256 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1257 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1258 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is when catching up a group from
1263 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1264 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1265 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1269 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1270 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1271 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1273 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1274 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1275 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1276 If you have switced from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1277 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1278 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1283 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1284 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1285 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1286 unread articles than this, Gnus will query the user before entering the
1287 group. The user can then specify how many articles should be fetched
1288 from the server. If the user specifies a negative number (@code{-n}),
1289 the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it is positive, the
1290 @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will be fetched.
1292 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1293 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1294 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1295 automatically when entering a group.
1300 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1301 full summary buffer.
1304 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1307 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1311 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1312 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1313 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1317 @node Subscription Commands
1318 @section Subscription Commands
1327 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1328 Toggle subscription to the current group
1329 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1335 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1336 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1337 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1338 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1344 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1345 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1351 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1352 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1355 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1356 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1357 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1358 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1359 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1365 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1366 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1370 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1371 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1374 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1375 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1376 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1377 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1378 be used with some caution. The only thing where this command comes in
1379 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1380 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level @code{7} will
1381 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1382 @file{.newsrc} file.
1386 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1390 @section Group Levels
1393 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1394 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1395 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1396 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1397 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1399 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1405 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1406 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1407 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1408 prompted for a level.
1411 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1412 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1413 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1414 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1415 Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
1416 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1417 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1418 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1419 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1420 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (default 9),
1421 completely dead. Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly
1422 the same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what
1423 articles you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and
1424 living groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely
1425 for reasons of efficiency.
1427 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1428 low levels (eg. 1 or 2).
1430 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1431 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1432 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1434 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1435 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1436 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1437 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1438 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1439 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1440 relevant legal ranges.
1442 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1443 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1444 will only move to groups that are of the same level (or lower). In
1445 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1446 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1447 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1450 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1451 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1452 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1455 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1456 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1457 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1458 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1461 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1462 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1463 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1464 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1466 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1467 Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
1468 @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
1469 unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
1474 @section Group Score
1477 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1478 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1479 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1482 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1483 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1484 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1485 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1486 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1487 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1488 part and the score is the least significant part.)
1490 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1491 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1492 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1493 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1494 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1495 action after each summary exit, you can add
1496 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1497 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1498 slow things down somewhat.
1501 @node Marking Groups
1502 @section Marking Groups
1503 @cindex marking groups
1505 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1506 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1507 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1508 bidding on those groups.
1510 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1511 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1512 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1520 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1521 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1527 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1528 Remove the mark from the current group
1529 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1533 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1534 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1538 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1539 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1543 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1544 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1548 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1549 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1550 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1553 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1555 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1556 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1557 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1558 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1559 the command to be executed.
1562 @node Foreign Groups
1563 @section Foreign Groups
1565 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1566 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1567 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1568 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1575 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1576 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1577 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1578 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1582 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1583 Rename the current group to something else
1584 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some
1585 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1590 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1591 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1592 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1596 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1597 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1598 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1602 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1603 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1604 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1608 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1609 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1610 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1614 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1615 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1619 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1620 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1621 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1622 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1623 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1624 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1625 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1629 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1630 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1631 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1632 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1633 @xref{Kibozed Groups}
1637 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1638 Read an arbitrary directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
1639 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1640 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1644 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1645 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1646 Make a group based on some file or other
1647 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1648 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1649 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1650 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs}, and
1651 @code{forward}. If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will
1652 guess at the file type. @xref{Document Groups}.
1656 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1660 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1661 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1662 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1663 search engine type and the search string. Legal search engine types
1664 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1665 @xref{Web Searches}.
1668 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1669 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1670 This function will delete the current group
1671 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1672 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1673 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1674 absolutely sure of what you are doing.
1678 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1679 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1680 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1684 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1685 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1686 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1689 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1692 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1693 If the @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1694 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1695 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1696 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1699 @node Group Parameters
1700 @section Group Parameters
1701 @cindex group parameters
1703 Gnus stores all information on a group in a list that is usually known
1704 as the @dfn{group info}. This list has from three to six elements.
1705 Here's an example info.
1708 ("nnml:mail.ding" 3 ((1 . 232) 244 (256 . 270)) ((tick 246 249))
1709 (nnml "private") ((to-address . "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
1712 The first element is the @dfn{group name}, as Gnus knows the group,
1713 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
1714 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
1715 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
1716 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
1717 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
1718 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
1720 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
1721 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
1722 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
1724 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1729 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1730 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1731 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1732 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1733 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1734 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1735 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1736 copies of your followups.
1738 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1739 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1740 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1741 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1742 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1743 list address instead.
1747 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1748 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1749 doing a @kbd{a} in any group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1750 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1751 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1753 @item broken-reply-to
1754 @cindex broken-reply-to
1755 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1756 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1757 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1758 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1759 broken behavior. So there!
1763 If the group parameter list contains an element like @code{(to-group
1764 . "some.group.name")}, all posts will be sent to that group.
1768 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, new composed
1769 messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group.
1773 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, all articles that
1774 are read will be marked as expirable. For an alternative approach,
1775 @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
1778 @cindex total-expire
1779 If this symbol is present, all read articles will be put through the
1780 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
1785 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
1786 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
1787 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
1788 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
1789 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
1790 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
1793 @cindex score file group parameter
1794 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
1795 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
1796 means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
1799 @cindex adapt file group parameter
1800 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
1801 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
1802 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
1805 When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
1806 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
1807 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
1808 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
1811 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} says which articles to
1812 display on entering the group. Legal values are:
1816 Display all articles, both read and unread.
1819 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
1824 This parameter allows you to enter a arbitrary comment on the group.
1826 @item @var{(variable form)}
1827 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
1828 are entering. Say you want to turn threading off in
1829 @samp{news.answers}. You'd then put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in
1830 the group parameters of that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be
1831 made into a local variable in the summary buffer you enter, and the form
1832 @code{nil} will be @code{eval}ed there.
1834 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
1835 If you want to hear a beep when you enter the group
1836 @samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, you could put something like
1837 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
1838 @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the @code{(ding)}
1839 form, but who cares?
1843 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
1845 Also @xref{Topic Parameters}.
1848 @node Listing Groups
1849 @section Listing Groups
1850 @cindex group listing
1852 These commands all list various slices of the groups that are available.
1860 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
1861 List all groups that have unread articles
1862 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
1863 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
1864 only lists groups of level five or lower (i.e., just subscribed groups).
1870 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
1871 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
1872 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
1873 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
1874 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
1875 unsubscribed groups).
1879 @findex gnus-group-list-level
1880 List all unread groups on a specific level
1881 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
1882 with no unread articles.
1886 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
1887 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
1888 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
1889 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
1894 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
1895 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
1899 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
1900 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
1901 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
1905 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
1906 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
1910 @findex gnus-group-list-active
1911 List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
1912 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
1913 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
1914 to do a @kbd{A m} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
1915 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list group that
1916 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they are killed groups.
1917 Take the output with some grains of salt.
1921 @findex gnus-group-apropos
1922 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
1923 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
1927 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
1928 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
1929 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
1933 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
1934 @cindex visible group parameter
1935 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
1936 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
1937 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
1938 get the same effect.
1940 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
1941 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
1942 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
1943 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
1944 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
1947 @node Sorting Groups
1948 @section Sorting Groups
1949 @cindex sorting groups
1951 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
1952 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
1953 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
1954 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
1955 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
1956 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
1961 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
1962 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
1963 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
1965 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
1966 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
1967 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
1969 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
1970 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
1971 Sort by group level.
1973 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
1974 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
1975 Sort by group score.
1977 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
1978 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
1979 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
1980 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
1982 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
1983 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
1984 Sort by number of unread articles.
1986 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
1987 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
1988 Sort by alphabetically on the select method.
1993 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
1994 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
1998 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
1999 some sorting criteria:
2003 @kindex G S a (Group)
2004 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2005 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2006 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2009 @kindex G S u (Group)
2010 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2011 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2012 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2015 @kindex G S l (Group)
2016 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2017 Sort the group buffer by group level
2018 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2021 @kindex G S v (Group)
2022 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2023 Sort the group buffer by group score
2024 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
2027 @kindex G S r (Group)
2028 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2029 Sort the group buffer by group level
2030 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2033 @kindex G S m (Group)
2034 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2035 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2036 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2040 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2043 @node Group Maintenance
2044 @section Group Maintenance
2045 @cindex bogus groups
2050 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2051 Find bogus groups and delete them
2052 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2056 @findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
2057 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}). If
2058 given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server for
2062 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2063 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2064 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2065 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2068 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2069 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2070 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2071 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2076 @node Browse Foreign Server
2077 @section Browse Foreign Server
2078 @cindex foreign servers
2079 @cindex browsing servers
2084 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2085 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2086 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2087 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2090 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2091 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2092 will be use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit
2093 (well, a lot) like a normal group buffer, but with one major difference
2094 - you can't enter any of the groups. If you want to read any of the
2095 news available on that server, you have to subscribe to the groups you
2096 think may be interesting, and then you have to exit this buffer. The
2097 new groups will be added to the group buffer, and then you can read them
2098 as you would any other group.
2100 Future versions of Gnus may possibly permit reading groups straight from
2103 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2108 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2109 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2113 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2114 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2117 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2118 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2119 Enter the current group and display the first article
2120 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2123 @kindex RET (Browse)
2124 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2125 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2129 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2130 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2131 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2137 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2138 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2142 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2143 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2144 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2149 @section Exiting Gnus
2150 @cindex exiting Gnus
2152 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2157 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2158 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2159 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2160 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2164 @findex gnus-group-exit
2165 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2169 @findex gnus-group-quit
2170 Quit Gnus without saving any startup files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2173 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2174 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2175 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2176 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2177 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2182 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2183 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2184 trying to customize meta-variables.
2189 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, feels her feet go
2190 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2191 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2197 @section Group Topics
2200 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2201 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2202 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2203 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2204 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2205 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2207 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2209 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2210 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2211 is a toggling command.)
2213 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2214 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2215 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2216 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2219 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2220 the hook for the group mode:
2223 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2227 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2228 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2229 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2230 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2234 @node Topic Variables
2235 @subsection Topic Variables
2236 @cindex topic variables
2238 Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2239 really neat, I think.
2241 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2242 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2243 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2256 Number of groups in the topic.
2258 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2260 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2263 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2264 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2265 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2266 The default is @code{2}.
2268 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2269 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2271 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2272 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2273 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2276 @node Topic Commands
2277 @subsection Topic Commands
2278 @cindex topic commands
2280 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2281 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2282 definitions slightly.
2288 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2289 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2290 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2294 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2295 Move the current group to some other topic
2296 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command understands the
2297 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2301 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2302 Copy the current group to some other topic
2303 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command understands the
2304 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2308 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2309 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2310 This command understands the process/prefix convention
2311 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2315 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2316 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2317 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2321 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2322 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2323 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2327 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2328 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2329 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2332 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2333 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2334 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2335 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2339 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2341 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2342 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2343 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2344 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2345 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2346 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2349 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2350 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2351 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2352 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2353 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2357 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2358 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}).
2362 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2363 Yank the previously killed group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}).
2364 Note that all topics will be yanked before all groups.
2368 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2369 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2372 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2373 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2374 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2378 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2379 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2380 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2384 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2385 @cindex group parameters
2386 @cindex topic parameters
2388 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2389 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2394 @node Topic Topology
2395 @subsection Topic Topology
2396 @cindex topic topology
2399 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2405 2: alt.religion.emacs
2408 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2410 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2411 13: comp.sources.unix
2414 So, here we have one top-level topic, two topics under that, and one
2415 sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always just one (1)
2416 top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as follows:
2420 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2421 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2425 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2426 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2427 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2428 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2429 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2430 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2432 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2433 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2434 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2437 @node Topic Parameters
2438 @subsection Topic Parameters
2440 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2441 ancestor) topic parameters. All legal group parameters are legal topic
2442 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2444 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2445 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2446 know. Normal inheretance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2447 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2453 2: alt.religion.emacs
2457 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2459 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2460 13: comp.sources.unix
2464 Now, the @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter
2465 @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic
2466 parameter @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc}
2467 topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In
2468 addition, @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter
2469 @code{(score-file . "religion.SCORE")}.
2471 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2472 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2473 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2474 score file. If you enter @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll get the
2475 @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2477 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2478 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2479 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2480 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2481 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2482 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2483 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2484 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2487 @node Misc Group Stuff
2488 @section Misc Group Stuff
2491 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2492 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2493 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2500 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2501 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}). @xref{The
2506 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2507 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). The current
2508 group name will be used as the default.
2512 @findex gnus-group-mail
2513 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2517 Variables for the group buffer:
2521 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2522 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2523 @code{gnus-group-mode-hook} is called after the group buffer has been
2526 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2527 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2528 @code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} is called after the group buffer is
2529 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2532 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2533 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2534 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2535 whether they are empty or not.
2540 @node Scanning New Messages
2541 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2542 @cindex new messages
2543 @cindex scanning new news
2549 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2550 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2551 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2552 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2553 command will force a total rereading of the active file(s) from the
2558 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2559 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2560 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2561 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}). The
2562 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} variable controls whether
2563 this command is to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t}
2566 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2567 @cindex activating groups
2569 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2570 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2575 @findex gnus-group-restart
2576 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}).
2580 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2581 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2583 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2584 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2588 @node Group Information
2589 @subsection Group Information
2590 @cindex group information
2591 @cindex information on groups
2597 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2598 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2601 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2602 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2603 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2604 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2605 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2606 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} will be used for fetching
2609 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
2610 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
2614 @cindex describing groups
2615 @cindex group description
2616 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2617 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2618 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2622 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2623 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2624 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2629 @findex gnus-version
2630 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
2634 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
2635 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
2638 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
2641 @findex gnus-info-find-node
2642 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
2647 @subsection File Commands
2648 @cindex file commands
2654 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
2655 @vindex gnus-init-file
2656 @cindex reading init file
2657 Read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
2658 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
2662 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
2663 @cindex saving .newsrc
2664 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
2665 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
2666 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
2669 @c @kindex Z (Group)
2670 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
2671 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
2676 @node The Summary Buffer
2677 @chapter The Summary Buffer
2678 @cindex summary buffer
2680 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
2681 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
2684 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
2685 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
2686 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
2687 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
2688 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
2689 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
2690 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
2691 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
2692 * Threading:: How threads are made.
2693 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
2694 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
2695 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
2696 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
2697 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
2698 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
2699 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
2700 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
2701 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
2702 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
2703 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
2704 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
2705 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
2706 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
2707 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
2708 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
2709 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
2713 @node Summary Buffer Format
2714 @section Summary Buffer Format
2715 @cindex summary buffer format
2718 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
2719 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
2720 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
2723 @findex mail-extract-address-components
2724 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
2725 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
2726 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
2727 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
2728 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
2729 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
2730 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
2731 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
2732 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
2733 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
2735 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
2736 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
2737 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
2738 with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{}.
2741 @node Summary Buffer Lines
2742 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
2744 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
2745 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
2746 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
2747 lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
2748 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2750 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
2752 The following format specification characters are understood:
2760 Subject if the article is the root or the previous article had a
2761 different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
2762 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
2764 Full @code{From} header.
2766 The name (from the @code{From} header).
2768 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
2769 spec in that it uses @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is
2770 slower, but may be more thorough.
2772 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
2775 Number of lines in the article.
2777 Number of characters in the article.
2779 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
2781 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
2782 pushes everything after it off the screen).
2784 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{\[}, but can also be @samp{<}
2785 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
2787 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{\]}, but can also be @samp{>}
2788 for adopted articles.
2790 One space for each thread level.
2792 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
2800 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
2801 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
2802 default level. If the difference between
2803 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
2804 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
2812 The @code{Date} in @code{YY-MMM} format.
2814 The @code{Date} in @code{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS} format.
2820 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
2821 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
2823 A single character will be displayed if the article has any children.
2827 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
2828 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
2829 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
2830 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
2831 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
2832 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
2835 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
2836 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
2837 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
2838 that. This means that it is illegal to have these specs after a
2839 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
2840 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
2842 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
2843 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
2845 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
2848 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
2849 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
2851 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
2852 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
2853 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. Here are the
2854 elements you can play with:
2860 Unprefixed group name.
2862 Current article number.
2866 Number of unread articles in this group.
2868 Number of unselected articles in this group.
2870 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
2871 either as @samp{<%U(+%u) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
2872 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
2873 and no unselected ones.
2875 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
2876 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
2878 Subject of the current article.
2882 Name of the current score file.
2884 Number of dormant articles.
2886 Number of ticked articles.
2888 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
2890 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
2894 @node Summary Highlighting
2895 @subsection Summary Highlighting
2899 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
2900 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
2901 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
2902 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
2903 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
2905 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
2906 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
2907 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
2908 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
2910 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
2911 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
2912 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) that is used to
2913 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
2915 @item gnus-summary-highlight
2916 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
2917 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
2918 list where the elements are on the format @code{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
2919 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
2920 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
2922 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
2923 ((> score default) . bold))
2925 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
2926 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
2930 @node Summary Maneuvering
2931 @section Summary Maneuvering
2932 @cindex summary movement
2934 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
2935 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
2937 None of these commands select articles.
2942 @kindex M-n (Summary)
2943 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
2944 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
2945 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
2946 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
2950 @kindex M-p (Summary)
2951 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
2952 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
2953 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
2954 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
2959 @kindex G j (Summary)
2960 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
2961 Ask for an article number and then go that article
2962 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
2965 @kindex G g (Summary)
2966 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
2967 Ask for an article number and then go the summary line of that article
2968 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
2971 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
2972 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
2973 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
2974 to the group buffer.
2976 Variables related to summary movement:
2980 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
2981 @item gnus-auto-select-next
2982 If you are at the end of the group and issue one of the movement
2983 commands, Gnus will offer to go to the next group. If this variable is
2984 @code{t} and the next group is empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and
2985 return to the group buffer. If this variable is neither @code{t} nor
2986 @code{nil}, Gnus will select the next group, no matter whether it has
2987 any unread articles or not. As a special case, if this variable is
2988 @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
2989 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same will
2990 happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
2991 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
2992 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
2993 @pxref{Group Levels}.
2995 @item gnus-auto-select-same
2996 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
2997 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
2998 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
2999 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3000 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3001 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3003 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3004 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3005 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3006 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3007 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3009 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3010 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3011 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3012 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3013 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3014 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3015 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3016 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3022 @node Choosing Articles
3023 @section Choosing Articles
3024 @cindex selecting articles
3026 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3027 and they all select and display an article.
3031 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3032 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3033 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3034 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3039 @kindex G n (Summary)
3040 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3041 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3046 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3047 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3052 @kindex G N (Summary)
3053 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3054 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3059 @kindex G P (Summary)
3060 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3061 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3064 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3065 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3066 Go to the next article with the same subject
3067 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3070 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3071 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3072 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3073 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3077 @kindex G f (Summary)
3079 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3080 Go to the first unread article
3081 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3085 @kindex G b (Summary)
3087 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3088 Go to the article with the highest score
3089 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3094 @kindex G l (Summary)
3095 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3096 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3099 @kindex G p (Summary)
3100 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3101 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3102 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3103 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3104 history as you like.
3107 Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3110 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3111 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3112 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3113 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3114 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3115 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3117 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3118 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3119 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3120 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3122 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3123 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3124 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3125 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3126 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3127 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3128 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3129 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3130 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3131 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3132 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3133 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3134 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3135 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3140 @node Paging the Article
3141 @section Scrolling the Article
3142 @cindex article scrolling
3147 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3148 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3149 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3150 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3151 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3154 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3155 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3156 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3159 @kindex RET (Summary)
3160 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3161 Scroll the current article one line forward
3162 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3166 @kindex A g (Summary)
3168 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3169 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3170 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3171 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3172 the way it came from the server.
3177 @kindex A < (Summary)
3178 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3179 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3180 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3185 @kindex A > (Summary)
3186 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3187 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3190 @kindex A s (Summary)
3191 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3192 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3193 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3198 @node Reply Followup and Post
3199 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3202 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3203 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3207 @node Summary Mail Commands
3208 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3210 @cindex composing mail
3212 Commands for composing a mail message:
3218 @kindex S r (Summary)
3220 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3221 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3222 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3227 @kindex S R (Summary)
3228 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3229 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3230 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3231 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3234 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3235 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3236 Forward the current article to some other person
3237 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}).
3240 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3241 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3242 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3243 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
3248 @kindex S m (Summary)
3249 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3250 Send a mail to some other person
3251 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3254 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3255 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3256 @cindex bouncing mail
3257 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3258 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3259 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3260 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3261 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3262 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3263 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3264 very well fail, though.
3267 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3268 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3269 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3270 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3271 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3272 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3273 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3274 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3275 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3276 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3278 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3279 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3280 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3281 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3282 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
3285 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3286 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3287 Digest the current series and forward the result using mail
3288 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3289 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3292 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3293 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3294 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3295 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
3298 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3299 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3300 @cindex crossposting
3301 @cindex excessive crossposting
3302 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3303 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3305 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3306 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3307 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3308 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3309 command understands the process/prefix convention
3310 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3315 @node Summary Post Commands
3316 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3318 @cindex composing news
3320 Commands for posting an article:
3326 @kindex S p (Summary)
3327 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3328 Post an article to the current group
3329 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3334 @kindex S f (Summary)
3335 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3336 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3340 @kindex S F (Summary)
3342 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3343 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3344 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3345 process/prefix convention.
3348 @kindex S u (Summary)
3349 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3350 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3351 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3355 @node Canceling and Superseding
3356 @section Canceling Articles
3357 @cindex canceling articles
3358 @cindex superseding articles
3360 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3361 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3363 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3365 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3367 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3368 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3369 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3370 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3372 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3373 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3376 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3377 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3378 your original article.
3380 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3382 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3383 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3384 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3387 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3388 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3389 have posted almost the same article twice.
3391 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3392 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3393 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3394 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*post-buf*}). There you will
3395 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3396 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3397 header by substituting one of those words for @code{Message-ID}. Then
3398 just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as you would do normally.
3399 The previous article will be canceled/superseded.
3401 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3404 @node Marking Articles
3405 @section Marking Articles
3406 @cindex article marking
3407 @cindex article ticking
3410 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3412 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3413 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3414 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3416 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3419 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3420 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3421 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3425 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3429 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3430 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3434 @node Unread Articles
3435 @subsection Unread Articles
3437 The following marks mark articles as unread, in one form or other.
3439 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3440 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3443 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3444 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3445 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3446 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3447 article forever, you'll have to save it. Ticked articles have a
3448 @samp{!} (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}) in the first column.
3451 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3452 A @dfn{dormant} article is marked with a @samp{?}
3453 (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}), and will only appear in the summary buffer
3454 if there are followups to it.
3457 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3458 An @dfn{unread} article is marked with a @samp{SPACE}
3459 (@code{gnus-unread-mark}). These are articles that haven't been read at
3465 @subsection Read Articles
3466 @cindex expirable mark
3468 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3473 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3474 Articles that are marked as read. They have a @samp{r}
3475 (@code{gnus-del-mark}) in the first column. These are articles that the
3476 user has marked as read more or less manually.
3479 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3480 Articles that are actually read are marked with @samp{R}
3481 (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3484 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3485 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions are now
3486 @dfn{old} and marked with @samp{O} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3489 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3490 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3493 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3494 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3497 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
3498 Marked as read by having a too low score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
3501 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
3502 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
3505 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
3506 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
3509 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
3510 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}
3513 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
3514 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
3518 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
3519 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
3520 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}
3524 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
3525 They are interpreted differently by the adaptive scoring scheme,
3528 One more special mark, though:
3532 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
3533 You can also mark articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as
3534 such automatically). That doesn't make much sense in normal groups,
3535 because a user does not control the expiring of news articles, but in
3536 mail groups, for instance, articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable}
3537 can be deleted by Gnus at any time. Expirable articles are marked with
3538 @samp{E} (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
3543 @subsection Other Marks
3544 @cindex process mark
3547 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
3553 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
3554 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
3555 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
3556 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
3557 encounters the article.
3560 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
3561 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
3562 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
3563 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
3566 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
3567 Articles that are stored in the article cache will be marked with an
3568 @samp{*} in the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}).
3571 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
3572 Articles that are ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
3573 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
3574 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}.
3577 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
3578 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
3579 It the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
3580 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
3581 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
3584 @vindex gnus-process-mark
3585 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}. A
3586 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
3587 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
3588 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
3589 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
3593 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
3594 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
3595 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
3597 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
3598 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
3599 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
3603 @subsection Setting Marks
3604 @cindex setting marks
3606 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
3612 @kindex M t (Summary)
3613 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
3614 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
3619 @kindex M ? (Summary)
3620 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
3621 Mark the current article as dormant
3622 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}).
3626 @kindex M d (Summary)
3628 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
3629 Mark the current article as read
3630 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
3634 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
3635 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
3636 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
3641 @kindex M k (Summary)
3642 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
3643 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
3644 and then select the next unread article
3645 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
3649 @kindex M K (Summary)
3650 @kindex C-k (Summary)
3651 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
3652 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
3653 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
3656 @kindex M C (Summary)
3657 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
3658 Mark all unread articles in the group as read
3659 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
3662 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
3663 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
3664 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
3665 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
3668 @kindex M H (Summary)
3669 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
3670 Catchup the current group to point
3671 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
3674 @kindex C-w (Summary)
3675 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
3676 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
3677 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
3680 @kindex M V k (Summary)
3681 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
3682 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
3683 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
3687 @kindex M c (Summary)
3688 @kindex M-u (Summary)
3689 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
3690 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
3691 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}).
3695 @kindex M e (Summary)
3697 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
3698 Mark the current article as expirable
3699 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
3702 @kindex M b (Summary)
3703 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
3704 Set a bookmark in the current article
3705 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
3708 @kindex M B (Summary)
3709 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
3710 Remove the bookmark from the current article
3711 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
3714 @kindex M V c (Summary)
3715 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
3716 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
3717 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
3720 @kindex M V u (Summary)
3721 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
3722 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
3723 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
3726 @kindex M V m (Summary)
3727 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
3728 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
3729 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
3730 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
3733 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
3734 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
3735 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
3736 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
3737 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
3738 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
3739 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
3740 The default is @code{t}.
3743 @node Setting Process Marks
3744 @subsection Setting Process Marks
3745 @cindex setting process marks
3752 @kindex M P p (Summary)
3753 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
3754 Mark the current article with the process mark
3755 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
3756 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
3760 @kindex M P u (Summary)
3761 @kindex M-# (Summary)
3762 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
3763 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
3766 @kindex M P U (Summary)
3767 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
3768 Remove the process mark from all articles
3769 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
3772 @kindex M P R (Summary)
3773 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
3774 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
3777 @kindex M P r (Summary)
3778 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
3779 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
3782 @kindex M P t (Summary)
3783 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
3784 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
3785 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
3788 @kindex M P T (Summary)
3789 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
3790 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
3791 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
3794 @kindex M P v (Summary)
3795 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
3796 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
3797 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
3800 @kindex M P s (Summary)
3801 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
3802 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
3805 @kindex M P S (Summary)
3806 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
3807 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
3808 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
3811 @kindex M P a (Summary)
3812 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
3813 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
3816 @kindex M P b (Summary)
3817 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
3818 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
3819 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
3822 @kindex M P k (Summary)
3823 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
3824 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
3825 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
3828 @kindex M P y (Summary)
3829 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
3830 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
3831 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
3834 @kindex M P w (Summary)
3835 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
3836 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
3837 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
3846 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
3847 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
3848 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
3855 @kindex / / (Summary)
3856 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
3857 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
3858 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
3861 @kindex / a (Summary)
3862 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
3863 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
3864 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
3868 @kindex / u (Summary)
3870 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
3871 Limit the summary buffer to articles that are not marked as read
3872 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
3873 buffer to articles that are strictly unread. This means that ticked and
3874 dormant articles will also be excluded.
3877 @kindex / m (Summary)
3878 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
3879 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
3880 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
3883 @kindex / n (Summary)
3884 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
3885 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
3886 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
3887 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3890 @kindex / w (Summary)
3891 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
3892 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
3893 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
3897 @kindex / v (Summary)
3898 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
3899 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
3900 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
3904 @kindex M S (Summary)
3905 @kindex / E (Summary)
3906 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
3907 Display all expunged articles
3908 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
3911 @kindex / D (Summary)
3912 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
3913 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
3916 @kindex / d (Summary)
3917 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
3918 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
3921 @kindex / c (Summary)
3922 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
3923 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
3924 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
3927 @kindex / C (Summary)
3928 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
3929 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
3930 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
3931 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
3939 @cindex article threading
3941 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put replies to
3942 articles directly after the articles they reply to---in a hierarchical
3946 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
3947 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
3951 @node Customizing Threading
3952 @subsection Customizing Threading
3953 @cindex customizing threading
3959 @item gnus-show-threads
3960 @vindex gnus-show-threads
3961 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
3962 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
3963 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
3964 slower and more awkward.
3966 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
3967 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
3968 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
3969 more old headers---headers to articles that are marked as read. If you
3970 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
3971 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
3972 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
3973 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
3974 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
3975 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
3976 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
3977 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
3979 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
3980 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
3981 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
3982 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
3983 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
3984 articles that belong in the same thread together. This will leave
3985 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
3986 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
3987 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
3988 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
3989 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
3990 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
3991 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
3992 @code{nil} by default.
3994 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
3995 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
3996 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
3997 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
3998 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
3999 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4000 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subjects lines. If
4001 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4002 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4003 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4004 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4006 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4007 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4008 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects.
4010 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4011 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4012 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4013 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4014 simplification is used.
4016 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4017 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4018 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4019 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4021 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4023 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4026 (mapconcat 'identity
4028 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4029 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4030 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4031 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4036 (mapconcat 'identity
4037 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4039 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4042 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4045 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4046 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4047 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4048 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4049 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4050 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4051 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process. The
4052 default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4054 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4055 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4056 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4057 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4058 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4059 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4060 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever includes unrelated
4061 articles, but it's also means that people who have posted with broken
4062 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4066 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4067 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4068 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4069 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4071 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4072 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4073 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4076 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4080 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4081 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4084 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4085 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4086 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4087 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4088 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4089 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4091 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4092 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4093 There are four possible values:
4095 @cindex adopting articles
4100 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4101 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4102 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4103 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4106 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4107 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4108 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4109 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4110 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4111 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4112 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4115 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4116 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4117 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4121 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4122 display them after one another.
4125 Don't gather loose threads.
4128 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4129 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4130 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4133 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4134 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4135 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4138 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4139 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4140 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4141 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4142 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4145 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4146 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4147 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4148 The default is @code{4}.
4152 @node Thread Commands
4153 @subsection Thread Commands
4154 @cindex thread commands
4160 @kindex T k (Summary)
4161 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4162 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4163 Mark all articles in the current sub-thread as read
4164 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4165 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4170 @kindex T l (Summary)
4171 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4172 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4173 Lower the score of the current thread
4174 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4177 @kindex T i (Summary)
4178 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4179 Increase the score of the current thread
4180 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4183 @kindex T # (Summary)
4184 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4185 Set the process mark on the current thread
4186 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4189 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4190 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4191 Remove the process mark from the current thread
4192 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4195 @kindex T T (Summary)
4196 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4197 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4200 @kindex T s (Summary)
4201 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4202 Expose the thread hidden under the current article, if any
4203 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4206 @kindex T h (Summary)
4207 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4208 Hide the current (sub)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4211 @kindex T S (Summary)
4212 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4213 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4216 @kindex T H (Summary)
4217 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4218 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4221 @kindex T t (Summary)
4222 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4223 Re-thread the thread the current article is part of
4224 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4225 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4228 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4229 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4230 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4231 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}.
4235 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4236 understand the numeric prefix.
4241 @kindex T n (Summary)
4242 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4243 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4246 @kindex T p (Summary)
4247 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4248 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4251 @kindex T d (Summary)
4252 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4253 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4256 @kindex T u (Summary)
4257 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4258 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4261 @kindex T o (Summary)
4262 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4263 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4266 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4267 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4268 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4269 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4270 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4271 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4272 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If is
4273 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4274 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4275 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4276 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4277 that have subjects that are fuzzily equal will be included.
4283 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4284 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4285 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4286 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4287 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4288 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4289 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
4290 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
4291 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
4292 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
4293 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
4294 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
4295 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
4296 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
4298 Each function takes two threads and return non-@code{nil} if the first
4299 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
4300 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
4301 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
4302 in the list. You should probably always include
4303 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
4304 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
4305 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
4306 ascending article order.
4308 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
4309 number, you could do something like:
4312 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4313 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4314 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4315 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4318 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
4319 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
4320 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
4321 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
4322 which the articles arrived.
4324 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
4328 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4330 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
4331 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4334 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
4335 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
4336 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
4337 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
4340 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
4341 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
4342 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
4343 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
4344 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
4345 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
4346 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
4347 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
4348 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
4349 is uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
4350 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
4351 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
4352 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
4354 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
4358 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
4359 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
4360 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
4365 @node Asynchronous Fetching
4366 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
4367 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
4369 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
4370 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
4371 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
4372 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
4373 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
4375 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
4376 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
4378 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
4379 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
4380 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
4381 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
4382 connection is blocked.
4384 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
4385 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
4386 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
4387 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
4389 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
4390 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
4391 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
4392 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
4395 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
4398 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
4399 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
4400 happen automatically.
4402 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
4403 You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
4404 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
4405 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
4406 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
4407 pre-fetch all the articles that it can without bound. If it is
4408 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be made.
4410 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
4411 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
4412 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
4413 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
4417 Remove articles when they are read.
4420 Remove articles when exiting the group.
4423 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
4425 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
4426 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
4427 from the next group.
4430 @node Article Caching
4431 @section Article Caching
4432 @cindex article caching
4435 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
4436 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
4437 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
4438 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
4439 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
4441 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
4443 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4444 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
4445 @vindex gnus-use-cache
4446 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
4447 all articles that are ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
4448 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
4449 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
4450 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
4452 When re-select a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
4453 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
4454 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
4455 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
4456 as dormant, and don't worry.
4458 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
4460 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
4461 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
4462 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
4463 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
4464 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
4465 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
4466 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
4467 articles that are marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
4468 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
4469 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
4471 @findex gnus-jog-cache
4472 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
4473 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
4474 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, and store them in
4475 the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if 1)
4476 your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really, really slow
4477 and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk. Seriously.
4479 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
4480 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
4481 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
4482 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
4483 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
4484 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
4485 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
4488 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
4489 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
4490 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
4491 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
4492 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
4493 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
4494 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
4495 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
4496 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
4500 @node Persistent Articles
4501 @section Persistent Articles
4502 @cindex persistent articles
4504 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
4505 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
4506 useful in my opinion.
4508 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
4509 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
4510 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
4511 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
4512 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
4513 the expiry going on at the news server.
4515 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
4516 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
4517 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
4523 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
4524 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
4527 @kindex M-* (Summary)
4528 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
4529 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
4530 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
4534 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
4536 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
4537 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
4538 interested in persistent articles:
4541 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
4545 @node Article Backlog
4546 @section Article Backlog
4548 @cindex article backlog
4550 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
4551 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
4552 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
4553 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
4554 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
4555 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
4556 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
4557 increase memory usage some.
4559 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
4560 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
4561 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
4562 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
4563 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
4564 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
4565 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
4567 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
4570 @node Saving Articles
4571 @section Saving Articles
4572 @cindex saving articles
4574 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
4575 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
4576 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
4577 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
4578 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
4580 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
4581 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
4582 unwanted headers before saving the article.
4584 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
4585 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
4586 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
4587 deleted before saving.
4593 @kindex O o (Summary)
4595 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
4596 Save the current article using the default article saver
4597 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
4600 @kindex O m (Summary)
4601 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
4602 Save the current article in mail format
4603 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
4606 @kindex O r (Summary)
4607 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
4608 Save the current article in rmail format
4609 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
4612 @kindex O f (Summary)
4613 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
4614 Save the current article in plain file format
4615 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
4618 @kindex O b (Summary)
4619 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
4620 Save the current article body in plain file format
4621 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
4624 @kindex O h (Summary)
4625 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
4626 Save the current article in mh folder format
4627 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
4630 @kindex O v (Summary)
4631 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
4632 Save the current article in a VM folder
4633 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
4636 @kindex O p (Summary)
4637 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
4638 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
4639 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
4642 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
4643 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
4644 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
4645 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
4646 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
4647 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
4648 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
4649 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
4650 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
4651 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
4652 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
4653 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
4657 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
4658 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
4659 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
4660 functions below, or you can create your own.
4664 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
4665 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
4666 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
4667 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
4668 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
4669 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4670 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
4672 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
4673 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
4674 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
4675 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
4676 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4677 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
4679 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
4680 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
4681 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
4682 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
4683 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
4684 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4685 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
4687 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
4688 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
4689 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
4690 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4691 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
4693 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
4694 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
4695 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
4696 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
4697 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
4700 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
4701 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
4702 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
4703 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
4704 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}. The former creates capitalized names, and
4705 the latter does not.
4707 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
4708 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
4709 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
4710 reader to use this setting.
4713 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
4714 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
4715 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
4716 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
4719 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
4720 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
4721 available functions that generate names:
4725 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
4726 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
4727 Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
4729 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
4730 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
4731 Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
4733 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
4734 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
4735 Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
4737 @item gnus-plain-save-name
4738 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
4739 Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
4742 @vindex gnus-split-methods
4743 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
4744 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
4745 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
4746 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
4750 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
4751 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
4752 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
4753 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
4756 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
4757 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
4758 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
4759 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
4760 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
4761 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
4762 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
4763 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
4764 called returns a string or a list of strings.
4766 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
4767 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
4768 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
4769 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
4771 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
4772 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
4773 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
4776 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4777 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
4778 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
4779 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
4780 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
4781 all the files in the toplevel directory
4782 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
4783 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
4784 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
4785 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
4787 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
4788 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
4789 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
4790 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
4791 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
4794 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
4798 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
4799 (setq gnus-default-article-save 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
4802 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
4803 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
4804 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
4805 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
4808 @node Decoding Articles
4809 @section Decoding Articles
4810 @cindex decoding articles
4812 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
4813 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
4816 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
4817 * Shared Articles:: Unshar articles.
4818 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
4819 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
4820 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
4823 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
4824 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
4825 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
4826 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
4827 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
4829 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
4830 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
4831 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
4833 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
4834 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
4835 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
4837 Subjects that are nonstandard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
4838 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
4839 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
4842 @node Uuencoded Articles
4843 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
4845 @cindex uuencoded articles
4850 @kindex X u (Summary)
4851 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
4852 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
4855 @kindex X U (Summary)
4856 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
4857 Uudecodes and saves the current series
4858 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
4861 @kindex X v u (Summary)
4862 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
4863 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
4866 @kindex X v U (Summary)
4867 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
4868 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
4869 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
4872 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
4873 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
4874 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
4875 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
4876 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
4878 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
4879 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
4880 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
4881 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
4884 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
4885 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
4886 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
4887 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
4888 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
4889 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
4893 @node Shared Articles
4894 @subsection Shared Articles
4896 @cindex shared articles
4901 @kindex X s (Summary)
4902 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
4903 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
4906 @kindex X S (Summary)
4907 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
4908 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
4911 @kindex X v s (Summary)
4912 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
4913 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
4916 @kindex X v S (Summary)
4917 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
4918 Unshars, views and saves the current series
4919 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
4923 @node PostScript Files
4924 @subsection PostScript Files
4930 @kindex X p (Summary)
4931 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
4932 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
4935 @kindex X P (Summary)
4936 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
4937 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
4938 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
4941 @kindex X v p (Summary)
4942 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
4943 View the current PostScript series
4944 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
4947 @kindex X v P (Summary)
4948 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
4949 View and save the current PostScript series
4950 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
4954 @node Decoding Variables
4955 @subsection Decoding Variables
4957 Adjective, not verb.
4960 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
4961 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
4962 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
4966 @node Rule Variables
4967 @subsubsection Rule Variables
4968 @cindex rule variables
4970 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
4971 variables are on the form
4974 (list '(regexp1 command2)
4981 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
4982 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
4984 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
4985 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
4988 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
4989 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
4992 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
4993 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
4994 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
4995 user and default view rules.
4997 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
4998 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
4999 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5004 @node Other Decode Variables
5005 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5008 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5010 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5011 All functions in this list will be called right each file has been
5012 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5013 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5014 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5018 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5019 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5022 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5023 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5024 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5027 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5028 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5029 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5031 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5032 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5033 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5034 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5035 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5038 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5039 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5040 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5042 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5043 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5044 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5045 looking for files to display.
5047 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5048 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5049 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5052 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5053 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5054 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5057 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5058 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5059 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5062 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5063 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5064 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5067 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5068 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5069 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark articles that were
5070 unsuccessfully decoded as unread.
5072 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5073 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5074 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5075 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5077 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5078 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5080 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5081 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5082 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5083 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5085 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5086 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5087 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5088 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5089 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5090 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5091 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5092 simply dropped them.
5097 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5098 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5102 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5103 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5104 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5105 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5106 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5107 for you when you post the article.
5109 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5110 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5111 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5112 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5114 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5115 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5116 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5117 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen are able
5118 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5119 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5120 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5122 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5123 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5124 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5125 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5126 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5127 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5128 Default is @code{t}.
5134 @subsection Viewing Files
5135 @cindex viewing files
5136 @cindex pseudo-articles
5138 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5139 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5140 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5141 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5142 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5143 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5144 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5146 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5147 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5148 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5149 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5151 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5152 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5153 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5155 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5156 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5157 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5158 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5159 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5161 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5162 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5163 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5164 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5165 a list of parameters to that command.
5167 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5168 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5169 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5171 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5172 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5173 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5176 @node Article Treatment
5177 @section Article Treatment
5179 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5180 object of newsreaders are to actually, like, read what people have
5181 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5182 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5183 these articles easier.
5186 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5187 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5188 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5189 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5190 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5191 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5195 @node Article Highlighting
5196 @subsection Article Highlighting
5199 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
5200 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
5205 @kindex W H a (Summary)
5206 @findex gnus-article-highlight
5207 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
5210 @kindex W H h (Summary)
5211 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
5212 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
5213 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
5214 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
5215 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
5216 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
5217 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
5218 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
5219 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
5220 prepended---Gnus will add one.
5223 @kindex W H c (Summary)
5224 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
5225 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
5227 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
5230 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5232 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5233 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
5234 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
5236 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5237 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5238 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
5240 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
5241 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
5242 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
5244 @item gnus-cite-face-list
5245 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
5246 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
5247 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
5248 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
5251 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
5252 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
5253 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
5255 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5256 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5257 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
5259 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5260 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5261 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
5262 that it's a citation.
5264 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5265 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5266 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
5268 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5269 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5270 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
5272 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
5273 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
5274 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
5275 cited text belonging to the attribution.
5281 @kindex W H s (Summary)
5282 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5283 @vindex gnus-signature-face
5284 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
5285 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
5286 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
5287 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
5288 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
5294 @node Article Hiding
5295 @subsection Article Hiding
5296 @cindex article hiding
5298 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
5299 too much cruft in most articles.
5304 @kindex W W a (Summary)
5305 @findex gnus-article-hide
5306 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
5309 @kindex W W h (Summary)
5310 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
5311 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
5315 @kindex W W b (Summary)
5316 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
5317 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
5318 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
5321 @kindex W W s (Summary)
5322 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
5323 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
5327 @kindex W W p (Summary)
5328 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
5329 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
5332 @kindex W W P (Summary)
5333 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
5334 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhavnced hessages) gruft
5335 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
5338 @kindex W W c (Summary)
5339 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
5340 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
5341 customizing the hiding:
5345 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5346 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5347 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
5348 50), hide the cited text.
5350 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5351 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5352 The cited text must be have at least this length (default 10) before it
5355 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5356 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5357 Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
5358 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
5359 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
5364 Start point of the hidden text.
5366 End point of the hidden text.
5368 Length of the hidden text.
5371 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
5372 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
5373 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
5378 @kindex W W C (Summary)
5379 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
5380 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
5381 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
5382 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
5383 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
5387 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
5388 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
5389 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
5391 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
5392 citation customization.
5395 @node Article Washing
5396 @subsection Article Washing
5398 @cindex article washing
5400 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
5401 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
5403 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
5404 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
5410 @kindex W l (Summary)
5411 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
5412 Remove page breaks from the current article
5413 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
5416 @kindex W r (Summary)
5417 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
5418 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
5419 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
5422 @kindex W t (Summary)
5423 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
5424 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
5425 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
5428 @kindex W v (Summary)
5429 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
5430 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
5431 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
5434 @kindex W m (Summary)
5435 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
5436 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
5437 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
5440 @kindex W o (Summary)
5441 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
5442 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
5445 @kindex W w (Summary)
5446 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
5447 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
5448 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
5449 late and certainly after any highlighting.
5452 @kindex W c (Summary)
5453 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
5454 Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
5457 @kindex W q (Summary)
5458 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
5459 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
5462 @kindex W f (Summary)
5464 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
5465 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
5466 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
5467 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
5468 Look for and display any X-Face headers
5469 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
5470 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
5471 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
5472 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
5473 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
5474 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
5475 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
5476 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
5477 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
5478 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
5479 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
5480 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
5481 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
5485 @kindex W b (Summary)
5486 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
5487 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
5490 @kindex W B (Summary)
5491 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
5492 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
5493 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
5496 @kindex W E l (Summary)
5497 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
5498 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
5499 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
5502 @kindex W E m (Summary)
5503 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
5504 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
5505 lines with a single empty line.
5506 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
5509 @kindex W E t (Summary)
5510 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
5511 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
5512 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
5515 @kindex W E a (Summary)
5516 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
5517 Do all the three commands above
5518 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
5523 @node Article Buttons
5524 @subsection Article Buttons
5527 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
5528 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
5529 with the minimum of fuzz.
5531 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
5532 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
5533 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
5538 @item gnus-button-alist
5539 @vindex gnus-button-alist
5540 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
5543 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5549 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
5550 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that match embedded URLs:
5551 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
5554 Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
5555 a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
5556 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use @code{0} here.
5559 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
5560 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
5561 avoid false matches.
5564 This function will be called when you click on this button.
5567 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
5568 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
5572 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
5575 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
5578 @item gnus-header-button-alist
5579 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
5580 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
5581 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
5582 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
5585 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5588 @var{header} is a regular expression.
5590 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
5591 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
5592 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
5593 default values of the variables above.
5595 @item gnus-article-button-face
5596 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
5597 Face used on bottons.
5599 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
5600 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
5601 Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
5607 @subsection Article Date
5609 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
5610 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
5611 when the article was sent.
5616 @kindex W T u (Summary)
5617 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
5618 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
5619 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
5622 @kindex W T l (Summary)
5623 @findex gnus-article-date-local
5624 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
5627 @kindex W T e (Summary)
5628 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
5629 Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and now
5630 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
5633 @kindex W T o (Summary)
5634 @findex gnus-article-date-original
5635 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
5636 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
5637 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
5638 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
5639 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
5644 @node Article Signature
5645 @subsection Article Signature
5647 @cindex article signature
5649 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5650 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
5651 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
5652 that says what is to be considered a signature is
5653 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
5654 @samp{"^-- $"} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
5655 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
5656 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
5657 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
5660 (setq gnus-signature-separator
5661 '("^-- $" ; The standard
5662 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
5663 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
5664 ; line of dashes. Shame!
5665 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
5666 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
5667 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
5670 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
5673 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
5674 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
5679 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
5682 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
5685 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
5686 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
5688 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
5689 in question is not a signature.
5692 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
5696 @node Summary Sorting
5697 @section Summary Sorting
5698 @cindex summary sorting
5700 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
5701 can't really see why you'd want that.
5706 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
5707 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
5708 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
5711 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
5712 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
5713 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
5716 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
5717 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
5718 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
5721 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
5722 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
5723 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
5726 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
5727 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
5728 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
5731 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
5732 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
5733 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
5734 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
5735 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
5739 @node Finding the Parent
5740 @section Finding the Parent
5741 @cindex parent articles
5742 @cindex referring articles
5744 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
5746 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
5747 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
5748 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
5749 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
5750 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
5751 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
5752 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
5753 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
5755 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
5756 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
5757 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
5758 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
5759 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
5762 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
5763 @kindex A R (Summary)
5764 You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
5765 header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
5766 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
5768 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
5769 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
5770 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
5771 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
5772 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
5773 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long thingies that look
5774 something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You have to get
5775 it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
5777 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
5778 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
5779 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
5780 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
5781 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the same
5782 as the one that keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's
5783 not really necessary.
5785 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
5786 not do a particularly excellent job of it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
5787 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
5788 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
5789 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
5790 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
5793 @node Alternative Approaches
5794 @section Alternative Approaches
5796 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
5797 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
5800 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
5801 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
5806 @subsection Pick and Read
5807 @cindex pick and read
5809 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{nn}) use a two-phased
5810 reading interface. The user first marks the articles she wants to read
5811 from a summary buffer. Then she starts reading the articles with just
5812 an article buffer displayed.
5814 @findex gnus-pick-mode
5815 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
5816 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
5817 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
5818 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
5819 it makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
5822 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
5827 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5828 Pick the article on the current line
5829 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
5830 go to the article on that line and pick that article. (The line number
5831 is normally displayed on the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
5834 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
5835 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
5836 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
5837 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
5841 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5842 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5846 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5847 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5851 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5852 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5856 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5857 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5861 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5862 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5866 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5867 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5871 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5872 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5876 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5877 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5881 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5882 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5886 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
5887 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
5891 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
5892 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
5893 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
5894 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
5895 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
5896 will still be visible when you are reading.
5900 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
5903 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
5906 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
5907 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
5909 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
5910 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
5911 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
5913 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
5914 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different than the
5915 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
5916 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
5917 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
5918 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
5919 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
5923 @subsection Binary Groups
5924 @cindex binary groups
5926 @findex gnus-binary-mode
5927 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
5928 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
5929 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
5930 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
5931 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
5932 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
5935 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
5936 In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned this
5937 mode on is the @kbd{g} command (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
5939 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
5940 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
5944 @section Tree Display
5947 @vindex gnus-use-trees
5948 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
5949 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
5950 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
5953 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
5956 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
5957 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
5958 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
5960 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
5961 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
5962 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
5963 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of legal specs, @pxref{Summary
5966 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
5967 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
5968 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
5969 default is @code{modeline}.
5971 @item gnus-tree-line-format
5972 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
5973 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
5974 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
5975 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
5976 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
5977 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
5983 The name of the poster.
5985 The @code{From} header.
5987 The number of the article.
5989 The opening bracket.
5991 The closing bracket.
5996 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5998 Variables related to the display are:
6001 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6002 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6003 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6004 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6005 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6006 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
6008 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6009 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6010 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6011 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
6015 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
6016 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
6017 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
6018 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
6019 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
6020 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}.
6022 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
6023 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
6024 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6025 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
6026 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
6027 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
6028 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
6032 Here's and example from a horizontal tree buffer:
6035 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
6045 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
6049 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
6050 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
6052 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
6054 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
6060 @node Mail Group Commands
6061 @section Mail Group Commands
6062 @cindex mail group commands
6064 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
6065 illegal in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
6067 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
6068 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6073 @kindex B e (Summary)
6074 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
6075 Expire all expirable articles in the group
6076 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
6079 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
6080 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
6081 Expunge all the expirable articles in the group
6082 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
6083 articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
6084 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
6087 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
6088 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
6089 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
6090 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
6091 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
6094 @kindex B m (Summary)
6096 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
6097 Move the article from one mail group to another
6098 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6101 @kindex B c (Summary)
6103 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
6104 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
6105 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
6108 @kindex B C (Summary)
6109 @cindex crosspost mail
6110 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
6111 Crosspost the current article to some other group
6112 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
6113 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
6114 be properly updated.
6117 @kindex B i (Summary)
6118 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
6119 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
6120 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
6121 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
6124 @kindex B r (Summary)
6125 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
6126 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6130 @kindex B w (Summary)
6132 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
6133 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
6134 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
6135 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
6136 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
6139 @kindex B q (Summary)
6140 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
6141 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
6142 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
6143 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
6146 @kindex B p (Summary)
6147 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
6148 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
6149 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
6150 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
6151 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
6152 article from your news server (or rather, from
6153 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
6154 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
6155 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
6156 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
6157 just not have arrived yet.
6161 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
6162 @cindex moving articles
6163 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
6164 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
6165 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
6166 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
6167 suggestions you find reasonable.
6170 @node Various Summary Stuff
6171 @section Various Summary Stuff
6174 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
6175 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
6176 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
6180 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
6181 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
6182 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
6184 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
6185 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
6186 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
6187 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
6188 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
6189 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
6192 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6193 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6194 Is is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
6195 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
6196 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
6201 @node Summary Group Information
6202 @subsection Summary Group Information
6207 @kindex H f (Summary)
6208 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
6209 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
6210 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
6211 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
6212 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
6213 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
6214 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
6215 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} probably will be used for
6219 @kindex H d (Summary)
6220 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
6221 Give a brief description of the current group
6222 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
6223 rereading the description from the server.
6226 @kindex H h (Summary)
6227 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
6228 Give a very brief description of the most important summary keystrokes
6229 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
6232 @kindex H i (Summary)
6233 @findex gnus-info-find-node
6234 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
6238 @node Searching for Articles
6239 @subsection Searching for Articles
6244 @kindex M-s (Summary)
6245 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
6246 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
6247 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
6250 @kindex M-r (Summary)
6251 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
6252 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
6253 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
6257 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
6258 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
6259 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
6260 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}).
6263 @kindex M-& (Summary)
6264 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
6265 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
6266 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
6270 @node Really Various Summary Commands
6271 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
6276 @kindex C-d (Summary)
6277 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
6278 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
6279 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
6280 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
6281 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
6282 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
6283 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
6284 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
6288 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
6289 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
6290 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
6291 several documents into one biiig group
6292 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
6293 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
6294 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
6295 command understands the process/prefix convention
6296 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6299 @kindex C-t (Summary)
6300 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
6301 Toggle truncation of summary lines
6302 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
6303 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
6304 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
6308 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
6309 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
6310 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
6313 @kindex M-C-g (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
6315 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
6320 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
6321 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
6322 @cindex summary exit
6323 @cindex exiting groups
6325 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
6326 group and return you to the group buffer.
6332 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
6334 @findex gnus-summary-exit
6335 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
6336 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
6337 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
6338 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
6339 called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
6340 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
6341 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
6346 @kindex Z E (Summary)
6348 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
6349 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
6350 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
6354 @kindex Z c (Summary)
6356 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
6357 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
6358 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
6361 @kindex Z C (Summary)
6362 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
6363 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
6364 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
6367 @kindex Z n (Summary)
6368 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
6369 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
6370 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
6373 @kindex Z R (Summary)
6374 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
6375 Exit this group, and then enter it again
6376 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
6377 all articles, both read and unread.
6381 @kindex Z G (Summary)
6382 @kindex M-g (Summary)
6383 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
6384 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
6385 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
6386 articles, both read and unread.
6389 @kindex Z N (Summary)
6390 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
6391 Exit the group and go to the next group
6392 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
6395 @kindex Z P (Summary)
6396 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
6397 Exit the group and go to the previous group
6398 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
6401 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
6402 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
6405 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
6406 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
6407 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
6408 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
6409 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
6410 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
6411 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
6412 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
6413 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
6414 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
6415 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
6416 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
6418 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
6420 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
6421 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
6422 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
6423 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
6424 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
6425 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
6426 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
6427 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
6428 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
6431 @node Crosspost Handling
6432 @section Crosspost Handling
6436 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
6437 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
6438 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
6439 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
6440 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
6441 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
6444 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
6445 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
6446 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
6447 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
6448 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
6450 @cindex cross-posting
6453 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
6454 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
6455 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
6456 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
6457 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
6458 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
6459 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
6460 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
6461 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
6462 the cross reference mechanism.
6464 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
6465 @cindex overview.fmt
6466 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
6467 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
6468 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
6469 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
6470 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
6471 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
6474 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
6475 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
6476 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
6481 For an alternative approach, @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6484 @node Duplicate Suppression
6485 @section Duplicate Suppression
6487 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
6488 article more than once by utilizing the crossposing mechanism
6489 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
6490 approach may not work satisfactorily for some users for various
6495 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
6496 is evil and not very common.
6499 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
6500 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
6503 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
6504 different @sc{nntp} servers.
6507 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
6510 I'm sure there are other situations that @code{Xref} handling fails as
6511 well, but these four are the most common situations.
6513 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
6514 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
6515 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
6516 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
6517 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
6518 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
6519 so. It's certainly preferrable to reading the same articles more than
6522 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
6523 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
6524 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
6525 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
6526 article as read the the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
6530 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
6531 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
6532 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
6534 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
6535 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
6536 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
6537 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
6538 However, this means that only duplicate articles that is read in a
6539 single Gnus session are suppressed.
6541 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
6542 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
6543 This variables says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
6544 suppression list. The default is 10000.
6546 @item gnus-duplicate-file
6547 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
6548 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list. The
6549 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
6552 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
6553 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
6554 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
6555 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
6556 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
6557 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
6558 to you to figure out, I think.
6561 @node The Article Buffer
6562 @chapter The Article Buffer
6563 @cindex article buffer
6565 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
6566 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
6567 tell Gnus otherwise.
6570 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
6571 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
6572 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
6573 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer
6574 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
6578 @node Hiding Headers
6579 @section Hiding Headers
6580 @cindex hiding headers
6581 @cindex deleting headers
6583 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
6584 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
6586 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
6587 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
6588 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
6589 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
6590 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
6591 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
6592 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
6593 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
6594 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
6596 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
6600 @item gnus-visible-headers
6601 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
6602 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
6603 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
6604 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
6606 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
6607 the article and the subject, you'd say:
6610 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
6613 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6616 @item gnus-ignored-headers
6617 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
6618 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
6619 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
6620 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
6621 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
6623 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
6624 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
6627 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
6630 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6633 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
6634 variable will have no effect.
6638 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
6639 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
6640 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
6641 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
6642 the headers are to be displayed.
6644 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
6645 and then the subject, you might say something like:
6648 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
6651 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
6652 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers that
6653 are listed in this variable.
6655 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6656 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
6657 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
6658 You can hide further boring headers by entering
6659 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
6660 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
6661 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
6662 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
6663 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
6665 These conditions are:
6668 Remove all empty headers.
6670 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
6673 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
6674 @code{Newsgroups} header.
6676 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
6679 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
6683 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
6686 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
6687 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
6690 This is also the default value for this variable.
6694 @section Using @sc{mime}
6697 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
6698 while people stand around yawning.
6700 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
6701 while all newsreaders die of fear.
6703 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
6704 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
6705 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
6707 @vindex gnus-show-mime
6708 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
6709 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
6710 @findex metamail-buffer
6711 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by shoving the articles through
6712 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
6713 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
6714 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
6715 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
6716 @sc{mime} headers in the article.
6718 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
6719 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
6720 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
6721 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
6722 comes streaming out out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
6723 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
6724 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
6725 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
6726 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
6728 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
6731 @node Customizing Articles
6732 @section Customizing Articles
6733 @cindex article customization
6735 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
6736 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
6737 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
6738 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
6740 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6741 By default it contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
6742 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
6743 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
6744 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
6745 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
6746 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
6749 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
6750 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
6751 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
6752 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
6753 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
6756 @node Article Keymap
6757 @section Article Keymap
6759 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
6760 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
6761 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
6762 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
6765 A few additional keystrokes are available:
6770 @kindex SPACE (Article)
6771 @findex gnus-article-next-page
6772 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
6775 @kindex DEL (Article)
6776 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
6777 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
6780 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
6781 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
6782 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
6783 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
6784 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
6787 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
6788 @findex gnus-article-mail
6789 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
6790 given a prefix, include the mail.
6794 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
6795 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
6796 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
6800 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
6801 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
6802 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
6805 @kindex TAB (Article)
6806 @findex gnus-article-next-button
6807 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}. This
6808 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
6811 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
6812 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
6813 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}.
6819 @section Misc Article
6823 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
6824 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
6825 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
6826 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
6829 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
6830 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
6831 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
6832 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
6833 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
6834 the contents of the article buffer.
6836 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
6837 @item gnus-article-display-hook
6838 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
6839 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
6840 hiding headers, and the like.
6842 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
6843 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
6844 Hook called in article mode buffers.
6846 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
6847 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
6848 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
6849 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
6850 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
6854 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
6855 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
6859 @vindex gnus-break-pages
6861 @item gnus-break-pages
6862 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
6863 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
6864 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
6865 paging will not be done.
6867 @item gnus-page-delimiter
6868 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
6869 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
6874 @node Composing Messages
6875 @chapter Composing Messages
6880 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
6881 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
6882 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
6883 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
6884 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
6885 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
6886 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
6889 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
6890 * Post:: Posting and following up.
6891 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
6892 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
6893 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
6894 @c * Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
6895 @c * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
6896 @c * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
6899 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
6900 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
6906 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
6909 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
6910 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
6911 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
6912 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
6920 Variables for composing news articles:
6923 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
6924 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
6925 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
6926 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
6927 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
6928 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to sent the
6929 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
6930 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
6931 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
6934 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
6935 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
6936 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
6937 file. It is 1000 by default.
6942 @node Posting Server
6943 @section Posting Server
6945 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
6946 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
6948 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
6950 @vindex gnus-post-method
6952 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
6953 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
6954 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
6955 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
6956 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
6959 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
6962 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
6963 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
6964 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
6965 the ``current'' server for posting.
6967 If you give a zero prefix (i. e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
6968 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
6970 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
6971 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
6976 @section Mail and Post
6978 Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
6982 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
6983 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
6984 @cindex mailing lists
6986 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists that are
6987 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
6988 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
6989 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
6990 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
6991 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that match the groups that
6992 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
6993 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
6994 still a pain, though.
6998 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
6999 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
7000 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
7003 @findex ispell-message
7005 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
7009 @node Archived Messages
7010 @section Archived Messages
7011 @cindex archived messages
7012 @cindex sent messages
7014 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail you send.
7015 The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to store
7016 the mail. If you want to disable this completely, you should set
7017 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}.
7019 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
7020 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
7021 use to store sent messages. It is @code{(nnfolder "archive"
7022 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))} by default, but you can use any
7023 mail select method (@code{nnml}, @code{nnmbox}, etc.). However,
7024 @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method for doing this sort of
7025 thing. If you don't like the default directory chosen, you could say
7029 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
7030 '(nnfolder "archive"
7031 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
7032 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
7033 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
7036 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
7038 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
7039 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
7040 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
7042 This variable can be:
7046 Messages will be saved in that group.
7047 @item a list of strings
7048 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
7049 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
7050 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
7052 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
7057 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
7059 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
7062 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
7064 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
7067 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
7069 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7070 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
7071 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
7072 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
7077 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7078 '((if (message-news-p)
7083 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
7084 messages in one file per month:
7087 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7088 '((if (message-news-p)
7090 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
7091 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
7094 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
7095 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
7096 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
7097 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
7098 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
7099 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
7100 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
7101 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
7102 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
7103 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
7105 That's the default method of archiving sent mail. Gnus also offers two
7106 other variables for the people who don't like the default method. In
7107 that case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to
7108 @code{nil}; this will disable archiving.
7110 XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
7111 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.
7115 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
7116 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
7117 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
7118 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
7119 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
7122 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
7123 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
7124 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
7129 @c @node Posting Styles
7130 @c @section Posting Styles
7131 @c @cindex posting styles
7134 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
7136 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
7137 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
7138 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
7141 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
7142 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
7143 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
7144 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
7145 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
7150 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
7151 @c (organization . "What me?"))
7153 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
7154 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
7155 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
7158 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
7159 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
7160 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
7161 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
7162 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
7163 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
7164 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
7165 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
7167 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
7168 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
7169 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
7170 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
7171 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
7172 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
7175 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
7176 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
7177 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
7178 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
7179 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
7182 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
7183 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
7184 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
7186 @c So here's a new example:
7189 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
7191 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
7192 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
7193 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
7194 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
7196 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
7197 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
7198 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
7199 @c (posting-from-work-p
7200 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
7201 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
7202 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
7204 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
7211 @c If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
7212 @c you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
7213 @c craazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save the
7214 @c message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some other
7215 @c day, and send it when you feel its finished.
7217 @c Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
7218 @c some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
7219 @c automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
7220 @c If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
7221 @c article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
7225 @c @vindex gnus-draft-group-directory
7226 @c The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
7227 @c @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
7228 @c @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{gnus-draft-group-directory}
7229 @c controls both the name of the group and the location---the leaf element
7230 @c in the path will be used as the name of the group. What makes this
7231 @c group special is that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any
7232 @c articles as read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
7234 @c If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
7237 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
7238 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
7239 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
7240 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
7241 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
7242 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
7243 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
7244 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
7245 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
7246 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
7247 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
7248 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
7249 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
7250 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
7252 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
7253 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
7254 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
7256 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-draft
7257 @c @kindex S D c (Summary)
7258 @c When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
7259 @c draft group and push @kbd{S D c} (@code{gnus-summary-send-draft}) to do
7260 @c that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
7262 @c Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
7265 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-all-drafts
7266 @c If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
7267 @c doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{S D a} command
7268 @c (@code{gnus-summary-send-all-drafts}). This command understands the
7269 @c process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7272 @c @node Rejected Articles
7273 @c @section Rejected Articles
7274 @c @cindex rejected articles
7276 @c Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
7277 @c doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
7278 @c @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
7279 @c Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
7281 @c These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
7282 @c (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
7283 @c fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
7284 @c you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
7285 @c articles until some later time when the server feels better.
7287 @c The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
7288 @c (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
7289 @c typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
7292 @node Select Methods
7293 @chapter Select Methods
7294 @cindex foreign groups
7295 @cindex select methods
7297 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group that is not read by the usual (or
7298 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
7299 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
7300 personal mail group.
7302 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
7303 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
7304 list where the first element says what backend to use (eg. @code{nntp},
7305 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
7306 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
7307 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
7309 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
7310 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
7312 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
7315 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
7316 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
7317 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group, in
7318 all circumstances, @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the
7319 @code{nntp} backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
7321 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
7324 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
7325 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
7326 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
7327 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
7328 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
7332 @node The Server Buffer
7333 @section The Server Buffer
7335 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
7336 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
7337 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
7338 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
7339 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
7340 backend represents a virtual server.
7342 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
7343 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
7344 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
7345 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
7347 These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
7348 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
7349 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number @code{13}, which
7350 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
7351 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
7352 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
7353 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
7355 To enter the server buffer, user the @kbd{^}
7356 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
7359 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
7360 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
7361 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
7362 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
7363 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
7364 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
7367 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
7368 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
7371 @node Server Buffer Format
7372 @subsection Server Buffer Format
7373 @cindex server buffer format
7375 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
7376 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
7377 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
7378 variable, with some simple extensions:
7383 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
7386 The name of this server.
7389 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
7392 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
7395 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
7396 The mode line can also be customized by using the
7397 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
7408 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
7411 @node Server Commands
7412 @subsection Server Commands
7413 @cindex server commands
7419 @findex gnus-server-add-server
7420 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
7424 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
7425 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
7428 @kindex SPACE (Server)
7429 @findex gnus-server-read-server
7430 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
7434 @findex gnus-server-exit
7435 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
7439 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
7440 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
7444 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
7445 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
7449 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
7450 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
7454 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
7455 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
7459 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
7460 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
7461 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
7467 @node Example Methods
7468 @subsection Example Methods
7470 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
7473 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
7476 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
7482 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
7483 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
7486 After these two elements, there may be a arbitrary number of
7487 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
7489 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
7490 port @code{15} from that machine. This is what the select method should
7494 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
7497 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
7498 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example.
7500 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
7501 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
7502 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
7506 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
7509 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
7512 Here's the method for a public spool:
7516 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
7517 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
7521 @node Creating a Virtual Server
7522 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
7524 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
7525 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
7527 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
7528 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
7529 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
7531 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
7533 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
7534 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
7535 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
7536 will contain the following:
7546 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
7547 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
7548 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
7551 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
7552 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
7553 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
7556 @node Servers and Methods
7557 @subsection Servers and Methods
7559 Wherever you would normally use a select method
7560 (eg. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
7561 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
7562 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
7566 @node Unavailable Servers
7567 @subsection Unavailable Servers
7569 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
7570 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
7571 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
7572 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
7573 actually the case or not.
7575 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
7576 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to the server
7577 @samp{nepholococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
7578 away from you, the machine is quite, so it takes 1 minute just to find
7579 out that it refuses connection from you today. If Gnus were to attempt
7580 to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't attempt to do
7581 that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'', it will
7582 regard that server as ``down''.
7584 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
7585 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
7587 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
7588 with the following commands:
7594 @findex gnus-server-open-server
7595 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
7596 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
7600 @findex gnus-server-close-server
7601 Close the connection (if any) to the server
7602 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
7606 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
7607 Mark the current server as unreachable
7608 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
7611 @kindex M-o (Server)
7612 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
7613 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
7614 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
7617 @kindex M-c (Server)
7618 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
7619 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
7620 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
7624 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
7625 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from all servers
7626 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
7632 @section Getting News
7633 @cindex reading news
7634 @cindex news backends
7636 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
7637 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
7638 or it can read from a local spool.
7641 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
7642 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
7647 @subsection @sc{nntp}
7650 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
7651 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
7652 server as the, uhm, address.
7654 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
7655 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
7656 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
7657 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
7659 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
7660 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
7661 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
7663 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
7668 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
7669 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
7670 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
7672 @cindex authentification
7673 @cindex nntp authentification
7674 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
7675 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
7676 @code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
7677 It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
7678 been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
7679 the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function.
7681 @item nntp-authinfo-function
7682 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
7683 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
7684 server. Available functions include:
7687 @item nntp-send-authinfo
7688 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
7689 This function will used you current login name as the user name and will
7690 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
7692 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
7693 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
7694 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
7696 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
7697 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
7698 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
7699 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
7702 @item nntp-server-action-alist
7703 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
7704 This is an list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
7705 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
7706 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
7709 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
7713 You probably don't want to do that, though.
7715 The default value is
7718 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
7719 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook nntp-send-mode-reader)))
7722 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
7723 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
7725 @item nntp-maximum-request
7726 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
7727 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
7728 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
7729 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
7730 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
7731 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
7732 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
7734 @item nntp-connection-timeout
7735 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
7736 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
7737 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
7738 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
7739 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
7740 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
7741 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
7742 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
7743 no timeouts are done.
7745 @item nntp-command-timeout
7746 @vindex nntp-command-timeout
7747 @cindex PPP connections
7748 @cindex dynamic IP addresses
7749 If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
7750 address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
7751 changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
7752 waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
7753 unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
7754 then, if it sits waiting longer than that number of seconds for a reply
7755 from the server, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
7756 the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
7757 likely number is 30 seconds.
7759 @item nntp-retry-on-break
7760 @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
7761 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
7762 hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
7765 @item nntp-server-hook
7766 @vindex nntp-server-hook
7767 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
7770 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
7771 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
7772 @item nntp-open-server-function
7773 @vindex nntp-open-server-function
7774 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
7775 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
7776 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
7777 is @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an rlogin on the remote system,
7778 and then does a telnet to the @sc{nntp} server available there.
7780 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
7781 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
7782 If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
7783 @code{nntp-open-server-function}, this list will be used as the
7784 parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
7786 @item nntp-end-of-line
7787 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
7788 String to use as end-of-line markers when talking to the @sc{nntp}
7789 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
7790 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
7792 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
7793 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
7794 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
7798 @vindex nntp-address
7799 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
7801 @item nntp-port-number
7802 @vindex nntp-port-number
7803 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
7806 @item nntp-buggy-select
7807 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
7808 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
7810 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
7811 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
7812 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
7813 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks whether @sc{nov}
7814 can be used automatically.
7816 @item nntp-xover-commands
7817 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
7820 List of strings that are used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
7821 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
7825 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
7826 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
7827 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
7828 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
7829 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
7830 lines that you do not want, and will not use. This variable says how
7831 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
7832 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
7833 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
7834 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
7835 @code{nntp} will never split requests.
7837 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
7838 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
7839 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
7841 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
7842 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
7843 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
7844 server closes connection.
7850 @subsection News Spool
7854 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
7855 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups like
7856 @samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}.
7858 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
7859 anything else) as the address.
7861 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
7862 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
7863 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
7864 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
7868 @item nnspool-inews-program
7869 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
7870 Program used to post an article.
7872 @item nnspool-inews-switches
7873 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
7874 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
7876 @item nnspool-spool-directory
7877 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
7878 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
7879 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
7881 @item nnspool-nov-directory
7882 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
7883 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
7884 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
7886 @item nnspool-lib-dir
7887 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
7888 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
7890 @item nnspool-active-file
7891 @vindex nnspool-active-file
7892 The path of the active file.
7894 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
7895 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
7896 The path of the group descriptions file.
7898 @item nnspool-history-file
7899 @vindex nnspool-history-file
7900 The path of the news history file.
7902 @item nnspool-active-times-file
7903 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
7904 The path of the active date file.
7906 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
7907 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
7908 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
7911 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
7912 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
7914 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
7915 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
7916 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
7922 @section Getting Mail
7923 @cindex reading mail
7926 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
7930 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
7931 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
7932 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
7933 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
7934 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
7935 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
7936 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
7937 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
7938 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
7939 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
7943 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
7944 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
7946 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
7947 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
7948 and things will happen automatically.
7950 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a one file per
7951 mail backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
7954 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
7955 '((nnml "private")))
7958 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
7959 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
7960 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
7961 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
7962 like any other group.
7964 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
7967 (setq nnmail-split-methods
7968 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
7969 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
7973 This will result in three new mail groups being created:
7974 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
7975 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
7978 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
7979 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though,
7980 especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
7983 @node Splitting Mail
7984 @subsection Splitting Mail
7985 @cindex splitting mail
7986 @cindex mail splitting
7988 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
7989 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
7990 to be split into groups.
7993 (setq nnmail-split-methods
7994 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
7995 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
7999 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
8000 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
8001 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
8002 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
8003 determine if it belongs in this mail group.
8005 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
8006 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
8009 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
8010 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
8011 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
8012 mail belongs in that group.
8014 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
8015 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any
8016 mails that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps.
8018 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
8019 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
8020 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
8021 message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
8022 thinks should carry this mail message.
8024 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
8025 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
8026 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
8027 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
8029 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
8030 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
8031 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
8032 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
8033 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
8035 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
8038 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
8039 the crossposted articles. However, not all files systems support hard
8040 links. If that's the case for you, set
8041 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
8042 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
8044 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
8045 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
8046 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
8047 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
8048 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
8049 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
8050 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
8051 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
8055 @node Mail Backend Variables
8056 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
8058 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
8062 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8063 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8064 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
8065 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
8067 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
8068 @item nnmail-spool-file
8072 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
8073 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
8074 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
8075 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
8076 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
8077 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
8078 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
8079 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
8080 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
8081 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
8082 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
8083 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
8084 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
8085 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
8086 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
8088 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
8089 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
8090 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
8091 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
8092 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
8093 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
8095 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
8096 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8097 @item nnmail-use-procmail
8098 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
8099 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
8100 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
8101 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
8104 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
8105 @item nnmail-crash-box
8106 When the mail backends read a spool file, it is first moved to this
8107 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
8108 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
8111 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8112 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8113 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
8114 used for, well, anything, really.
8116 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
8117 @item nnmail-split-hook
8118 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
8119 @findex RFC1522 decoding
8120 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
8121 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
8122 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
8123 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
8124 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{article-decode-rfc1522}
8125 is one likely function to add to this hook.
8127 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8128 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8129 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8130 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8131 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
8132 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
8133 starting to handle the new mail) and
8134 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
8135 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
8136 default file modes the new mail files get:
8139 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8140 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
8142 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
8143 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
8146 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
8147 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
8148 This variable says where to move the incoming mail to while processing
8149 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
8150 inhabits (i.e., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
8151 it will be used instead.
8153 @item nnmail-movemail-program
8154 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
8155 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
8156 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
8158 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
8159 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
8160 @cindex incoming mail files
8161 @cindex deleting incoming files
8162 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
8163 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{nil} by
8164 default for reasons of security.
8166 Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
8167 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
8168 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point.) By not deleting the
8169 Incoming* files, one can be sure to not lose mail -- if Gnus totally
8170 whacks out, one can always recover what was lost.
8172 Delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
8174 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
8175 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
8176 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
8177 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories like
8178 @file{mail.misc/}. If it is @code{nil}, the same group will end up in
8181 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
8182 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
8184 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
8189 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
8190 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
8191 @cindex mail splitting
8192 @cindex fancy mail splitting
8194 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
8195 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
8196 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
8197 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
8198 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
8199 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
8201 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
8204 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
8205 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
8206 ;; from real errors.
8207 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
8209 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
8210 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
8211 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
8212 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
8213 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
8214 ;; Other mailing lists...
8215 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
8216 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
8218 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
8219 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
8223 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
8224 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
8225 the five possible split syntaxes:
8230 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
8232 @item (FIELD VALUE SPLIT)
8233 If the split is a list, and the first element is a string, then that
8234 means that if header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp),
8235 then store the message as specified by SPLIT.
8238 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
8239 bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them matches. A SPLIT is
8240 said to match if it will cause the mail message to be stored in one or
8244 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then process
8245 all SPLITs in the list.
8251 In these splits, FIELD must match a complete field name. VALUE must
8252 match a complete word according to the fundamental mode syntax table.
8253 You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial field names or
8256 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
8257 FIELD and VALUE can also be lisp symbols, in that case they are expanded
8258 as specified by the variable @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is
8259 an alist of cons cells, where the car of the cells contains the key, and
8260 the cdr contains a string.
8262 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
8263 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
8264 when all this splitting is performed.
8267 @node Mail and Procmail
8268 @subsection Mail and Procmail
8273 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
8274 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
8275 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
8276 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
8277 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
8279 This also means that you probably don't want to set
8280 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
8283 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
8284 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
8285 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends (except
8286 @code{nnmh}) actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
8287 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
8288 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
8290 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) what groups
8293 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example.
8295 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
8296 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
8298 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
8299 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
8300 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
8301 to include all your mail groups.
8303 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
8304 method will be created automatically.
8306 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8307 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
8308 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
8309 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
8310 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
8311 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
8312 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
8313 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
8315 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
8316 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
8317 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
8318 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
8319 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
8321 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8322 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
8323 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
8324 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
8325 ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
8329 @node Incorporating Old Mail
8330 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
8332 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
8333 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
8334 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
8337 Doing so can be quite easy.
8339 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
8340 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
8341 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
8342 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
8343 your @code{nnml} groups.
8349 Go to the group buffer.
8352 Type `G f' and give the path of the mbox file when prompted to create an
8353 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8356 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
8359 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group (@pxref{Setting
8363 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
8364 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
8367 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
8368 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
8369 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
8370 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
8371 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
8373 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
8374 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
8375 using the new mail backend.
8379 @subsection Expiring Mail
8380 @cindex article expiry
8382 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
8383 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
8384 different approach to mail reading.
8386 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
8387 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
8388 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
8389 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
8390 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
8391 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
8394 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
8395 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
8396 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
8397 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
8398 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
8399 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
8400 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
8401 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
8403 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8404 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
8405 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
8406 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
8407 articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
8408 column in the summary buffer.
8410 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
8411 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
8414 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8415 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
8418 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
8419 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
8421 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
8422 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
8423 expirable article has to live. The default is seven days.
8425 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
8426 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
8427 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
8428 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
8431 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8433 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8435 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
8437 ((string= group "mail.junk")
8439 ((string= group "important")
8445 The group names that this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
8446 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
8448 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
8449 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can be either a number (not
8450 necessarily an integer) or the symbols @code{immediate} or
8453 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
8454 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8456 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8457 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
8458 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
8459 easier for procmail users.
8461 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
8462 By the way, that line up there about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
8463 articles is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
8464 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
8465 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
8466 caution. Even more dangerous is the
8467 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
8468 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
8469 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
8470 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
8471 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
8472 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
8473 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
8478 @subsection Duplicates
8480 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
8481 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
8482 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
8483 @cindex duplicate mails
8484 If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
8485 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
8486 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
8487 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s -
8488 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
8489 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
8490 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
8491 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
8492 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
8493 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
8494 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
8495 will generate a brand new @code{Message-ID} for the mail and insert a
8496 warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks that this is a
8497 duplicate of a different message.
8499 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
8500 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
8501 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
8502 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
8504 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
8507 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
8508 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
8512 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
8513 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
8514 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
8515 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
8516 (any mail "mail.misc")
8523 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8524 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
8529 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
8530 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
8531 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
8532 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
8533 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
8536 @node Not Reading Mail
8537 @subsection Not Reading Mail
8539 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
8540 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
8541 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
8543 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
8544 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
8546 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8547 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
8548 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
8549 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
8550 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
8551 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
8552 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
8553 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
8554 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
8555 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
8556 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
8558 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
8559 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
8563 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
8564 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
8566 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
8567 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
8568 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
8571 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
8572 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
8573 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
8574 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
8575 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
8580 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
8582 @cindex unix mail box
8584 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
8585 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
8586 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
8587 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
8588 which group it belongs in.
8590 Virtual server settings:
8593 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
8594 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
8595 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
8597 @item nnmbox-active-file
8598 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
8599 The name of the active file for the mail box.
8601 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
8602 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
8603 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
8609 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
8613 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
8614 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
8615 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
8616 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
8617 article to say which group it belongs in.
8619 Virtual server settings:
8622 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
8623 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
8624 The name of the rmail mbox file.
8626 @item nnbabyl-active-file
8627 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
8628 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
8630 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8631 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8632 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
8637 @subsubsection Mail Spool
8639 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
8641 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
8642 format. It should be used with some caution.
8644 @vindex nnml-directory
8645 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files;
8646 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the correct
8647 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
8648 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
8650 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
8653 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
8654 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
8655 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
8656 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
8657 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
8658 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
8659 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
8660 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
8662 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
8663 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
8664 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes is the fastest
8665 backend when it comes to reading mail.
8667 Virtual server settings:
8670 @item nnml-directory
8671 @vindex nnml-directory
8672 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
8674 @item nnml-active-file
8675 @vindex nnml-active-file
8676 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
8678 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
8679 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
8680 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
8683 @item nnml-get-new-mail
8684 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
8685 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
8687 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
8688 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
8689 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
8691 @item nnml-nov-file-name
8692 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
8693 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
8695 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
8696 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
8697 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
8701 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
8702 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
8703 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
8704 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
8705 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
8706 might take a while to complete.
8710 @subsubsection MH Spool
8712 @cindex mh-e mail spool
8714 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
8715 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
8716 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
8717 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
8719 Virtual server settings:
8722 @item nnmh-directory
8723 @vindex nnmh-directory
8724 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
8726 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
8727 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
8728 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
8731 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
8732 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
8733 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
8734 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
8735 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
8736 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
8737 to set this variable to @code{t}.
8742 @subsubsection Mail Folders
8744 @cindex mbox folders
8745 @cindex mail folders
8747 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
8748 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
8749 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
8752 Virtual server settings:
8755 @item nnfolder-directory
8756 @vindex nnfolder-directory
8757 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
8759 @item nnfolder-active-file
8760 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
8761 The name of the active file.
8763 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
8764 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
8765 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
8767 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
8768 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
8769 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
8772 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
8773 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
8774 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
8775 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
8776 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
8777 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
8781 @section Other Sources
8783 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
8784 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
8788 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
8789 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
8790 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
8791 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
8792 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
8793 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
8797 @node Directory Groups
8798 @subsection Directory Groups
8800 @cindex directory groups
8802 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
8803 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
8806 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp}, that most
8807 wonderful of all wonderful Emacs packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I
8808 didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
8810 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
8811 enter @file{"/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/"} as the the
8812 directory name, ange-ftp will actually allow you to read this directory
8813 over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
8815 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
8817 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
8818 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
8819 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
8820 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
8823 @node Anything Groups
8824 @subsection Anything Groups
8827 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
8828 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
8829 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
8832 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
8833 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
8834 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
8835 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
8836 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
8837 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
8838 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
8839 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (eg. a C source
8840 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
8841 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
8844 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
8845 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
8846 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
8847 in the article buffer, just as usual.
8849 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
8850 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
8851 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
8852 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
8854 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
8855 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
8856 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
8857 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
8858 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
8859 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
8860 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
8861 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
8866 @item nneething-map-file-directory
8867 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
8868 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
8869 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
8871 @item nneething-exclude-files
8872 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
8873 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
8874 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
8876 @item nneething-map-file
8877 @vindex nneething-map-file
8878 Name of the map files.
8882 @node Document Groups
8883 @subsection Document Groups
8885 @cindex documentation group
8888 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
8889 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
8896 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
8901 The standard Unix mbox file.
8903 @cindex MMDF mail box
8905 The MMDF mail box format.
8908 Several news articles appended into a file.
8911 @cindex rnews batch files
8912 The rnews batch transport format.
8913 @cindex forwarded messages
8922 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
8923 @cindex RFC 341 digest
8924 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
8926 @item standard-digest
8927 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
8930 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
8933 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
8934 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
8935 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
8938 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
8939 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
8940 group. And that's it.
8942 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
8943 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
8944 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
8945 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
8946 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
8947 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
8948 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
8949 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
8950 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
8951 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
8953 Virtual server variables:
8956 @item nndoc-article-type
8957 @vindex nndoc-article-type
8958 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
8959 @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{news}, @code{rnews},
8960 @code{mime-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, or @code{guess}.
8962 @item nndoc-post-type
8963 @vindex nndoc-post-type
8964 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
8965 a mail group. There are two legal values: @code{mail} (the default)
8970 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
8974 @node Document Server Internals
8975 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
8977 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
8978 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
8979 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
8980 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
8982 First, here's an example document type definition:
8986 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
8987 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
8990 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
8991 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
8992 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
8993 types can be defined with very few settings:
8997 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
8998 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
9002 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
9003 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
9005 @item head-begin-function
9006 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
9009 @item nndoc-head-begin
9010 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
9013 @item nndoc-head-end
9014 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
9015 @samp{"^$"}---the empty line.
9017 @item body-begin-function
9018 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
9022 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
9025 @item body-end-function
9026 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
9030 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
9032 @item nndoc-file-end
9033 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
9034 regexp will be totally ignored.
9038 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
9039 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
9040 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
9041 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
9042 something that's palatable for Gnus:
9045 @item prepare-body-function
9046 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
9047 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
9048 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
9050 @item article-transform-function
9051 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
9052 meant to be used how more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
9053 body of the article.
9055 @item generate-head-function
9056 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
9057 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
9058 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
9059 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
9063 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
9068 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9069 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9070 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
9071 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
9073 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
9074 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
9075 (subtype digest guess))
9078 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
9079 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
9080 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
9081 the head from the body may contain a single spcae; and that the body is
9082 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
9084 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
9085 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
9086 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
9087 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
9088 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for each
9089 type. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
9090 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
9091 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
9092 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
9093 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
9094 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest legal number.
9102 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
9103 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
9104 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
9106 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
9107 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
9108 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
9111 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
9112 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
9113 that interested in doing things properly.
9115 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
9116 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
9122 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
9123 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie, or you can use Gnus to create the
9124 packet with the @kbd{O s} command.
9127 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
9130 You put the packet in your home directory.
9133 You fire up Gnus using the @code{nnsoup} backend as the native server.
9136 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
9140 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
9144 You transfer this packet to the server.
9147 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
9150 You then repeat until you die.
9154 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
9155 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
9158 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
9159 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
9160 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
9165 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
9169 @kindex G s b (Group)
9170 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
9171 Pack all unread articles in the current group
9172 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
9173 process/prefix convention.
9176 @kindex G s w (Group)
9177 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
9178 Save all data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
9181 @kindex G s s (Group)
9182 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
9183 Send all replies from the replies packet
9184 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
9187 @kindex G s p (Group)
9188 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
9189 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
9192 @kindex G s r (Group)
9193 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
9194 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
9197 @kindex O s (Summary)
9198 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
9199 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
9200 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
9206 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
9211 @item gnus-soup-directory
9212 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
9213 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
9214 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
9216 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
9217 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
9218 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
9219 reply packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/}.
9221 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
9222 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
9223 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
9226 @item gnus-soup-packer
9227 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
9228 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9229 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
9231 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
9232 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
9233 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9234 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9236 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
9237 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
9238 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
9240 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9241 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9242 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
9243 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
9249 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
9252 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
9253 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
9254 you can read them at leisure.
9256 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
9260 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
9261 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
9262 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
9263 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
9265 @item nnsoup-directory
9266 @vindex nnsoup-directory
9267 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
9268 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
9270 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
9271 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
9272 All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
9273 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
9275 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
9276 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
9277 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
9278 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
9279 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
9281 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
9282 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
9283 The index type of the replies packet. The is @samp{?n}, which means
9284 ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
9286 @item nnsoup-active-file
9287 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
9288 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
9289 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
9290 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
9291 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
9294 @vindex nnsoup-packer
9295 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
9296 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
9298 @item nnsoup-unpacker
9299 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
9300 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
9301 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9303 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
9304 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
9305 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
9308 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
9309 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
9310 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
9317 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
9319 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
9320 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
9321 more for that to happen.
9323 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
9324 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
9325 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
9328 In specific, this is what it does:
9331 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
9332 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
9335 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
9336 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
9337 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
9341 @subsection Web Searches
9346 @cindex Usenet searches
9347 @cindex searching the Usenet
9349 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
9350 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
9351 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
9352 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
9353 searches without having to use a browser.
9355 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
9356 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
9357 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
9358 group. The @kbd{G n} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
9359 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
9361 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
9362 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
9363 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
9364 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
9365 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@code{Duplicate
9366 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
9367 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
9368 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
9369 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
9370 header---mark all articles that were posted before the last date you
9371 read the group as read.
9373 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
9374 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
9375 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
9376 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
9377 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
9378 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
9380 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
9381 to use @code{nnweb}.
9383 Virtual server variables:
9388 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
9389 are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
9392 @vindex nnweb-search
9393 The search string to feed to the search engine.
9395 @item nnweb-max-hits
9396 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
9397 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
9400 @item nnweb-type-definition
9401 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
9402 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
9403 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
9408 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
9412 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
9415 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
9418 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
9422 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
9429 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
9430 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
9431 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
9434 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
9435 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
9436 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
9438 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
9444 @item nngateway-address
9445 @vindex nngateway-address
9446 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
9448 @item nngateway-header-transformation
9449 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
9450 News headers have often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
9451 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
9452 transformation should be called, and defaults to
9453 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
9454 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
9457 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
9458 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address---an article with this
9459 @code{Newsgroups} header:
9462 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
9465 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
9468 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
9473 So, to use this, simply say something like:
9476 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
9480 @node Combined Groups
9481 @section Combined Groups
9483 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
9487 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
9488 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
9492 @node Virtual Groups
9493 @subsection Virtual Groups
9495 @cindex virtual groups
9497 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
9500 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small group, you can
9501 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
9502 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
9504 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
9505 regexp to match component groups.
9507 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
9508 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
9509 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
9510 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
9513 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
9514 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
9517 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
9520 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
9521 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
9523 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
9524 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
9525 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
9526 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
9529 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
9532 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
9533 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
9534 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
9535 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
9536 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}.
9538 One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
9539 group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
9540 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
9542 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
9543 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
9544 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
9545 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
9546 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
9547 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
9548 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
9549 effect if you have two virtual groups that contain the same component
9550 group. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
9551 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
9552 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
9555 @node Kibozed Groups
9556 @subsection Kibozed Groups
9560 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
9561 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
9562 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
9563 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
9566 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
9569 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
9570 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
9571 @code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
9572 and @code{nnvirtual} ends.
9574 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
9575 must have a score file to say what articles that are to be included in
9576 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
9578 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
9579 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
9580 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
9581 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
9582 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
9583 all the articles in all the components groups and run them through the
9584 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
9585 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
9587 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
9588 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
9589 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
9590 Stranger things have happened.
9592 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
9593 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
9595 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
9596 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
9597 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
9598 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
9599 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
9600 on what groups that have been searched through to find component
9603 Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
9604 @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
9611 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
9612 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
9613 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
9616 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
9617 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
9618 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
9619 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
9620 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
9622 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
9623 before generating the summary buffer.
9625 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
9626 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
9627 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
9629 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
9630 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
9631 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
9632 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
9635 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
9636 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
9637 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
9638 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
9639 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
9640 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus @emph{knows} what you read.
9641 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
9642 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
9643 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
9644 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
9645 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
9646 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
9647 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
9648 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
9649 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
9653 @node Summary Score Commands
9654 @section Summary Score Commands
9655 @cindex score commands
9657 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
9658 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
9659 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
9660 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
9661 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
9663 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
9664 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
9665 some other score file (eg. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
9666 score file the current one.
9668 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
9673 @kindex V s (Summary)
9674 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
9675 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
9678 @kindex V S (Summary)
9679 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
9680 Display the score of the current article
9681 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
9684 @kindex V t (Summary)
9685 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
9686 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
9687 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
9690 @cindex V R (Summary)
9691 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
9692 Run the current summary through the scoring process
9693 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
9694 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
9695 effect you're having.
9698 @kindex V a (Summary)
9699 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
9700 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
9701 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
9704 @kindex V c (Summary)
9705 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
9706 Make a different score file the current
9707 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
9710 @kindex V e (Summary)
9711 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
9712 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
9713 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
9717 @kindex V f (Summary)
9718 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
9719 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
9720 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
9723 @kindex V F (Summary)
9724 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
9725 Flush the score cahe (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
9726 after editing score files.
9729 @kindex V C (Summary)
9730 @findex gnus-score-customize
9731 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
9732 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
9735 @kindex I C-i (Summary)
9736 @findex gnus-summary-raise-score
9737 Increase the score of the current article
9738 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-score}).
9741 @kindex L C-l (Summary)
9742 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
9743 Lower the score of the current article
9744 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-score}).
9747 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
9752 @kindex V m (Summary)
9753 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
9754 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
9755 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
9758 @kindex V x (Summary)
9759 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
9760 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
9761 expunge all articles below this score
9762 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
9765 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
9766 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
9771 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
9772 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
9774 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
9779 Score on the author name.
9782 Score on the subject line.
9785 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
9788 Score on thread---the References line.
9794 Score on the number of lines.
9797 Score on the Message-ID.
9810 The third key is the match type. Which match types are legal depends on
9811 what headers you are scoring on.
9855 Greater than number.
9860 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
9861 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
9862 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
9866 Temporary score entry.
9869 Permanent score entry.
9872 Immediately scoring.
9877 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
9878 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
9879 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
9880 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
9882 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
9883 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
9884 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
9885 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
9886 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
9888 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
9889 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
9890 pretend they are keymaps or not.
9893 @node Group Score Commands
9894 @section Group Score Commands
9895 @cindex group score commands
9897 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
9903 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
9904 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
9905 all the time. This command will flush the cache
9906 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
9911 @node Score Variables
9912 @section Score Variables
9913 @cindex score variables
9917 @item gnus-use-scoring
9918 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
9919 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
9920 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
9922 @item gnus-kill-killed
9923 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
9924 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
9925 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
9926 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
9927 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
9928 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
9929 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
9931 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
9932 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
9933 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
9934 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
9935 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
9937 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
9938 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
9939 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
9940 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
9942 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
9943 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
9945 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
9946 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
9947 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files that are
9948 unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
9949 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
9950 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
9951 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
9954 @item gnus-save-score
9955 @vindex gnus-save-score
9956 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
9957 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
9958 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
9960 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
9961 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
9962 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
9963 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
9964 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
9965 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
9966 manually entered data.
9968 @item gnus-summary-default-score
9969 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
9970 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
9972 @item gnus-score-over-mark
9973 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
9974 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
9975 default. Default is @samp{+}.
9977 @item gnus-score-below-mark
9978 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
9979 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
9980 default. Default is @samp{-}.
9982 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
9983 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
9984 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
9985 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
9987 Predefined functions available are:
9990 @item gnus-score-find-single
9991 @findex gnus-score-find-single
9992 Only apply the group's own score file.
9994 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
9995 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
9996 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
9997 default. For instance, if the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus},
9998 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
9999 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
10000 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
10001 then a regexp match is done.
10003 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
10004 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
10006 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10007 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10008 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
10009 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE} or @file{all.emacs.SCORE},
10010 but you can have @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and
10011 @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
10014 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
10015 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
10016 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
10017 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
10018 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
10019 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
10022 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
10023 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
10024 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
10025 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
10026 are expired. It's 7 by default.
10028 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10029 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10030 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
10031 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
10032 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
10033 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
10034 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
10037 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10038 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10039 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
10044 @node Score File Format
10045 @section Score File Format
10046 @cindex score file format
10048 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
10049 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
10050 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
10052 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
10056 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
10058 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
10060 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
10062 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
10067 (mark-and-expunge -10)
10071 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
10072 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
10073 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
10074 (gnus-summary-make-false-root 'empty))
10078 This example demonstrates absolutely everything about a score file.
10080 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
10081 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
10082 has to be legal syntactically, if not semantically.
10084 Six keys are supported by this alist:
10089 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
10090 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
10091 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
10092 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
10093 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
10094 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
10095 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
10096 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
10097 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
10098 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
10099 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
10100 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
10101 to articles that matches these score entries.
10103 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
10104 score entry has one to four elements.
10108 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
10109 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
10113 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
10114 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
10115 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
10116 is successful. If this element is not present, the
10117 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
10118 instead. This is 1000 by default.
10121 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
10122 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
10123 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
10124 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
10125 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 ce.
10128 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
10129 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
10130 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
10131 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
10134 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
10135 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
10136 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
10137 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
10138 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
10139 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
10140 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
10141 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
10142 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
10143 instead, if you feel like.
10146 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
10147 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
10150 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
10151 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
10152 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
10153 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
10154 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
10155 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
10156 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
10158 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
10159 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
10160 ISO8601 compact format first, which looks like @samp{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}.
10161 If you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
10162 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
10163 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
10164 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
10165 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
10168 @item Head, Body, All
10169 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
10173 This match key will add a score entry on all articles that followup to
10174 some author. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header uses.
10177 This match key will add a score entry on all articles that are part of
10178 a thread. Uses the same match types as the @code{References} header
10184 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10185 lower than this number will be marked as read.
10188 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10189 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
10191 @item mark-and-expunge
10192 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10193 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
10196 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
10197 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
10198 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
10199 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
10200 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
10203 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
10204 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
10207 @item exclude-files
10208 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. This files will
10209 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
10213 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
10214 ignored when handling global score files.
10217 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
10218 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
10221 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
10222 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
10223 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
10224 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
10226 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
10230 (mark-and-expunge -100)
10233 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
10234 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
10235 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
10236 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
10237 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
10239 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
10240 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
10241 ordinary scoring rules.
10244 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
10245 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
10246 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
10247 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
10248 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
10249 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
10250 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10251 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
10252 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
10253 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
10254 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
10258 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
10259 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
10260 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
10261 file for a number of groups.
10264 @cindex local variables
10265 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
10266 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
10267 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
10268 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
10273 @node Score File Editing
10274 @section Score File Editing
10276 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
10277 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
10278 with a mode for that.
10280 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
10281 additional commands:
10286 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
10287 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
10288 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
10289 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
10292 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
10293 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
10294 Insert the current date in numerical format
10295 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
10296 you were wondering.
10299 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
10300 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
10301 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
10302 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
10303 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
10308 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
10310 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
10311 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
10313 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
10314 e} to begin editing score files.
10317 @node Adaptive Scoring
10318 @section Adaptive Scoring
10319 @cindex adaptive scoring
10321 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
10322 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
10323 stupidity, to be precise.
10325 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
10326 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
10327 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
10328 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
10329 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10330 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
10331 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
10332 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
10333 variable to @code{(word line)}.
10335 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
10336 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
10337 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
10338 might look something like this:
10341 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
10342 '((gnus-unread-mark)
10343 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
10344 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
10345 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
10346 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
10347 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
10348 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
10349 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
10350 (gnus-ancient-mark)
10351 (gnus-low-score-mark)
10352 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
10355 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
10356 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
10357 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
10358 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
10359 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
10360 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
10363 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
10364 will be applied to each article.
10366 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
10367 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
10368 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
10369 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
10371 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
10372 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
10373 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
10374 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
10376 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
10377 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
10378 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
10379 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
10380 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
10381 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
10383 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
10384 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
10385 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
10386 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
10387 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
10388 aspirins afterwards.)
10390 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
10391 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
10392 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
10394 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
10395 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
10396 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
10398 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
10399 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
10400 let you use different rules in different groups.
10402 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
10403 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
10404 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
10407 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
10408 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
10409 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
10410 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
10411 the length of the match is less than
10412 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
10413 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
10416 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
10417 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
10418 headers. If you adapt on words, the
10419 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
10420 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
10423 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
10424 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
10425 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
10426 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
10427 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
10430 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
10431 word that appears in subjects of articles that are marked with
10432 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
10433 score with 30 points.
10435 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
10436 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
10437 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
10438 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
10439 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
10441 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
10442 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
10443 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
10444 it considers numbers to be non-word-consituant characters.
10446 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
10447 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
10448 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
10451 @node Home Score File
10452 @section Home Score File
10454 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
10455 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
10456 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
10457 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
10459 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
10460 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
10461 could perhaps use the same home score file.
10463 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
10464 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
10469 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
10473 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
10474 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
10478 A list. The elements in this list can be:
10482 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
10483 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
10486 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
10487 the home score file.
10490 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
10493 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
10498 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
10501 (setq gnus-home-score-file
10502 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
10505 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
10506 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
10509 (setq gnus-home-score-file
10510 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
10513 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
10515 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
10516 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
10517 their own home score files:
10520 (setq gnus-home-score-file
10521 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
10522 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
10523 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
10524 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
10527 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
10528 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
10529 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
10530 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
10531 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
10533 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
10534 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
10535 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
10536 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
10537 presedence over this variable.
10540 @node Followups To Yourself
10541 @section Followups To Yourself
10543 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
10544 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
10545 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
10546 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
10547 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
10548 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
10552 @item gnus-score-followup-article
10553 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
10554 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
10557 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
10558 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
10559 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
10563 @vindex message-sent-hook
10564 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
10565 @code{message-sent-hook}.
10567 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
10568 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
10572 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
10573 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
10576 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
10577 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
10582 "<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf@.*eyesore.no>" 1000 nil r)
10585 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
10586 is system-dependent.
10590 @section Scoring Tips
10591 @cindex scoring tips
10597 @cindex scoring crossposts
10598 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
10599 the @code{Xref} header.
10601 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
10604 @item Multiple crossposts
10605 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
10606 more than, say, 3 groups:
10608 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
10611 @item Matching on the body
10612 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
10613 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
10614 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
10615 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
10616 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
10617 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
10618 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
10621 @item Marking as read
10622 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
10623 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
10624 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
10628 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
10630 @item Negated character classes
10631 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
10632 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
10633 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
10637 @node Reverse Scoring
10638 @section Reverse Scoring
10639 @cindex reverse scoring
10641 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
10642 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
10643 like this in your score file:
10647 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
10652 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
10653 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
10656 @node Global Score Files
10657 @section Global Score Files
10658 @cindex global score files
10660 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
10661 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
10662 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
10664 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
10665 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
10666 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
10668 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
10669 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
10670 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
10671 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
10672 files are applicable to which group.
10674 Say you want to use all score files in the
10675 @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory and the single score
10676 file @file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE}:
10679 (setq gnus-global-score-files
10680 '("/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
10681 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
10684 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
10685 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
10686 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
10687 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
10688 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
10690 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
10691 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
10693 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
10694 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
10695 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
10696 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
10697 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
10698 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
10700 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
10706 Articles that are heavily crossposted are probably junk.
10708 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
10710 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
10712 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
10713 lowered out of existence.
10715 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
10716 articles completely.
10719 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
10720 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
10721 old articles for a long time.
10724 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
10725 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
10726 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
10727 holding our breath yet?
10731 @section Kill Files
10734 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
10735 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
10736 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
10738 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
10739 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
10740 files into score files.
10742 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
10743 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
10744 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
10745 that isn't a very good idea.
10747 XCNormal kill files look like this:
10750 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10751 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
10755 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove them from
10756 the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
10758 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
10759 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
10762 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
10767 @kindex M-k (Summary)
10768 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
10769 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
10772 @kindex M-K (Summary)
10773 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
10774 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
10777 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
10782 @kindex M-k (Group)
10783 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
10784 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
10787 @kindex M-K (Group)
10788 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
10789 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
10792 Kill file variables:
10795 @item gnus-kill-file-name
10796 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
10797 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
10798 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
10799 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
10800 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
10801 course) is called just @file{KILL}.
10803 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
10804 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
10805 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
10806 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
10809 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
10810 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
10811 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
10812 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
10813 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
10814 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
10815 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
10816 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
10817 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
10819 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
10820 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
10821 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
10830 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
10831 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
10832 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
10834 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
10835 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
10836 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
10837 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
10838 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
10839 Once it has found for you some people you agree with it tells you, in
10840 the form of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use
10841 this prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
10845 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
10846 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
10847 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
10848 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
10852 @node Using GroupLens
10853 @subsection Using GroupLens
10855 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
10856 Bit Bureau (BBB). At the moment the only better bit in town is at
10857 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html}.
10859 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
10863 @item gnus-use-grouplens
10864 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
10865 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
10866 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
10868 @item grouplens-pseudonym
10869 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
10870 This variable should be set to the pseudonum you got when registering
10871 with the Better Bit Bureau.
10873 @item grouplens-newsgroups
10874 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
10875 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
10879 Thats the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
10880 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
10881 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
10882 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
10883 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
10884 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
10887 @node Rating Articles
10888 @subsection Rating Articles
10890 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
10891 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
10892 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
10893 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
10896 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
10901 @kindex r (GroupLens)
10902 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
10903 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
10906 @kindex k (GroupLens)
10907 @findex grouplens-score-thread
10908 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
10909 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
10910 threads in rec.humor.
10914 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
10915 the score of the article you're reading.
10920 @kindex n (GroupLens)
10921 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
10922 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
10925 @kindex , (GroupLens)
10926 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
10927 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
10931 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
10932 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
10935 @node Displaying Predictions
10936 @subsection Displaying Predictions
10938 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
10939 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
10940 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
10941 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
10942 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
10944 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
10945 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
10946 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
10947 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
10948 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
10949 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
10950 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
10951 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
10952 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
10953 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
10954 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
10955 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
10956 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
10958 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
10959 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
10960 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
10961 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
10963 The following are legal values for that variable.
10966 @item prediction-spot
10967 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
10970 @item confidence-interval
10971 A numeric confidence interval.
10973 @item prediction-bar
10974 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
10976 @item confidence-bar
10977 Numerical confidence.
10979 @item confidence-spot
10980 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
10982 @item prediction-num
10983 Plain-old numeric value.
10985 @item confidence-plus-minus
10986 Prediction +/i confidence.
10991 @node GroupLens Variables
10992 @subsection GroupLens Variables
10996 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
10997 The summary line format used in summary buffers that are GroupLens
10998 enhanced. It accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format
10999 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). The default is
11000 @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
11002 @item grouplens-bbb-host
11003 Host running the bbbd server. The default is
11004 @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu}.
11006 @item grouplens-bbb-port
11007 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
11009 @item grouplens-score-offset
11010 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
11011 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
11014 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
11015 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
11016 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
11021 @node Advanced Scoring
11022 @section Advanced Scoring
11024 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
11025 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
11026 about a particular subject? Or what about if you really don't want to
11027 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
11028 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
11030 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
11034 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
11035 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
11036 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
11040 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
11041 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
11043 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
11044 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
11045 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
11046 non-@code{nil} value.
11048 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
11049 operator, and various match operators.
11056 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11057 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
11058 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
11063 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11064 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
11065 then this operator will return @code{false}.
11070 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
11071 inverse of the value of its argument.
11075 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
11076 apply to the ancenstors of the current article being scored. For
11077 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
11078 current article. @code{2-} will make score fules apply to the
11079 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
11080 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) say how far back into
11081 the ancestry you want to go.
11083 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
11084 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
11085 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
11086 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
11087 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
11090 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
11091 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
11093 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
11094 when he's talking about Gnus:
11098 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11099 ("subject" "Gnus"))
11105 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
11109 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11116 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
11117 really don't want to read what he's written:
11121 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11122 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
11126 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
11127 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
11128 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
11135 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
11136 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
11137 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
11138 ("body" "white.*socks"))
11142 The possibilities are endless.
11145 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
11146 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
11148 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
11149 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
11150 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
11151 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
11152 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
11153 (@samp{body}, @code{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
11154 @samp{subject}) first.
11156 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
11157 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
11168 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
11169 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
11175 ("subject" "Gnus")))
11182 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
11183 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
11188 @section Score Decays
11189 @cindex score decays
11192 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
11193 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
11194 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
11195 use them in any sensible way.
11197 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
11198 @findex gnus-decay-score
11199 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
11200 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
11201 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
11202 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
11203 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
11204 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
11205 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
11206 definition of that function:
11209 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
11212 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
11214 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
11216 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
11219 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
11220 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
11221 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
11222 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
11226 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
11229 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
11232 Scores with magnutudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
11236 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
11237 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
11238 the new score, which should be an integer.
11240 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
11241 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
11248 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
11249 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
11250 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
11251 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
11252 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
11253 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
11254 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
11255 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
11256 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
11257 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
11258 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
11259 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
11260 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
11264 @node Process/Prefix
11265 @section Process/Prefix
11266 @cindex process/prefix convention
11268 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
11269 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
11271 This is a method for figuring out what articles that the user wants the
11272 command to be performed on.
11276 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
11277 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
11278 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
11279 with the current one.
11281 @vindex transient-mark-mode
11282 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
11283 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
11285 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
11286 process mark, perform the operation on the articles that are marked with
11289 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
11290 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
11292 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
11295 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
11296 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
11297 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
11298 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11300 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
11301 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
11302 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
11303 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
11304 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
11305 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
11306 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
11307 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
11311 @section Interactive
11312 @cindex interaction
11316 @item gnus-novice-user
11317 @vindex gnus-novice-user
11318 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
11319 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
11320 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
11321 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
11324 @item gnus-expert-user
11325 @vindex gnus-expert-user
11326 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
11327 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
11328 matter how strange.
11330 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
11331 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
11332 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
11333 is @code{t} by default.
11335 @item gnus-interactive-exit
11336 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
11337 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
11342 @node Formatting Variables
11343 @section Formatting Variables
11344 @cindex formatting variables
11346 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables that
11347 are called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
11348 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
11349 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
11350 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
11353 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
11354 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
11355 lots of percentages everywhere.
11358 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
11359 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
11360 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
11361 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
11364 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
11365 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
11366 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
11367 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
11368 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
11369 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
11370 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
11371 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
11373 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
11374 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
11376 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
11377 @findex gnus-update-format
11378 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
11379 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
11380 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
11381 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
11385 @node Formatting Basics
11386 @subsection Formatting Basics
11388 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
11389 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
11390 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
11392 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
11393 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
11394 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
11395 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
11396 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
11399 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
11400 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
11401 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
11402 less than 4 characters wide.
11405 @node Advanced Formatting
11406 @subsection Advanced Formatting
11408 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
11409 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
11410 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
11411 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
11413 These are the legal modifiers:
11418 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
11422 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
11427 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
11430 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
11435 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
11438 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
11441 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
11444 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
11448 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
11449 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
11450 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
11451 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
11452 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
11453 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
11454 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
11456 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
11457 last operation, padding.
11459 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
11460 quite slow. This can be helped enourmously by running @kbd{M-x
11461 gnus-compile} when you are setisfied with the look of your lines.
11462 @xref{Compilation}.
11465 @node User-Defined Specs
11466 @subsection User-Defined Specs
11468 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
11469 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
11470 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
11471 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
11472 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
11473 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
11474 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
11475 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
11476 should protect against that.
11478 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
11479 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
11480 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
11481 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
11485 @node Formatting Fonts
11486 @subsection Formatting Fonts
11488 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
11489 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
11490 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
11491 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
11494 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
11495 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
11496 default. If you say @samp{%1[} instead, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1}
11497 instead, and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes
11498 for the @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
11499 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
11501 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
11504 ;; Create three face types.
11505 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
11506 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
11508 ;; We want the article count to be in
11509 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
11510 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
11511 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
11513 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
11514 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
11516 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
11517 (setq gnus-group-line-format
11518 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
11521 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
11522 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
11524 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
11525 mode-line variables.
11528 @node Windows Configuration
11529 @section Windows Configuration
11530 @cindex windows configuration
11532 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
11534 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
11535 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
11536 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
11537 @code{t} by default.
11539 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
11540 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
11541 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
11544 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
11545 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
11546 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
11550 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
11551 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
11552 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
11553 possible names is listed below.
11555 The @dfn{value} (i. e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
11556 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
11559 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
11563 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
11564 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
11565 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
11566 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
11567 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
11568 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
11569 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
11570 size spec per split.
11572 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
11575 Here's a more complicated example:
11578 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
11579 (summary 0.25 point)
11580 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
11584 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
11585 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
11586 occupy, not a percentage.
11588 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
11589 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
11590 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
11591 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
11592 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
11595 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
11598 (article (horizontal 1.0
11603 (summary 0.25 point)
11608 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
11609 @code{horizontal} thingie?
11611 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
11612 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
11613 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
11614 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
11615 the screen is to be given to this strip.
11617 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
11618 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
11619 lines from the splits.
11621 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a legal split
11625 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
11626 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
11627 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
11628 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
11629 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
11630 size = number | frame-params
11631 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
11634 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
11635 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
11636 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
11637 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
11639 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
11640 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
11641 @cindex window height
11642 @cindex window width
11643 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
11644 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
11645 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
11646 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
11647 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
11648 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
11650 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
11651 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
11652 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
11653 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
11655 @findex gnus-configure-frame
11656 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
11657 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
11658 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
11659 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
11660 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
11661 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
11662 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
11663 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
11664 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
11665 configuration list.
11668 (gnus-configure-frame
11672 (article 0.3 point))
11680 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
11681 @code{frame} split:
11684 (gnus-configure-frame
11687 (summary 0.25 point)
11689 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
11690 (user-position . t)
11691 (left . -1) (top . 1))
11696 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
11697 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
11698 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
11699 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
11700 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
11701 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
11704 Here's a list of all possible keys for
11705 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
11707 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
11708 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
11709 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
11710 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
11711 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft},
11712 @code{pipe}, @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}.
11714 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
11715 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
11716 it is desireable to distinguish between the two, something like this
11720 (message (horizontal 1.0
11721 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
11723 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
11728 @findex gnus-add-configuration
11729 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
11730 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
11731 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
11732 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
11735 (gnus-add-configuration
11736 '(article (vertical 1.0
11738 (summary .25 point)
11742 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
11743 @file{.gnus} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
11744 Gnus has been loaded.
11748 @section Compilation
11749 @cindex compilation
11750 @cindex byte-compilation
11752 @findex gnus-compile
11754 Remember all those line format specification variables?
11755 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
11756 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
11757 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
11758 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
11759 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
11762 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
11763 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
11764 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
11765 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
11766 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
11767 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
11768 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
11772 @section Mode Lines
11775 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
11776 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
11777 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
11778 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
11779 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
11780 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
11781 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
11784 @cindex display-time
11786 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
11787 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
11788 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
11789 to display (eg. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
11790 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
11791 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
11792 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
11793 additional elements on the mode line (eg. a clock), you should modify
11796 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
11798 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
11799 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
11801 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
11802 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
11803 (length display-time-string)))))
11806 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
11807 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either.
11810 @node Highlighting and Menus
11811 @section Highlighting and Menus
11813 @cindex highlighting
11816 @vindex gnus-visual
11817 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the prettifying Gnus
11818 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
11819 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
11822 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
11823 following elements are legal, and are all included by default:
11826 @item group-highlight
11827 Do highlights in the group buffer.
11828 @item summary-highlight
11829 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
11830 @item article-highlight
11831 Do highlights in the article buffer.
11833 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
11835 Create menus in the group buffer.
11837 Create menus in the summary buffers.
11839 Create menus in the article buffer.
11841 Create menus in the browse buffer.
11843 Create menus in the server buffer.
11845 Create menus in the score buffers.
11847 Create menus in all buffers.
11850 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
11851 buffers, you could say something like:
11854 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
11857 If you want only highlighting and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
11860 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
11863 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
11864 in all Gnus buffers.
11866 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
11869 @item gnus-mouse-face
11870 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
11871 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
11872 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
11874 @item gnus-display-type
11875 @vindex gnus-display-type
11876 This variable is symbol indicating the display type Emacs is running
11877 under. The symbol should be one of @code{color}, @code{grayscale} or
11878 @code{mono}. If Gnus guesses this display attribute wrongly, either set
11879 this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or set the resource
11880 @code{Emacs.displayType} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
11882 @item gnus-background-mode
11883 @vindex gnus-background-mode
11884 This is a symbol indicating the Emacs background brightness. The symbol
11885 should be one of @code{light} or @code{dark}. If Gnus guesses this
11886 frame attribute wrongly, either set this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or
11887 set the resource @code{Emacs.backgroundMode} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
11888 `gnus-display-type'.
11891 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
11895 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
11896 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
11897 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
11899 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
11900 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
11901 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
11903 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
11904 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
11905 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
11907 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
11908 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
11909 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
11911 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
11912 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
11913 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
11915 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
11916 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
11917 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
11928 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
11929 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
11930 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
11931 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
11932 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
11936 @vindex gnus-carpal
11937 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
11938 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
11939 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
11944 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
11945 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
11946 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
11948 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
11949 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
11950 Face used on buttons.
11952 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
11953 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
11954 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
11956 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
11957 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
11958 Buttons in the group buffer.
11960 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
11961 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
11962 Buttons in the summary buffer.
11964 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
11965 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
11966 Buttons in the server buffer.
11968 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
11969 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
11970 Buttons in the browse buffer.
11973 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
11974 is either a cons cell where the car contains a text to be displayed and
11975 the cdr contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
11983 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
11984 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
11985 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
11986 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
11987 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
11989 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
11990 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
11991 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
11993 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
11994 been idle for thirty minutes:
11997 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12000 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
12004 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
12007 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter works together
12008 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
12009 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12011 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
12012 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
12013 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
12014 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12016 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
12017 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
12018 @var{idle} minutes.
12020 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
12021 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
12024 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
12025 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
12026 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
12028 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
12029 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
12030 seconds. This is @code{60} by default. If you change that variable,
12031 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
12033 @vindex gnus-use-demon
12034 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
12035 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
12037 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
12038 your @file{.gnus} file:
12040 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
12042 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12045 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
12046 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
12047 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
12048 Some ready-made functions to do this has been created:
12049 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection}, and
12050 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
12051 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
12053 @findex gnus-demon-init
12054 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
12055 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
12056 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
12057 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
12058 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
12060 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
12061 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
12062 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
12071 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
12072 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
12074 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
12075 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
12076 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
12077 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
12080 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
12081 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
12082 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
12083 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
12085 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
12086 this will make spam disappear.
12088 There are some variables to customize, of course:
12091 @item gnus-use-nocem
12092 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
12093 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
12096 @item gnus-nocem-groups
12097 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
12098 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
12099 default is @code{("alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
12101 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
12102 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
12103 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
12104 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
12105 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
12106 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
12108 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
12111 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
12112 @cindex Chris Lewis
12113 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
12114 usenet abuse than anybody else.
12117 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
12118 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
12119 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
12121 @item jem@@xpat.com;
12123 Jem---Korean despammer who is getting very busy these days.
12125 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
12126 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
12127 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
12130 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
12131 ones you want to listen to.
12133 @item gnus-nocem-directory
12134 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
12135 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
12136 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
12138 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12139 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12140 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
12141 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
12142 might then see old spam.
12150 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
12151 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
12152 over your shoulder as you read news.
12155 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
12156 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
12157 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
12158 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
12159 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
12164 @subsection Picon Basics
12166 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site
12167 (@samp{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}):
12170 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
12171 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
12172 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
12173 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
12174 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
12175 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
12176 @code{GIF} formats.
12179 Please see the above mentioned web site for instructions on obtaining
12180 and installing the picons databases, or the following ftp site:
12181 @samp{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
12183 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12184 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
12185 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
12188 @node Picon Requirements
12189 @subsection Picon Requirements
12191 To use have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
12192 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
12195 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
12197 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12198 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
12199 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
12200 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
12204 @subsection Easy Picons
12206 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
12207 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
12210 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
12211 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12212 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
12213 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
12218 @subsection Hard Picons
12220 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
12221 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
12222 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
12223 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
12224 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
12228 @item gnus-picons-display-where
12229 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12230 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
12231 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
12232 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
12233 @samp{"*scratch*"} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
12234 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
12235 routines---@xref{Windows Configuration}.
12239 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
12240 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
12242 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
12243 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
12244 displayed at the right time.
12246 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
12247 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12249 @item gnus-article-display-picons
12250 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12251 Looks up and display the picons for the author and the author's domain
12252 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to
12253 the @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12255 @item gnus-group-display-picons
12256 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12257 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
12258 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
12259 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
12260 is set to @code{article}.
12262 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
12263 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12264 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
12265 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12269 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
12270 to the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
12273 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12277 @node Picon Configuration
12278 @subsection Picon Configuration
12280 The following variables offer further control over how things are
12281 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
12282 don't need to worry about.
12285 @item gnus-picons-database
12286 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12287 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
12288 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
12289 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
12291 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
12292 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
12293 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
12296 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
12297 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
12298 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
12299 faces. Defaults to @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc/MISC")}.
12301 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
12302 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
12303 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
12304 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
12305 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
12307 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12308 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12309 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
12310 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
12311 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
12312 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
12314 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
12315 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
12316 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
12317 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
12319 @item gnus-picons-buffer
12320 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
12321 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
12322 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
12328 @section Moderation
12331 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
12332 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
12333 @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
12336 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
12340 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
12343 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
12345 If you are the moderation of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
12350 You split your incoming mail by matching on
12351 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
12352 articles in some mail group---@samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}, for instance.
12355 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
12356 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
12359 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
12360 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
12364 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
12367 (setq gnus-moderatated-groups
12368 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
12372 @node Various Various
12373 @section Various Various
12379 @item gnus-directory
12380 @vindex gnus-directory
12381 All Gnus directories will be initialized from this variable, which
12382 defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or @file{~/News/}
12383 if that variable isn't set.
12385 @item gnus-default-directory
12386 @vindex gnus-default-directory
12387 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
12388 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
12389 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
12390 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
12391 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
12392 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
12395 @vindex gnus-verbose
12396 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
12397 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
12398 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
12399 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
12400 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
12402 @item gnus-verbose-backends
12403 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
12404 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
12405 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
12407 @item nnheader-max-head-length
12408 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
12409 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
12410 as little as possible. This variable (default @code{4096}) specifies
12411 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
12412 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
12413 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
12414 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
12415 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
12418 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
12419 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
12421 @cindex illegal characters in file names
12422 @cindex characters in file names
12423 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
12424 For instance, if @samp{:} is illegal as a file character in file names
12425 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
12428 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
12432 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
12433 Windows (phooey) systems.
12435 @item gnus-hidden-properties
12436 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
12437 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
12438 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
12439 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
12441 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
12442 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
12443 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
12444 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
12445 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
12447 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
12448 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
12449 String used to separate to shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
12458 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
12459 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
12461 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
12463 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
12468 Not because of victories @*
12471 but for the common sunshine,@*
12473 the largess of the spring.
12476 but for the day's work done@*
12477 as well as I was able;@*
12478 not for a seat upon the dais@*
12479 but at the common table.@*
12484 @chapter Appendices
12487 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
12488 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
12489 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
12490 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
12491 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
12492 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
12493 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
12501 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
12502 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
12504 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
12505 can point your (feh!) web browser to
12506 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
12507 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
12508 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
12510 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
12511 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)}, is, of course, short for
12512 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
12513 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
12514 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
12515 appropriate name, don't you think?)
12517 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
12518 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
12519 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
12520 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
12522 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
12523 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution.
12525 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'') was
12526 released under the name ``Gnus 5.2''.
12528 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun.
12531 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
12532 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
12533 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
12534 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
12535 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
12536 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
12537 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
12544 What's the point of Gnus?
12546 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
12547 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
12548 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
12549 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
12550 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
12551 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
12552 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
12553 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
12554 keep track of millions of people who post?
12556 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
12557 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
12558 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
12559 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
12560 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
12561 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
12562 everywhere I could imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one
12563 of you to explore and invent.
12565 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
12568 @node Compatibility
12569 @subsection Compatibility
12571 @cindex compatibility
12572 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
12573 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
12574 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
12579 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
12583 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
12586 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @pxref{Decoding
12589 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
12590 buffers. All variables that are relevant while reading a group are
12591 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
12592 important variables have their values copied into their global
12593 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
12594 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
12596 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
12597 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
12598 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
12599 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
12600 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
12604 @cindex highlighting
12605 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
12606 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
12607 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
12608 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
12609 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
12610 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
12613 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
12614 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
12615 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
12616 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
12618 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
12619 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
12620 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
12621 to stop doing it the old way.
12623 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
12625 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
12627 @cindex reporting bugs
12629 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
12630 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
12631 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
12635 @subsection Conformity
12637 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
12638 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
12645 There are no known breaches of this standard.
12649 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
12651 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
12652 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
12653 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
12654 the next inspection.
12656 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
12657 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
12658 We do have some breaches to this one.
12663 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
12664 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
12667 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
12668 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
12669 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
12670 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
12671 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
12674 Gnus does line breaking on this header. I infer from RFC1036 that being
12675 conservative in what you output is not creating 5000-character lines, so
12676 it seems like a good idea to me. However, this standard-to-be says that
12677 whitespace in the @code{References} header is to be preserved, so... It
12678 doesn't matter one way or the other to Gnus, so if somebody tells me
12679 what The Way is, I'll change it. Or not.
12684 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliantly with regards to the texts
12685 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
12690 @subsection Emacsen
12696 Gnus should work on :
12701 Emacs 19.30 and up.
12704 XEmacs 19.13 and up.
12707 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.30 and up.
12711 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
12712 reliably, at least.
12714 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various platforms:
12719 The mouse-face on Gnus lines under Emacs and Mule is delimited to
12720 certain parts of the lines while they cover the entire line under
12724 The same with current-article marking---XEmacs puts an underline under
12725 the entire summary line while Emacs and Mule are nicer and kinder.
12728 XEmacs features more graphics---a logo and a toolbar.
12731 Citation highlighting us better under Emacs and Mule than under XEmacs.
12734 Emacs 19.26-19.28 have tangible hidden headers, which can be a bit
12741 @subsection Contributors
12742 @cindex contributors
12744 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
12745 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
12746 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
12747 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
12748 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
12749 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
12750 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
12751 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
12752 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
12753 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
12755 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
12760 @item Masanobu @sc{Umeda}
12761 The writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
12763 @item Per Abrahamsen
12764 Custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as well as numerous
12767 @item Luis Fernandes
12768 Design and graphics.
12771 @file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on @dfn{picons}
12775 @file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section (@pxref{GroupLens}).
12777 @item Sudish Joseph
12778 Innumerable bug fixes.
12781 @file{gnus-topic.el}.
12783 @item Steven L. Baur
12784 Lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
12786 @item Vladimir Alexiev
12787 The refcard and reference booklets.
12789 @item Felix Lee & JWZ
12790 I stole some pieces from the XGnus distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
12793 @file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
12795 @item Peter Mutsaers
12796 Orphan article scoring code.
12801 @item Hallvard B Furuseth
12802 Various bits and pieces, especially dealing with .newsrc files.
12804 @item Brian Edmonds
12805 @file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
12807 @item Ricardo Nassif and Mark Borges
12810 @item Kevin Davidson
12811 Came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
12815 Peter Arius, Stainless Steel Rat, Ulrik Dickow, Jack Vinson, Daniel
12816 Quinlan, Frank D. Cringle, Geoffrey T. Dairiki, Fabrice Popineau and
12817 Andrew Eskilsson have all contributed code and suggestions.
12821 @subsection New Features
12822 @cindex new features
12827 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
12828 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
12831 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
12832 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
12835 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
12838 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
12839 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
12840 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
12843 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
12844 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
12845 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
12846 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
12849 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
12850 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
12853 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
12854 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
12855 (@pxref{The Active File}).
12858 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
12859 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
12862 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
12863 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
12864 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
12867 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
12868 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
12869 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
12872 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
12873 the @file{.emacs} file.
12876 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
12877 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
12880 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
12881 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
12884 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
12885 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
12888 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
12889 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
12892 Gnus can fetch articles asynchronously on a second connection to the
12893 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
12896 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
12899 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
12900 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
12903 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
12904 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
12907 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
12908 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
12911 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
12914 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
12915 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
12918 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
12922 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
12926 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
12927 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
12930 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
12934 Gnus can use NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
12938 This is, of course, just a @emph{short} overview of the @emph{most}
12939 important new features. No, really. There are tons more. Yes, we have
12940 feeping creaturism in full effect, but nothing too gratuitous, I would
12944 @node Newest Features
12945 @subsection Newest Features
12948 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
12951 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
12955 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
12957 A better and simpler method for specifying mail composing methods.
12959 Allow posting through mail-to-news gateways.
12961 Really do unbinhexing.
12964 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
12965 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
12967 @code{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/sgnus/todo>} is where the actual
12968 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
12969 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
12973 @section Terminology
12975 @cindex terminology
12980 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
12981 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
12982 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
12983 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
12984 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
12988 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
12989 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
12990 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
12991 not posting, and replying is not following up.
12995 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
12999 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
13004 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
13005 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
13006 is all done by the backends.
13010 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
13011 default, way of getting news.
13015 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
13016 These are groups that use different backends for getting news.
13020 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
13021 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
13025 A nessage that has been posted as news.
13028 @cindex mail message
13029 A message that has been mailed.
13033 A mail message or news article
13037 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
13042 The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
13047 A line from the head of an article.
13051 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
13052 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
13056 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
13057 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
13058 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
13059 normal @sc{head} format.
13063 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
13064 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
13065 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
13066 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
13067 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
13068 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
13070 @item killed groups
13071 @cindex killed groups
13072 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
13073 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
13075 @item zombie groups
13076 @cindex zombie groups
13077 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
13080 @cindex active file
13081 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
13082 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
13083 is rather large, as you might surmise.
13086 @cindex bogus groups
13087 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
13088 server (i. e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
13089 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
13093 A machine than one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
13095 @item select method
13096 @cindex select method
13097 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
13100 @item virtual server
13101 @cindex virtual server
13102 A named select method. Since a select methods defines all there is to
13103 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the who things as a
13104 whole is a virtual server.
13109 @node Customization
13110 @section Customization
13111 @cindex general customization
13113 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
13114 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
13115 for some quite common situations.
13118 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
13119 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
13120 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
13121 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
13125 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
13126 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
13128 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
13129 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
13130 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
13134 @item gnus-read-active-file
13135 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
13136 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
13137 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-news} and
13138 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
13139 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
13141 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
13142 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
13143 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
13144 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
13148 @node Slow Terminal Connection
13149 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
13151 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that
13152 runs Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce the
13153 amount of data that is sent over the wires as much as possible.
13157 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
13158 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
13159 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
13160 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
13161 horizontal and vertical recentering.
13163 @item gnus-visible-headers
13164 Cut down on the headers that are included in the articles to the
13165 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
13166 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
13167 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
13169 @item gnus-article-display-hook
13170 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
13172 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
13173 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
13174 gnus-article-hide-citation))
13177 @item gnus-use-full-window
13178 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
13179 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
13180 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
13181 want to read them anyway.
13183 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
13184 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
13187 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
13188 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
13189 lines, which might save some time.
13193 @node Little Disk Space
13194 @subsection Little Disk Space
13197 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
13198 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
13202 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
13203 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
13204 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
13205 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
13208 @item gnus-save-killed-list
13209 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
13210 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
13211 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
13212 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
13218 @subsection Slow Machine
13219 @cindex slow machine
13221 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
13222 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
13224 Set@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
13225 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
13227 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
13228 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
13229 summary buffer faster.
13231 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
13232 processing a bit faster.
13235 @node Troubleshooting
13236 @section Troubleshooting
13237 @cindex troubleshooting
13239 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
13247 Make sure your computer is switched on.
13250 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
13251 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
13255 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
13256 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
13257 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
13258 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
13261 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
13265 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
13266 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
13267 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
13268 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
13269 something like that.
13272 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
13275 @cindex reporting bugs
13277 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
13279 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
13280 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
13281 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
13282 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
13284 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
13285 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
13286 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
13287 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
13290 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
13291 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you send back
13292 just ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
13293 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
13294 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
13295 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
13297 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
13298 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
13299 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
13302 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
13303 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
13305 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
13306 @cindex ding mailing list
13307 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@ifi.uio.no}.
13308 Write to @samp{ding-request@@ifi.uio.no} to subscribe.
13311 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
13312 @section A Programmer's Guide to Gnus
13314 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
13315 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
13316 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
13317 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
13320 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
13321 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
13322 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
13323 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
13324 and general method of operations.
13327 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
13328 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
13329 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
13330 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
13331 * Group Info:: The group info format.
13332 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
13333 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
13337 @node Backend Interface
13338 @subsection Backend Interface
13340 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
13341 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
13342 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
13343 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
13344 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
13345 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
13347 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
13348 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
13349 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
13350 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
13351 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
13352 been opened, the function should fail.
13354 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
13355 name. Take this example:
13359 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
13360 (nntp-port-number 4324))
13363 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
13364 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
13366 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
13367 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
13368 server environments that it pulls down/pushes up when needed.
13370 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
13371 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
13372 always check whether are present before attempting to call.
13374 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
13375 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
13376 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
13377 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
13378 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
13379 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
13382 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
13383 some might be said to not be. The latter are backends that generally
13384 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
13385 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
13388 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
13391 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
13394 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
13395 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
13396 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
13397 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
13398 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
13402 @node Required Backend Functions
13403 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
13407 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
13409 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
13410 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
13411 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
13412 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
13414 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
13415 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
13416 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
13417 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
13419 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try to fetch "extra
13420 headers, in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
13421 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
13422 article number in @code{articles}, and fill in the gaps as well. The
13423 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
13424 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
13425 number, do maximum fetches.
13427 Here's an example HEAD:
13430 221 1056 Article retrieved.
13431 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
13432 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
13433 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
13434 Subject: Re: Something very droll
13435 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
13436 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
13438 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
13439 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
13440 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
13444 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
13445 these in the data buffer.
13447 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
13451 head = error / valid-head
13452 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
13453 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
13454 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
13455 header = <text> eol
13458 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
13459 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
13463 nov-buffer = *nov-line
13464 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
13465 field = <text except TAB>
13468 For a closer explanation what should be in those fields,
13472 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
13474 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
13475 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that defines this virtual server.
13477 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
13478 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
13479 server. In fact, it should do so.
13481 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
13482 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
13485 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
13487 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
13488 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
13491 There should be no data returned.
13494 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
13496 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
13497 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
13498 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
13499 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
13501 There should be no data returned.
13504 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
13506 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
13507 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
13508 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
13509 attempt to reconnect to a server that is has lost connection to.
13511 There should be no data returned.
13514 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
13516 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
13518 There should be no data returned.
13521 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
13523 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
13524 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
13525 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
13526 it would be nice if that were possible.
13528 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
13529 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
13530 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
13531 another, and Gnus mainly request articles to be inserted directly into
13532 its article buffer.
13534 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
13535 the car is the group name the article was fetched from, and the cdr is
13536 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
13537 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
13538 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
13539 on successful article retrievement.
13542 @item (nnchoke-open-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
13544 Make @var{group} the current group.
13546 There should be no data returned by this function.
13549 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
13551 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
13552 making @var{group} the current group.
13554 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
13557 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
13560 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
13563 The first number is the status, which should be @code{211}. Next is the
13564 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
13565 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
13566 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
13567 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
13568 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
13569 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
13570 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
13573 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
13574 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
13575 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
13579 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
13581 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
13582 a no-op on most backends.
13584 There should be no data returned.
13587 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
13589 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
13592 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
13595 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
13596 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
13599 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
13600 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
13603 active-file = *active-line
13604 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
13606 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
13609 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
13610 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
13611 (@samp{=other-group} or none of the above (@samp{y}).
13614 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
13616 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
13617 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
13618 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
13619 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
13620 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
13621 clear if the posting could not be completed.
13623 There should be no result data from this function.
13628 @node Optional Backend Functions
13629 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
13633 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
13635 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
13636 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
13637 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
13639 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
13640 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
13641 former is in the same format as the data from
13642 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
13643 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
13646 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
13650 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
13652 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
13653 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
13654 information (as is the case with virtual an imap groups). This function
13655 may alter the info in any manner it sees fit, and should return the
13656 (altered) group info. This function may alter the group info
13657 destructively, so no copying is needed before boogeying.
13659 There should be no result data from this function.
13662 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
13664 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
13665 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
13666 user is following up is news or mail. This function should return
13667 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
13668 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
13669 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
13670 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
13671 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
13673 There should be no result data from this function.
13676 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
13678 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
13679 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
13680 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
13681 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
13682 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
13684 The only use for this that I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
13685 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
13686 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
13689 There should be no result data from this function.
13692 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
13694 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
13695 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
13696 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
13697 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
13698 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
13699 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
13700 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
13702 There should be no result data from this function.
13705 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
13707 The result data from this function should be a description of
13711 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
13713 description = <text>
13716 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
13718 The result data from this function should be the description of all
13719 groups available on the server.
13722 description-buffer = *description-line
13726 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
13728 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
13729 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
13730 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
13733 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
13735 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
13737 There should be no return data.
13740 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
13742 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
13743 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
13744 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
13745 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
13746 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
13749 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
13752 There should be no result data returned.
13755 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
13758 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
13759 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
13761 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
13762 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
13763 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
13764 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
13765 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
13766 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
13768 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
13769 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
13772 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
13773 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
13775 There should be no data returned.
13778 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
13780 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
13781 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
13782 this function in short order.
13784 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
13785 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
13787 There should be no data returned.
13790 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
13792 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
13793 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
13795 There should be no data returned.
13798 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
13800 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
13801 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
13802 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
13804 There should be no data returned.
13807 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
13809 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
13810 articles that are in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
13812 There should be no data returned.
13817 @node Error Messaging
13818 @subsubsection Error Messaging
13820 @findex nnheader-report
13821 @findex nnheader-get-report
13822 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
13823 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
13824 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
13825 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
13826 there are many of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
13827 This function always returns @code{nil}.
13830 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
13832 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
13835 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
13836 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
13837 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
13838 takes one argument---the server symbol.
13840 Internally, these function access @var{backend}@code{-status-string}, so
13841 the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
13842 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
13845 @node Writing New Backends
13846 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
13848 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
13849 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
13850 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
13851 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
13852 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
13855 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
13856 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
13857 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
13859 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
13860 package called @code{nnoo}.
13862 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
13863 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
13870 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
13871 parameters. For instance:
13874 (nnoo-declare nndir
13878 @code{nndir} has here declared that it intends to inherit functions from
13879 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
13882 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
13883 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
13884 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
13886 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
13887 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
13888 a function in those backends.
13891 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
13892 "Where nndir will look for groups."
13893 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
13896 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
13897 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
13898 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
13900 @item nnoo-define-basics
13901 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
13905 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
13909 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
13910 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
13911 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
13913 @item nnoo-map-functions
13914 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
13915 functions from the parent backends.
13918 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
13919 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
13920 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
13923 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
13924 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
13925 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
13926 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
13929 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
13930 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
13931 haven't already been defined.
13937 nnmh-request-newgroups)
13941 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
13942 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
13943 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
13948 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
13951 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
13952 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
13956 (require 'nnheader)
13960 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
13962 (nnoo-declare nndir
13965 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
13966 "Where nndir will look for groups."
13967 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
13969 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
13970 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
13973 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
13974 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
13975 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
13977 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
13978 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
13980 ;;; Interface functions.
13982 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
13984 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
13985 (setq nndir-directory
13986 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
13988 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
13989 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
13990 (push `(nndir-current-group
13991 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
13993 (push `(nndir-top-directory
13994 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
13996 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
13998 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
13999 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
14000 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
14001 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
14002 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
14006 nnmh-status-message
14008 nnmh-request-newgroups))
14014 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
14015 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
14017 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
14018 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
14019 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
14020 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
14022 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
14023 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
14028 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
14031 The abilities can be:
14035 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
14037 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
14039 This backend supports both mail and news.
14041 This is neither a post or mail backend---it's something completely
14044 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
14045 articles and groups.
14047 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
14048 true for almost all backends.
14049 @item prompt-address
14050 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
14051 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
14052 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
14057 @node Score File Syntax
14058 @subsection Score File Syntax
14060 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
14061 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
14062 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
14064 Here's a typical score file:
14068 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
14075 BNF definition of a score file:
14078 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
14079 element = rule / atom
14080 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
14081 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
14082 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
14083 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
14085 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
14086 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
14087 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
14088 date-header = "date"
14089 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
14090 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
14091 score = "nil" / <integer>
14092 date = "nil" / <natural number>
14093 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
14094 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
14095 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
14096 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
14097 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
14098 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
14099 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
14100 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
14101 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
14102 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
14103 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
14104 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
14105 exclude-files / read-only / touched
14106 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
14107 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
14108 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
14109 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
14110 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
14111 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
14112 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
14113 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
14114 adapt = "adapt" [ space "nil" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
14115 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
14116 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
14117 eval = "eval" space <form>
14118 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
14121 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
14124 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
14125 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
14126 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
14127 one looong line, then that's ok.
14129 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
14134 @subsection Headers
14136 Gnus uses internally a format for storing article headers that
14137 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
14138 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
14139 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
14141 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
14142 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (eg.,
14143 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
14144 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
14145 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
14146 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
14147 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
14149 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
14150 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
14151 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
14152 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
14153 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
14155 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
14162 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
14163 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
14165 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
14166 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
14167 that you want to callify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
14168 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
14170 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
14174 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
14177 is transformed into
14180 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
14183 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
14184 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
14187 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
14190 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
14191 is slightly tricky:
14194 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
14200 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
14203 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
14209 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
14216 and is equal to the previous range.
14218 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
14219 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
14220 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
14224 range = simple-range / normal-range
14225 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
14226 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
14227 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
14228 number *[ " " contents ]
14231 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
14232 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
14233 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
14234 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
14235 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
14240 @subsection Group Info
14242 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
14243 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
14244 describes the group.
14246 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
14247 second is a more complex one:
14250 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
14252 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
14253 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
14255 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
14258 The first element is the group name as Gnus knows the group; the second
14259 is the group level; the third is the read articles in range format; the
14260 fourth is a list of article marks lists; the fifth is the select method;
14261 and the sixth contains the group parameters.
14263 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
14266 info = "(" group space level space read
14267 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
14268 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
14269 group = quote <string> quote
14270 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
14272 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
14273 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
14274 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
14275 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
14278 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
14279 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
14283 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
14284 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
14288 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
14289 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
14290 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
14292 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
14293 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
14294 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
14295 Gnus, that's very useful.
14297 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
14298 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
14299 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
14300 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
14301 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
14302 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
14303 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
14304 following function:
14307 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
14311 (,function ,@@args))
14315 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
14316 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
14317 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
14320 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
14321 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
14322 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
14325 @node Various File Formats
14326 @subsection Various File Formats
14329 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
14330 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
14334 @node Active File Format
14335 @subsubsection Active File Format
14337 The active file lists all groups that are available on the server in
14338 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
14341 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
14344 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
14345 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
14346 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
14347 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
14348 no.general 1000 900 y
14351 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
14354 active = *group-line
14355 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
14356 group = <non-white-space string>
14358 high-number = <non-negative integer>
14359 low-number = <positive integer>
14360 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
14364 @node Newsgroups File Format
14365 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
14367 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
14368 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
14369 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
14372 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
14373 Here's the definition:
14377 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
14378 group = <non-white-space string>
14380 description = <string>
14384 @node Emacs for Heathens
14385 @section Emacs for Heathens
14387 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
14388 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
14389 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
14390 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
14391 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
14392 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
14393 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
14397 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
14398 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
14403 @subsection Keystrokes
14407 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
14410 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
14413 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
14414 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
14415 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
14416 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
14417 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
14418 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
14420 The shift key is normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
14421 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
14422 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
14423 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
14424 keyboards. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
14425 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
14426 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
14428 Now, us Emacs people doesn't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
14429 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
14430 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
14431 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
14432 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
14433 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
14434 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
14436 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
14437 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
14438 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
14439 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
14440 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
14446 @subsection Emacs Lisp
14448 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
14449 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
14450 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
14451 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
14453 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
14454 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
14455 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
14456 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
14457 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
14458 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
14459 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
14462 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
14463 write the following:
14466 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
14469 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
14470 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
14471 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
14474 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
14475 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
14476 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
14477 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
14478 previous ``form'', which here is a simple @code{setq} statement.
14480 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
14481 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
14482 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
14486 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
14490 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
14493 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
14494 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
14497 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
14500 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
14501 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
14504 @include gnus-faq.texi