1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*- -*- coding: iso-latin-1 -*-
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright,11pt]{book}
20 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
21 \usepackage{pagestyle}
24 \input{gnusconfig.tex}
26 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
28 \usepackage[pdftex,bookmarks]{hyperref}
35 \newcommand{\gnusversionname}{Oort Gnus v.}
36 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
37 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
39 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
41 \newcommand{\gnusref}[1]{``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
42 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
43 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
45 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\href{#1}{\gnustt{#1}}}
47 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
48 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
50 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
51 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
53 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\gnusselectttfont{}#1}}
54 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
55 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``{\fontencoding{OT1}\gnusselectttfont{}#1}''}
56 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
57 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
58 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
59 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
60 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
61 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
62 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
63 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{{\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}}
64 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
65 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
66 \newcommand{\gnusversion}[1]{{\small\textit{#1}}}
67 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
68 \newcommand{\gnusresult}[1]{\gnustt{=> #1}}
70 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
71 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
72 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
73 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
74 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
75 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
76 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
77 \newcommand{\gnusnot}{$\neg$}
78 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
79 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
80 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
81 \newcommand{\gnusbraceleft}{{$>$}}
82 \newcommand{\gnusbraceright}{{$>$}}
84 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-head,height=1cm}}}
85 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
86 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\gnushead]{\gnushead}
89 \newcommand{\gnuscleardoublepage}{\ifodd\count0\mbox{}\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}\mbox{}\clearpage\else\clearpage\fi}
91 \newcommand{\gnuspagechapter}[1]{
98 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[2]{
100 \ifdim \gnusdimen = 0pt\setcounter{page}{1}\pagestyle{gnus}\pagenumbering{arabic} \gnusdimen 1pt\fi
102 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
103 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#2}
104 \thispagestyle{empty}
106 \begin{picture}(500,500)(0,0)
107 \put(480,350){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{#1}}
108 \put(40,300){\makebox(500,50)[bl]{{\Huge\bf{#2}}}}
113 \newcommand{\gnusfigure}[3]{
115 \mbox{}\ifodd\count0\hspace*{-0.8cm}\else\hspace*{-3cm}\fi\begin{picture}(440,#2)
122 \newcommand{\gnusicon}[1]{
123 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\raisebox{-1.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1.5cm}}]{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1cm}}}
126 \newcommand{\gnuspicon}[1]{
127 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=2cm}}
130 \newcommand{\gnusxface}[2]{
131 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=1cm}\epsfig{figure=#2,width=1cm}}
134 \newcommand{\gnussmiley}[2]{
135 \margindex{\makebox[2cm]{\hfill\epsfig{figure=#1,width=0.5cm}\hfill\epsfig{figure=#2,width=0.5cm}\hfill}}
138 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\mbox{}\vspace*{-\itemsep}\vspace*{-\parsep}\item#1}
140 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
141 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
145 \newenvironment{codelist}%
150 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
156 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
161 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
166 \newenvironment{samplist}%
171 \newenvironment{varlist}%
176 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
181 \newlength\gnusheadtextwidth
182 \setlength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{\headtextwidth}
183 \addtolength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{1cm}
185 \newpagestyle{gnuspreamble}%
190 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\mbox{}}\textbf{\hfill\roman{page}}}
194 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\roman{page}\hfill\mbox{}}}
203 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
205 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
210 \newpagestyle{gnusindex}%
215 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\gnuschaptername\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
219 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
227 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
229 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
239 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{3.1cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}} \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}}}}
243 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{-2.95cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}}
251 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
253 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
258 \pagenumbering{roman}
259 \pagestyle{gnuspreamble}
269 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
270 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
272 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
274 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\hfill\gnusversion{\gnusversionname}\\
277 \hspace*{0cm}\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=15cm}
280 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
287 \thispagestyle{empty}
289 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
290 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
293 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
294 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
295 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
296 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
297 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
298 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
299 License'' in the Emacs manual.
301 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
302 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
303 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
305 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
306 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
307 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
308 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
316 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
318 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
319 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
321 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
322 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
323 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
324 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
325 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
326 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
327 License'' in the Emacs manual.
329 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
330 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
331 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
333 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
334 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
335 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
336 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
344 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
347 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
348 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
349 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
351 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
352 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
353 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
354 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
355 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
356 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
357 License'' in the Emacs manual.
359 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
360 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
361 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
363 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
364 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
365 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
366 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
375 @top The Gnus Newsreader
379 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
380 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
381 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
384 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v.
395 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
396 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
398 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
399 being accused of plagiarism:
401 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
402 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
403 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
404 can even read news with it!
406 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
407 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
408 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
409 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
410 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
416 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
417 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
418 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
419 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
420 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
421 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
422 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
423 * Various:: General purpose settings.
424 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
425 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
426 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
427 * Key Index:: Key Index.
430 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
434 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
435 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
436 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
437 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
438 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
439 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
440 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
441 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
442 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
443 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
444 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
448 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
449 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
450 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
454 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
455 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
456 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
457 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
458 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
459 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
460 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
461 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
462 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
463 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
464 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
465 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
466 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
467 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
468 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
469 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
470 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
474 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
475 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
476 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
480 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
481 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
482 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
483 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
484 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
488 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
489 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
490 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
491 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
495 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
496 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
497 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
498 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
499 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
501 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
502 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
503 * Threading:: How threads are made.
504 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
505 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
506 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
507 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
508 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
509 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
510 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
511 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
512 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
513 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
514 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
515 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
516 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
517 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
518 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
519 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
520 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
521 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
522 or reselecting the current group.
523 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
524 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
525 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
526 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
528 Summary Buffer Format
530 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
531 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
532 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
533 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
537 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
538 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
540 Reply, Followup and Post
542 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
543 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
544 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
545 * Canceling and Superseding::
549 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
550 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
551 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
553 * Generic Marking Commands::
554 * Setting Process Marks::
558 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
559 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
560 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
564 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
565 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
567 Customizing Threading
569 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
570 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
571 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
572 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
576 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
577 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
578 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
579 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
580 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
581 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
585 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
586 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
587 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
591 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
592 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
593 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
594 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
595 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
596 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
597 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
598 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
600 Alternative Approaches
602 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
603 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
605 Various Summary Stuff
607 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
608 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
609 * Summary Generation Commands::
610 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
614 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
615 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
616 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
617 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
618 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
622 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
623 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
624 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
625 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
626 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
627 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
628 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
629 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
633 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
634 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
635 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
636 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
637 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
638 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
639 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
640 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
644 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
645 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
646 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
647 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
648 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
649 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
650 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
654 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
655 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
659 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
660 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
661 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
665 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
666 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
667 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
668 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
669 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
670 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
671 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
672 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
673 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
674 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
675 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
676 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
677 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
678 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
682 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
683 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
684 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
686 Choosing a Mail Back End
688 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
689 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
690 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
691 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
692 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
693 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
697 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
698 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
699 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
700 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
701 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
702 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
706 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
707 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
708 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
712 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
713 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
714 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
715 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
716 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
720 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
724 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
725 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
726 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
730 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
731 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
735 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
736 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
737 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
738 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
739 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
740 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
741 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
742 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
743 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
744 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
748 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
749 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
750 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
754 * Group Agent Commands::
755 * Summary Agent Commands::
756 * Server Agent Commands::
760 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
761 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
762 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
763 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
764 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
765 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
766 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
767 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
768 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
769 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
770 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
771 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
772 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
773 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
774 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
775 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
776 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
780 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
781 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
782 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
783 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
787 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
788 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
789 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
793 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
794 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
795 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
796 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
797 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
798 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
799 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
800 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
801 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
802 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
803 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
804 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
805 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
806 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
807 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
808 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
809 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
810 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
814 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
815 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
816 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
817 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
818 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
819 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
820 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
821 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
825 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
826 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
827 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
828 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
832 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
833 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
834 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
835 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
836 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
840 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
841 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
842 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
843 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
844 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
845 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
846 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
850 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
851 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
852 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
853 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
854 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
855 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
856 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
857 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
858 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
862 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
863 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
864 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
865 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
866 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
870 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
871 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
872 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
873 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
877 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
878 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
879 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
880 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
881 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
882 * Group Info:: The group info format.
883 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
884 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
885 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
889 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
890 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
891 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
892 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
893 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
894 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
898 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
899 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
903 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
904 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
910 @chapter Starting Gnus
915 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
916 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
919 @findex gnus-other-frame
920 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
921 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
922 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
924 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
925 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
926 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
928 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
929 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
932 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
933 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
934 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
935 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
936 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
937 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
938 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
939 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
940 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
941 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
942 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
946 @node Finding the News
947 @section Finding the News
950 @vindex gnus-select-method
952 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
953 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
954 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
955 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
958 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
959 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
962 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
965 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
968 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
971 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
972 certainly be much faster.
974 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
976 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
977 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
978 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
979 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
980 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
981 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
983 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
984 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
985 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
986 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
988 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
989 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
990 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
991 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
992 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
993 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
994 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
995 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
996 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
999 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1001 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1002 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1003 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1004 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1005 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1006 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1008 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1010 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1011 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1012 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1013 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1014 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1015 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1018 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1019 you would typically set this variable to
1022 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1026 @node The First Time
1027 @section The First Time
1028 @cindex first time usage
1030 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1031 be subscribed by default.
1033 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1034 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1035 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1036 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1039 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1040 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1041 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1043 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1044 help you with most common problems.
1046 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1047 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1051 @node The Server is Down
1052 @section The Server is Down
1053 @cindex server errors
1055 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1056 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1057 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1059 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1060 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1061 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1062 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1063 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1064 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1065 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1067 @findex gnus-no-server
1068 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1070 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1071 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1072 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1073 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1074 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1075 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1076 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1080 @section Slave Gnusae
1083 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1084 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1085 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1086 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1088 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1089 @code{.newsrc} file.
1091 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1092 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1093 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1094 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1095 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1096 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1097 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1099 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1100 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1101 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1102 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1103 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1104 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1105 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1106 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1108 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1109 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1112 @node Fetching a Group
1113 @section Fetching a Group
1114 @cindex fetching a group
1116 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1117 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1118 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1119 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1120 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1121 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1127 @cindex subscription
1129 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1130 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1131 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1132 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1133 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1134 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1135 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1136 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1137 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1140 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1141 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1142 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1146 @node Checking New Groups
1147 @subsection Checking New Groups
1149 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1150 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1151 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1152 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1153 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1154 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1155 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1156 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1157 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1158 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1160 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1161 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1162 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1163 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1164 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1165 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1166 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1167 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1168 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1169 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1170 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1172 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1173 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1174 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1175 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1176 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1177 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1180 @node Subscription Methods
1181 @subsection Subscription Methods
1183 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1184 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1185 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1187 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1188 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1190 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1194 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1195 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1196 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1197 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1198 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1200 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1201 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1202 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1203 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1205 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1206 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1207 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1209 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1210 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1211 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1212 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1213 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1214 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1215 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1216 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1217 up. Or something like that.
1219 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1220 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1221 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1222 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1223 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1225 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1226 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1227 Kill all new groups.
1229 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1230 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1231 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1232 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1233 topic parameter that looks like
1239 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1242 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1247 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1248 A closely related variable is
1249 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1250 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1251 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1252 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1255 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1256 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1257 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1258 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1261 @node Filtering New Groups
1262 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1264 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1265 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1266 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1269 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1272 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1273 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1274 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1275 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1276 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1277 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1278 subscribing these groups.
1279 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1280 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1282 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1283 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1284 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1285 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1286 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1287 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1288 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1289 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1291 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1292 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1293 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1294 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1295 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1296 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1297 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1298 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1299 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1300 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1302 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1303 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1306 @node Changing Servers
1307 @section Changing Servers
1308 @cindex changing servers
1310 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1311 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1312 very flaky and you want to use another.
1314 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1315 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1319 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1320 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1321 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1322 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1325 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1326 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1327 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1328 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1330 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1331 @findex gnus-change-server
1332 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1333 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1334 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1335 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1336 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1338 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1339 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1340 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1341 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1342 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1344 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1345 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1346 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1347 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1348 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1349 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1351 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1352 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1353 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1357 @section Startup Files
1358 @cindex startup files
1363 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1364 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1366 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1367 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1368 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1369 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1370 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1371 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1372 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1374 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1375 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1376 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1377 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1378 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1379 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1381 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1382 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1383 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1384 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1385 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1386 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1387 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1388 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1389 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1390 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1392 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1393 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1394 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1395 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1396 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1397 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1398 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1399 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1400 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1401 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1402 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1403 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1405 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1406 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1407 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1408 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1410 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1411 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1412 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1413 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1414 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1415 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1416 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1417 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1418 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1419 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1422 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1423 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1425 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1426 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1429 @vindex gnus-init-file
1430 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1431 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1432 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1433 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1434 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1435 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1436 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1437 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1438 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1444 @cindex dribble file
1447 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1448 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1449 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1450 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1451 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1454 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1455 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1458 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1459 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1460 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1462 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1463 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1464 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1465 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1466 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1467 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1469 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1470 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1471 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1474 @node The Active File
1475 @section The Active File
1477 @cindex ignored groups
1479 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1480 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1481 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1483 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1484 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1485 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1486 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1487 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1488 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1489 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1492 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1493 @c if you set it to anything else.
1495 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1497 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1498 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1499 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1501 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1502 you actually subscribe to.
1504 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1505 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1506 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1507 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1509 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1510 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1511 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1512 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1513 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1514 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1516 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1517 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1518 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1521 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1522 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1523 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1524 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1525 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1526 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1528 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1529 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1531 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1532 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1534 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1535 secondary select methods.
1538 @node Startup Variables
1539 @section Startup Variables
1543 @item gnus-load-hook
1544 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1545 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1546 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1547 times you start Gnus.
1549 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1550 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1551 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1553 @item gnus-startup-hook
1554 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1555 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1557 @item gnus-started-hook
1558 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1559 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1562 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1563 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1564 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1565 generating the group buffer.
1567 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1568 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1569 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1570 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1571 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1572 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1573 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1574 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1576 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1577 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1578 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1579 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1580 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1581 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1583 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1584 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1585 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1587 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1588 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1589 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1591 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1592 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1593 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1594 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1600 @chapter Group Buffer
1601 @cindex group buffer
1603 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1605 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1606 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1607 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1608 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1609 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1610 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1611 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1612 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1613 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1614 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1615 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1616 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1617 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1618 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1619 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1620 @c human rights at 9...
1623 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1624 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1625 long as Gnus is active.
1629 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1630 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1631 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1632 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1633 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1634 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1635 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1636 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1642 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1643 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1644 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1645 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1646 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1647 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1648 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1649 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1650 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1651 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1652 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1653 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1654 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1655 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1656 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1657 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1658 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1662 @node Group Buffer Format
1663 @section Group Buffer Format
1666 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1667 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1668 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1672 @node Group Line Specification
1673 @subsection Group Line Specification
1674 @cindex group buffer format
1676 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1677 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1679 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1682 25: news.announce.newusers
1683 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1688 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1689 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1690 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1691 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1693 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1694 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1695 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1696 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1697 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1698 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1700 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1702 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1703 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1704 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1705 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1708 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1709 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1710 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1712 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1717 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1720 Whether the group is subscribed.
1723 Level of subscribedness.
1726 Number of unread articles.
1729 Number of dormant articles.
1732 Number of ticked articles.
1735 Number of read articles.
1738 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1739 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1741 Gnus uses this estimation because the NNTP protocol provides efficient
1742 access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting the true
1743 unread message count is not possible efficiently. For hysterical
1744 raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of unread
1745 messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1746 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the
1747 back end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1748 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1751 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1754 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1763 Newsgroup description.
1766 @samp{m} if moderated.
1769 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1778 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1782 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1785 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1786 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1787 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1788 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1789 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1792 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1794 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1798 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1801 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1805 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1806 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1807 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1808 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1809 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1810 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1815 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1816 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1817 group, or a bogus native group.
1820 @node Group Modeline Specification
1821 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1822 @cindex group modeline
1824 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1825 The mode line can be changed by setting
1826 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1827 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1831 The native news server.
1833 The native select method.
1837 @node Group Highlighting
1838 @subsection Group Highlighting
1839 @cindex highlighting
1840 @cindex group highlighting
1842 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1843 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1844 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1845 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1846 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1848 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1852 (cond (window-system
1853 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1854 (defface my-group-face-1
1855 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1856 (defface my-group-face-2
1857 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1858 (defface my-group-face-3
1859 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1860 (defface my-group-face-4
1861 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1862 (defface my-group-face-5
1863 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1865 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1866 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1867 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1868 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1869 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1870 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1873 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1875 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1882 The number of unread articles in the group.
1886 Whether the group is a mail group.
1888 The level of the group.
1890 The score of the group.
1892 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1894 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1895 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1897 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1898 topic being inserted.
1901 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1902 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1903 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1905 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1906 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1907 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1908 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1909 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1912 @node Group Maneuvering
1913 @section Group Maneuvering
1914 @cindex group movement
1916 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1917 expected, hopefully.
1923 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1924 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1925 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1931 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1932 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1933 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1937 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1938 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1942 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1943 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1947 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1948 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1949 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1953 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1954 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1955 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1958 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1964 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1965 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1966 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1971 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1972 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1973 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1977 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1978 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1979 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1982 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1983 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1984 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1985 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1989 @node Selecting a Group
1990 @section Selecting a Group
1991 @cindex group selection
1996 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1997 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1998 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1999 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2000 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2001 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2002 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2003 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2004 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2005 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2007 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2008 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2009 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2011 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2012 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2017 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2018 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2019 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2020 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2021 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2025 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2026 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2027 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2028 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2029 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2030 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2031 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2032 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2033 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2034 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2037 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2038 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2039 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2040 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2041 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2044 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
2045 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2046 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2047 doing any processing of its contents
2048 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2049 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2050 manner will have no permanent effects.
2054 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2055 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2056 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2057 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2058 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2059 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2060 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2061 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2064 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2065 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2066 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
2067 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2072 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2073 full summary buffer.
2076 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2079 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2084 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2085 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2086 Useful functions include:
2089 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2090 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2091 don't select the article.
2093 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2094 Select the first unread article.
2096 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2097 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2101 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2102 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2103 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2107 @node Subscription Commands
2108 @section Subscription Commands
2109 @cindex subscription
2117 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2118 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2119 Toggle subscription to the current group
2120 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2126 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2127 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2128 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2129 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2135 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2136 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2137 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2143 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2144 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2147 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2148 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2149 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2150 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2151 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2157 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2158 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2162 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2163 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2166 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2167 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2168 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2169 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2170 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2171 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2172 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2173 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2174 @file{.newsrc} file.
2178 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2188 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2189 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2190 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2191 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2192 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2193 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2198 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2199 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2200 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2204 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2205 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2206 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2208 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2209 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2210 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2211 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2212 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2213 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2220 @section Group Levels
2224 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2225 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2226 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2227 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2228 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2230 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2236 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2237 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2238 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2239 prompted for a level.
2242 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2243 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2244 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2245 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2246 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2247 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2248 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2249 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2250 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2251 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2252 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2253 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2254 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2255 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2256 reasons of efficiency.
2258 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2259 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2261 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2262 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2263 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2264 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2265 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2266 groups are hidden, in a way.
2268 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2269 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2270 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2271 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2272 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2273 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2275 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2276 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2277 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2278 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2279 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2280 list of killed groups.)
2282 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2283 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2284 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2286 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2287 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2288 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2289 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2290 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2291 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2292 relevant valid ranges.
2294 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2295 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2296 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2297 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2298 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2299 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2302 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2303 one with the best level.
2305 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2306 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2307 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2310 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2311 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2312 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2313 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2316 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2317 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2318 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2319 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2321 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2322 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2323 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2324 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2325 to 5. The default is 6.
2329 @section Group Score
2334 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2335 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2336 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2339 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2340 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2341 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2342 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2343 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2344 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2345 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2346 least significant part.))
2348 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2349 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2350 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2351 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2352 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2353 action after each summary exit, you can add
2354 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2355 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2356 slow things down somewhat.
2359 @node Marking Groups
2360 @section Marking Groups
2361 @cindex marking groups
2363 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2364 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2365 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2366 bidding on those groups.
2368 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2369 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2370 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2378 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2379 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2385 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2386 Remove the mark from the current group
2387 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2391 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2392 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2396 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2397 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2401 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2402 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2406 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2407 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2408 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2411 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2413 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2414 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2415 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2416 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2417 the command to be executed.
2420 @node Foreign Groups
2421 @section Foreign Groups
2422 @cindex foreign groups
2424 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2425 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2426 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2427 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2434 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2435 @cindex making groups
2436 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2437 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2438 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2442 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2443 @cindex renaming groups
2444 Rename the current group to something else
2445 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2446 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2452 @findex gnus-group-customize
2453 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2457 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2458 @cindex renaming groups
2459 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2460 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2464 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2465 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2466 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2470 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2471 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2472 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2476 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2478 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2479 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2484 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2485 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2489 @cindex (ding) archive
2490 @cindex archive group
2491 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2492 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2493 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2494 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2495 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2496 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2497 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2501 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2503 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2504 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2505 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2506 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2510 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2512 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2513 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2514 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2518 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2519 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2521 Make a group based on some file or other
2522 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2523 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2524 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2525 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2526 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2527 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2528 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2529 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2530 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2534 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2535 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2536 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2537 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2541 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2546 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2547 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2548 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2549 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2550 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2551 @xref{Web Searches}.
2553 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2554 to a particular group by using a match string like
2555 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2558 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2559 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2560 This function will delete the current group
2561 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2562 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2563 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2564 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2565 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2569 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2570 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2571 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2575 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2576 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2577 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2580 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2583 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2584 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2585 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2586 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2587 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2588 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2592 @node Group Parameters
2593 @section Group Parameters
2594 @cindex group parameters
2596 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2597 Here's an example group parameter list:
2600 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2604 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2605 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2606 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2607 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2609 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2610 is an alist of regexps and values.
2612 The following group parameters can be used:
2617 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2620 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2623 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2624 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2625 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2626 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2627 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2629 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2630 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2631 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2632 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2633 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2634 list address instead.
2636 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2640 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2643 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2646 It is totally ignored
2647 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2648 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2650 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2651 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2652 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2653 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2654 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2656 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2657 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2658 sending the message.
2660 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2661 @cindex Mail List Groups
2662 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2663 entering summary buffer.
2665 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2669 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2670 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2671 of whether it has any unread articles.
2673 @item broken-reply-to
2674 @cindex broken-reply-to
2675 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2676 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2677 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2678 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2679 broken behavior. So there!
2683 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2684 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2688 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2689 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2690 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2695 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2696 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2697 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2698 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2699 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2700 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2701 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2705 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2706 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2707 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2709 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2712 @cindex total-expire
2713 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2714 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2715 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2716 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2719 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2723 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2724 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2725 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2726 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2727 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2728 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2731 @cindex score file group parameter
2732 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2733 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2734 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2737 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2738 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2739 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2740 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2743 @cindex admin-address
2744 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2745 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2746 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2747 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2751 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2752 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2756 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2759 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2763 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2765 Here are some examples:
2769 Display only read articles.
2772 Display everything except expirable articles.
2774 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2775 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2779 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2780 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2781 @code{read}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2782 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2783 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{seen} and @code{recent}.
2787 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2788 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2789 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2793 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2794 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2795 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2800 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2801 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2802 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2804 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2806 @item ignored-charsets
2807 @cindex ignored-charset
2808 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2809 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2810 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2812 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2815 @cindex posting-style
2816 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2817 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2818 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2819 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2820 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2822 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2823 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2824 like this in the group parameters:
2829 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2834 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2835 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2839 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2840 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2841 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2842 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2843 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2845 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2846 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2847 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2848 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2849 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2850 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2851 @code{eval}ed there.
2853 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2854 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2855 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2856 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2857 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2861 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2862 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2863 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2864 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2865 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2867 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2868 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2872 (setq gnus-parameters
2874 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2875 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2876 (gnus-summary-line-format
2877 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2881 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2885 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2889 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2892 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2893 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2896 @node Listing Groups
2897 @section Listing Groups
2898 @cindex group listing
2900 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2908 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2909 List all groups that have unread articles
2910 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2911 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2912 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2913 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2920 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2921 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2922 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2923 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2924 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2925 unsubscribed groups).
2929 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2930 List all unread groups on a specific level
2931 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2932 with no unread articles.
2936 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2937 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2938 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2939 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2944 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2945 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2949 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2950 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2951 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2955 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2956 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2960 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2961 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2962 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2963 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2964 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2965 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2966 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2967 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2971 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2972 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2973 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2977 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2978 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2979 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2983 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2984 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2988 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2989 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2993 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
2994 List groups limited within the current selection
2995 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
2999 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3000 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3004 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3005 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3009 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3010 @cindex visible group parameter
3011 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3012 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3013 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3014 get the same effect.
3016 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3017 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3018 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3019 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3020 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3023 @node Sorting Groups
3024 @section Sorting Groups
3025 @cindex sorting groups
3027 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3028 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3029 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3030 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3031 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3032 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3037 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3038 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3039 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3041 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3042 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3043 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3045 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3046 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3047 Sort by group level.
3049 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3050 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3051 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3053 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3054 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3055 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3056 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3058 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3059 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3060 Sort by number of unread articles.
3062 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3063 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3064 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3066 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3067 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3068 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3073 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3074 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3078 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3079 some sorting criteria:
3083 @kindex G S a (Group)
3084 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3085 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3086 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3089 @kindex G S u (Group)
3090 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3091 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3092 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3095 @kindex G S l (Group)
3096 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3097 Sort the group buffer by group level
3098 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3101 @kindex G S v (Group)
3102 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3103 Sort the group buffer by group score
3104 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3107 @kindex G S r (Group)
3108 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3109 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3110 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3113 @kindex G S m (Group)
3114 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3115 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3116 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3120 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3121 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3123 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3124 commands will sort in reverse order.
3126 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3130 @kindex G P a (Group)
3131 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3132 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3133 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3136 @kindex G P u (Group)
3137 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3138 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3139 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3142 @kindex G P l (Group)
3143 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3144 Sort the groups by group level
3145 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3148 @kindex G P v (Group)
3149 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3150 Sort the groups by group score
3151 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3154 @kindex G P r (Group)
3155 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3156 Sort the groups by group rank
3157 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3160 @kindex G P m (Group)
3161 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3162 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3163 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3167 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3171 @node Group Maintenance
3172 @section Group Maintenance
3173 @cindex bogus groups
3178 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3179 Find bogus groups and delete them
3180 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3184 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3185 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3186 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3187 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3188 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3192 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3193 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3194 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3195 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3196 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3197 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3200 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
3201 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3202 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3203 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3208 @node Browse Foreign Server
3209 @section Browse Foreign Server
3210 @cindex foreign servers
3211 @cindex browsing servers
3216 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3217 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3218 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3219 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3222 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3223 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3224 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3225 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3227 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3232 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3233 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3237 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3238 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3241 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3242 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3243 Enter the current group and display the first article
3244 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3247 @kindex RET (Browse)
3248 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3249 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3253 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3254 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3255 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3261 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3262 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3266 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3267 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3268 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3273 @section Exiting Gnus
3274 @cindex exiting Gnus
3276 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3281 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3282 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3283 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3284 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3288 @findex gnus-group-exit
3289 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3290 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3294 @findex gnus-group-quit
3295 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3296 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3299 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3300 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3301 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3302 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3303 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3308 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3309 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3310 trying to customize meta-variables.
3315 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3316 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3317 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3323 @section Group Topics
3326 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3327 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3328 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3329 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3330 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3331 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3335 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3336 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3347 2: alt.religion.emacs
3350 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3352 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3353 13: comp.sources.unix
3356 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3358 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3359 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3360 is a toggling command.)
3362 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3363 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3364 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3365 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3368 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3369 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3370 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3373 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3377 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3378 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3379 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3380 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3381 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3385 @node Topic Commands
3386 @subsection Topic Commands
3387 @cindex topic commands
3389 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3390 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3391 definitions slightly.
3393 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3394 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3395 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3396 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3397 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3398 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3400 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3407 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3408 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3409 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3413 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3415 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3416 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3417 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3418 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3421 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3422 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3423 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3424 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3428 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3429 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3430 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3431 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3437 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3438 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3439 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3443 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3444 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3445 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3448 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3449 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3450 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3451 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3452 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3454 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3455 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3459 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3460 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3467 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3469 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3470 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3471 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3472 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3473 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3474 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3478 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3484 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3485 Move the current group to some other topic
3486 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3487 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3491 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3492 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3496 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3497 Copy the current group to some other topic
3498 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3499 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3503 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3504 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3505 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3509 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3510 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3511 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3515 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3516 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3517 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3518 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3519 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3520 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3521 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3524 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3525 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3529 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3530 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3531 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3535 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3536 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3537 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3541 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3542 Toggle hiding empty topics
3543 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3547 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3548 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3549 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3552 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3553 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3554 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3555 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3558 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3559 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3560 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3561 expiry process (if any)
3562 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3566 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3567 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3570 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3571 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3572 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3576 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3577 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3578 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3582 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3583 @cindex group parameters
3584 @cindex topic parameters
3586 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3587 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3592 @node Topic Variables
3593 @subsection Topic Variables
3594 @cindex topic variables
3596 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3597 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3599 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3600 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3601 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3614 Number of groups in the topic.
3616 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3618 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3621 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3622 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3623 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3626 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3627 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3629 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3630 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3631 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3635 @subsection Topic Sorting
3636 @cindex topic sorting
3638 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3644 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3645 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3646 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3647 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3650 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3651 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3652 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3653 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3656 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3657 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3658 Sort the current topic by group level
3659 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3662 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3663 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3664 Sort the current topic by group score
3665 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3668 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3669 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3670 Sort the current topic by group rank
3671 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3674 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3675 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3676 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3677 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3681 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3684 @node Topic Topology
3685 @subsection Topic Topology
3686 @cindex topic topology
3689 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3695 2: alt.religion.emacs
3698 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3700 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3701 13: comp.sources.unix
3704 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3705 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3706 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3711 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3712 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3716 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3717 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3718 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3719 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3720 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3721 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3723 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3724 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3725 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3728 @node Topic Parameters
3729 @subsection Topic Parameters
3730 @cindex topic parameters
3732 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3733 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3734 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3736 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3741 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3742 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3743 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3748 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3749 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3750 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3751 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3757 2: alt.religion.emacs
3761 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3763 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3764 13: comp.sources.unix
3768 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3769 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3770 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3771 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3772 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3773 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3775 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3776 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3777 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3778 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3779 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3781 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3782 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3783 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3784 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3785 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3786 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3787 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3788 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3791 @node Misc Group Stuff
3792 @section Misc Group Stuff
3795 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3796 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3797 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3798 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3805 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3806 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3807 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3811 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3812 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3813 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3817 @findex gnus-group-mail
3818 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3822 Variables for the group buffer:
3826 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3827 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3828 is called after the group buffer has been
3831 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3832 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3833 is called after the group buffer is
3834 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3837 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3838 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3839 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3840 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3842 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3843 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3844 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3845 whether they are empty or not.
3847 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3848 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3849 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3850 non-ASCII group names.
3854 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3855 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3858 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3859 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3860 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3861 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3865 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3866 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3871 @node Scanning New Messages
3872 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3873 @cindex new messages
3874 @cindex scanning new news
3880 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3881 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3882 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3883 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3884 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3885 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3890 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3891 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3892 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3893 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3894 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3895 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3896 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3898 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3899 @cindex activating groups
3901 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3902 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3907 @findex gnus-group-restart
3908 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3909 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3910 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3914 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3915 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3917 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3918 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3922 @node Group Information
3923 @subsection Group Information
3924 @cindex group information
3925 @cindex information on groups
3932 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3933 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3936 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3937 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3938 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3939 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3940 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3941 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3942 for fetching the file.
3944 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3945 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3949 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3951 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3952 @cindex describing groups
3953 @cindex group description
3954 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3955 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3956 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3960 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3961 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3962 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3969 @findex gnus-version
3970 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3974 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3975 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3978 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3981 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3982 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3986 @node Group Timestamp
3987 @subsection Group Timestamp
3989 @cindex group timestamps
3991 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3992 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3993 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3996 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3999 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4001 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4002 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4005 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4006 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4009 This will result in lines looking like:
4012 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4013 0: custom 19961002T012713
4016 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4017 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4021 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4022 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4027 @subsection File Commands
4028 @cindex file commands
4034 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4035 @vindex gnus-init-file
4036 @cindex reading init file
4037 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4038 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4042 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4043 @cindex saving .newsrc
4044 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4045 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4046 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4049 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4050 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4051 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4056 @node Summary Buffer
4057 @chapter Summary Buffer
4058 @cindex summary buffer
4060 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4061 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4063 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4064 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4066 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4069 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4070 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4071 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4072 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4073 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4074 * Delayed Articles::
4075 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4076 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4077 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4078 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4079 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4080 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4081 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4082 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4083 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4084 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4085 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4086 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4087 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4088 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4089 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4090 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4091 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4092 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4093 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4094 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4095 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4096 or reselecting the current group.
4097 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4098 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4099 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4100 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4104 @node Summary Buffer Format
4105 @section Summary Buffer Format
4106 @cindex summary buffer format
4110 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4111 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4112 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4118 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4119 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4120 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4121 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4124 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4125 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4126 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4127 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4128 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4129 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4130 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4131 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4132 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4133 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4134 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4137 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4138 'mail-extract-address-components)
4141 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4142 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4143 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4144 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4147 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4148 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4150 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4151 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4152 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4153 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4154 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4156 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4157 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4158 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4159 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4160 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4162 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%) %s\n}.
4164 The following format specification characters are understood:
4170 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4171 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4173 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4174 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4175 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4177 Full @code{From} header.
4179 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4181 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4182 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4184 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4185 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4186 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4187 may be more thorough.
4189 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4192 Number of lines in the article.
4194 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4195 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4197 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4199 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4202 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4203 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4205 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4206 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4208 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4209 for adopted articles.
4211 One space for each thread level.
4213 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4218 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4219 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4223 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4225 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4226 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4227 default level. If the difference between
4228 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4229 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4237 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4239 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4245 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4246 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4248 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4249 article has any children.
4255 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4256 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4257 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4258 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4259 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4260 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4263 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4264 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4265 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4266 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4267 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4268 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4270 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4271 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4273 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4276 @node To From Newsgroups
4277 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4281 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4282 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4283 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4284 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4285 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4289 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4290 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4291 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4295 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4296 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4299 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4300 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4303 @findex gnus-extra-header
4304 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4305 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4306 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4309 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4313 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4314 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4315 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4316 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4317 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4318 headers are used instead.
4322 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4323 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4324 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4325 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4328 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4329 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4330 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4331 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4333 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4337 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4339 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4340 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4341 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4342 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4346 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4347 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4354 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4355 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4358 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4359 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4361 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4362 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4363 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4364 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4366 Here are the elements you can play with:
4372 Unprefixed group name.
4374 Current article number.
4376 Current article score.
4380 Number of unread articles in this group.
4382 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4385 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4386 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4387 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4388 and no unselected ones.
4390 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4391 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4393 Subject of the current article.
4395 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4397 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4399 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4401 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4403 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4405 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4409 @node Summary Highlighting
4410 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4414 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4415 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4416 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4417 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4418 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4420 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4421 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4422 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4423 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4425 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4426 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4427 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4428 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4430 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4431 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4432 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4433 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4434 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4435 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4438 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4439 ((> score default) . bold))
4441 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4442 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4446 @node Summary Maneuvering
4447 @section Summary Maneuvering
4448 @cindex summary movement
4450 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4451 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4453 None of these commands select articles.
4458 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4459 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4460 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4461 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4462 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4466 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4467 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4468 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4469 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4470 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4473 @kindex G g (Summary)
4474 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4475 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4476 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4479 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4480 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4481 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4482 to the group buffer.
4484 Variables related to summary movement:
4488 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4489 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4490 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4491 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4492 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4493 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4494 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4495 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4496 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4497 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4498 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4499 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4500 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4501 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4503 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4504 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4505 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4506 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4507 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4508 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4509 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4511 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4513 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4514 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4515 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4516 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4517 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4519 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4520 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4521 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4522 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4523 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4524 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4525 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4526 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4529 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4530 the given number of lines from the top.
4535 @node Choosing Articles
4536 @section Choosing Articles
4537 @cindex selecting articles
4540 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4541 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4545 @node Choosing Commands
4546 @subsection Choosing Commands
4548 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4549 and they all select and display an article.
4551 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4552 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4556 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4557 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4558 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4559 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4564 @kindex G n (Summary)
4565 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4566 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4567 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4572 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4573 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4574 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4579 @kindex G N (Summary)
4580 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4581 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4586 @kindex G P (Summary)
4587 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4588 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4591 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4592 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4593 Go to the next article with the same subject
4594 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4597 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4598 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4599 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4600 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4604 @kindex G f (Summary)
4606 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4607 Go to the first unread article
4608 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4612 @kindex G b (Summary)
4614 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4615 Go to the article with the highest score
4616 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4621 @kindex G l (Summary)
4622 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4623 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4626 @kindex G o (Summary)
4627 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4629 @cindex article history
4630 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4631 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4632 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4633 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4634 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4635 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4640 @kindex G j (Summary)
4641 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4642 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4643 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4648 @node Choosing Variables
4649 @subsection Choosing Variables
4651 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4654 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4655 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4656 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4657 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4658 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4659 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4661 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4662 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4663 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4664 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4666 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4667 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4668 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4669 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4670 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4671 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4672 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4673 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4674 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4675 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4676 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4677 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4678 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4679 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4684 @node Paging the Article
4685 @section Scrolling the Article
4686 @cindex article scrolling
4691 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4692 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4693 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4694 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4695 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4698 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4699 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4700 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4703 @kindex RET (Summary)
4704 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4705 Scroll the current article one line forward
4706 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4709 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4710 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4711 Scroll the current article one line backward
4712 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4716 @kindex A g (Summary)
4718 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4719 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4720 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4721 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4722 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4723 the way it came from the server.
4725 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4726 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4727 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4730 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4735 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4740 @kindex A < (Summary)
4741 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4742 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4743 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4748 @kindex A > (Summary)
4749 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4750 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4754 @kindex A s (Summary)
4756 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4757 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4758 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4762 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4763 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4768 @node Reply Followup and Post
4769 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4772 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4773 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4774 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4775 * Canceling and Superseding::
4779 @node Summary Mail Commands
4780 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4782 @cindex composing mail
4784 Commands for composing a mail message:
4790 @kindex S r (Summary)
4792 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4793 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4794 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4795 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4796 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4801 @kindex S R (Summary)
4802 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4803 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4804 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4805 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4806 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4809 @kindex S w (Summary)
4810 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4811 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4812 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4813 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4814 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4817 @kindex S W (Summary)
4818 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4819 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4820 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4821 the process/prefix convention.
4824 @kindex S v (Summary)
4825 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
4826 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
4827 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
4828 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4829 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
4830 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
4834 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4835 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4836 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4837 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4838 Forward the current article to some other person
4839 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4840 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4841 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4842 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4843 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4844 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4845 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4846 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4847 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4852 @kindex S m (Summary)
4853 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4854 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4855 Send a mail to some other person
4856 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4859 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4860 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4861 @cindex bouncing mail
4862 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4863 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4864 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4865 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4866 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4867 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4868 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4869 very well fail, though.
4872 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4873 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4874 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4875 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4876 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4877 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4878 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4879 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4880 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4881 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4883 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4884 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4885 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4886 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4887 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4889 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4890 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4893 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4894 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4895 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4896 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4897 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4900 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4901 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4902 @cindex crossposting
4903 @cindex excessive crossposting
4904 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4905 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4907 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4908 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4909 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4910 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4911 command understands the process/prefix convention
4912 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4916 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
4917 Manual}, for more information.
4920 @node Summary Post Commands
4921 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4923 @cindex composing news
4925 Commands for posting a news article:
4931 @kindex S p (Summary)
4932 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4933 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4934 Post an article to the current group
4935 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4940 @kindex S f (Summary)
4941 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4942 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4943 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4947 @kindex S F (Summary)
4949 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4950 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4951 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4952 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4953 process/prefix convention.
4956 @kindex S n (Summary)
4957 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4958 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4959 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4962 @kindex S N (Summary)
4963 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4964 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4965 message through mail and include the original message
4966 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4967 the process/prefix convention.
4970 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4971 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4972 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4973 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
4974 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
4975 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
4976 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4977 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4978 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4979 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4980 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4981 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4982 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4985 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4986 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4988 @cindex making digests
4989 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4990 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4991 process/prefix convention.
4994 @kindex S u (Summary)
4995 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4996 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4997 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4998 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5001 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5002 Manual}, for more information.
5005 @node Summary Message Commands
5006 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5010 @kindex S y (Summary)
5011 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5012 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5013 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5014 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5015 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5020 @node Canceling and Superseding
5021 @subsection Canceling Articles
5022 @cindex canceling articles
5023 @cindex superseding articles
5025 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5026 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5028 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5030 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5032 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5033 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5034 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5035 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5036 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5037 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5039 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5040 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5043 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5044 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5045 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5047 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5048 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5049 your original article.
5051 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5053 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5054 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5055 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5058 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5059 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5060 have posted almost the same article twice.
5062 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5063 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5064 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5065 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5066 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5067 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5068 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5069 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5070 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5071 canceled/superseded.
5073 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5075 @node Delayed Articles
5076 @section Delayed Articles
5077 @cindex delayed sending
5078 @cindex send delayed
5080 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5081 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5082 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5083 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5086 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5089 @findex gnus-delay-article
5090 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5091 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5092 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5093 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5097 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5098 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5099 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5100 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5103 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5104 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5105 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5108 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5109 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5110 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5111 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5112 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5113 that means a time tomorrow.
5116 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5117 couple of variables:
5120 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5121 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5122 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5123 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5125 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5126 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5127 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5128 formats described above.
5130 @item gnus-delay-group
5131 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5132 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5133 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5134 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5136 @item gnus-delay-header
5137 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5138 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5139 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5140 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5143 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5144 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5145 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5146 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5147 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5149 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5150 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts}
5151 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5152 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5153 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5154 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} function.
5157 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5158 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5159 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5160 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} in
5161 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5162 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5163 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5164 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5166 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5167 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5168 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5169 forget to set that up :-)
5173 @node Marking Articles
5174 @section Marking Articles
5175 @cindex article marking
5176 @cindex article ticking
5179 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5181 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5182 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5183 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5185 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5188 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5189 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5190 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5194 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5198 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5199 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5200 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5204 @node Unread Articles
5205 @subsection Unread Articles
5207 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5212 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5213 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5215 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5216 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5217 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5218 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5219 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5220 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5221 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5224 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5225 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5227 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5228 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5229 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5230 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5234 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5235 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5237 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5242 @subsection Read Articles
5243 @cindex expirable mark
5245 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5250 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5251 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5252 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5255 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5256 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5259 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5260 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5261 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5264 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5265 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5268 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5269 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5272 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5273 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5276 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5277 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5280 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5281 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5284 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5285 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5288 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5289 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5293 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5294 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5295 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5299 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5300 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5302 One more special mark, though:
5306 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5307 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5309 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5310 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5311 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5312 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5318 @subsection Other Marks
5319 @cindex process mark
5322 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5328 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5329 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5330 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5331 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5332 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5335 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5336 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5337 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5338 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5340 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5341 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5342 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5344 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5345 Articles that are ``recently'' arrived in the group will be marked
5346 with an @samp{N} in the second column (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Most
5347 back end doesn't support the mark, in which case it's not shown.
5350 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5351 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5352 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5355 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5356 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5357 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5358 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5361 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5362 Articles that according to the back end haven't been seen by the user
5363 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5364 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all back ends support this
5365 mark, in which case it simply never appear.
5368 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5369 Articles that haven't been seen by the user before are marked with a
5370 @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5373 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5374 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5375 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5376 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5377 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5380 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5381 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5382 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5383 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5384 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5385 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5389 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5390 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5391 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5393 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5394 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5395 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5399 @subsection Setting Marks
5400 @cindex setting marks
5402 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5407 @kindex M c (Summary)
5408 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5409 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5410 @cindex mark as unread
5411 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5412 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5418 @kindex M t (Summary)
5419 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5420 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5421 @xref{Article Caching}.
5426 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5427 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5428 Mark the current article as dormant
5429 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5433 @kindex M d (Summary)
5435 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5436 Mark the current article as read
5437 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5441 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5442 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5443 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5448 @kindex M k (Summary)
5449 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5450 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5451 and then select the next unread article
5452 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5456 @kindex M K (Summary)
5457 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5458 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5459 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5460 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5463 @kindex M C (Summary)
5464 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5465 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5466 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5469 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5470 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5471 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5472 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5475 @kindex M H (Summary)
5476 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5477 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5478 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5481 @kindex M h (Summary)
5482 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5483 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5484 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5487 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5488 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5489 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5490 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5493 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5494 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5495 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5496 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5500 @kindex M e (Summary)
5502 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5503 Mark the current article as expirable
5504 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5507 @kindex M b (Summary)
5508 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5509 Set a bookmark in the current article
5510 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5513 @kindex M B (Summary)
5514 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5515 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5516 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5519 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5520 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5521 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5522 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5525 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5526 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5527 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5528 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5531 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5532 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5533 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5534 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5535 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5538 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5539 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5540 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5541 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5542 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5543 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5544 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5545 The default is @code{t}.
5548 @node Generic Marking Commands
5549 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5551 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5552 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5553 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5554 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5555 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5558 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5559 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5562 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5563 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5564 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5565 to list in this manual.
5567 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5568 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5569 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5570 article, you could say something like:
5573 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5574 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5575 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5581 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5582 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5586 @node Setting Process Marks
5587 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5588 @cindex setting process marks
5595 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5596 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5597 Mark the current article with the process mark
5598 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5599 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5603 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5604 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5605 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5606 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5609 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5610 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5611 Remove the process mark from all articles
5612 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5615 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5616 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5617 Invert the list of process marked articles
5618 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5621 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5622 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5623 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5624 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5627 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5628 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5629 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5630 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5633 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5634 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5635 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5638 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5639 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5640 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5641 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5644 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5645 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5646 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5647 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5650 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5651 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5652 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5653 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5656 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5657 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5658 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5661 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5662 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5663 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5664 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5667 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5668 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5669 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5672 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5673 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5674 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5675 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5678 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5679 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5680 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5681 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5684 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5685 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5686 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5687 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5690 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5691 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5692 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5693 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5697 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5698 set process marks based on article body contents.
5705 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5706 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5707 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5710 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5711 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5712 additional articles.
5718 @kindex / / (Summary)
5719 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5720 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5721 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5724 @kindex / a (Summary)
5725 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5726 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5727 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5730 @kindex / x (Summary)
5731 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5732 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5733 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5734 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5738 @kindex / u (Summary)
5740 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5741 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5742 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5743 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5744 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5747 @kindex / m (Summary)
5748 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5749 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5750 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5753 @kindex / t (Summary)
5754 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5755 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5756 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5757 articles younger than that number of days.
5760 @kindex / n (Summary)
5761 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5762 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5763 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5764 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5767 @kindex / w (Summary)
5768 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5769 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5770 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5774 @kindex / v (Summary)
5775 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5776 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5777 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5780 @kindex / p (Summary)
5781 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter
5782 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
5783 group parameter predicate
5784 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter}). See @pxref{Group
5785 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
5789 @kindex M S (Summary)
5790 @kindex / E (Summary)
5791 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5792 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5793 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5796 @kindex / D (Summary)
5797 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5798 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5799 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5802 @kindex / * (Summary)
5803 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5804 Include all cached articles in the limit
5805 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5808 @kindex / d (Summary)
5809 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5810 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5811 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5814 @kindex / M (Summary)
5815 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5816 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5819 @kindex / T (Summary)
5820 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5821 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5824 @kindex / c (Summary)
5825 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5826 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5827 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5830 @kindex / C (Summary)
5831 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5832 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5833 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5834 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5837 @kindex / N (Summary)
5838 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
5839 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
5840 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
5843 @kindex / o (Summary)
5844 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
5845 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
5846 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
5854 @cindex article threading
5856 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5857 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5858 hierarchical fashion.
5860 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5861 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5862 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5863 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
5864 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5865 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5866 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5868 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5872 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5875 A tree-like article structure.
5878 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5881 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5882 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5883 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5884 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5885 called loose threads.
5887 @item thread gathering
5888 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5890 @item sparse threads
5891 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5892 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5898 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5899 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5903 @node Customizing Threading
5904 @subsection Customizing Threading
5905 @cindex customizing threading
5908 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5909 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5910 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5911 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5916 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5919 @cindex loose threads
5922 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5923 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5924 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5925 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5926 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5927 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5929 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
5930 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
5931 There are four possible values:
5935 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5936 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
5937 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
5938 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
5939 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
5944 @cindex adopting articles
5949 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5950 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5951 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5952 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5955 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5956 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5957 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5958 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5959 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5960 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5961 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5964 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5965 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5966 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5970 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5971 display them after one another.
5974 Don't gather loose threads.
5977 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5978 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5979 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5980 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
5981 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5982 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5983 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5984 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5985 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5986 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
5987 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5989 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5990 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
5991 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5994 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5995 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5996 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5997 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5998 simplification is used.
6000 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6001 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6002 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6003 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6005 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6007 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6013 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6014 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6015 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6016 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6021 (mapconcat 'identity
6022 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6024 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6027 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6030 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6031 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6032 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6033 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6034 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6035 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6037 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6040 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6041 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6042 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6044 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6045 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6048 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6049 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6050 Remove excessive whitespace.
6053 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6056 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6057 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6058 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6059 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6060 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6061 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6062 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6063 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6065 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6066 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6067 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6068 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6069 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6070 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6071 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6072 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6073 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6077 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6078 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6079 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6080 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6082 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6083 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6084 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6087 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6091 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6092 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6098 @node Filling In Threads
6099 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6102 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6103 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6104 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6105 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6106 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6107 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6108 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6109 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6110 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6111 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
6112 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
6113 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
6115 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6116 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6117 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6119 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6120 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6121 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6122 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6123 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6124 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6125 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6126 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6127 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6128 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6129 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6130 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6131 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6132 @code{nil} by default.
6134 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6135 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6136 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6137 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6138 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6139 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6140 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6142 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6143 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6144 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6149 @node More Threading
6150 @subsubsection More Threading
6153 @item gnus-show-threads
6154 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6155 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6156 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6157 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6158 slower and more awkward.
6160 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6161 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6162 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6165 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6166 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6167 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6168 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6169 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6170 threads are expunged.
6172 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6173 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6174 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6177 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6178 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6179 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6180 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6181 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6182 result in a new thread.
6184 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6185 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6186 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6189 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6190 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6191 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6192 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6193 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6194 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6195 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6196 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6197 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6198 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6199 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6204 @node Low-Level Threading
6205 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6209 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6210 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6211 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6213 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6214 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6215 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6216 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6217 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6218 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6219 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6220 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6221 meaningful. Here's one example:
6224 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6226 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6227 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6229 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6231 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6238 @node Thread Commands
6239 @subsection Thread Commands
6240 @cindex thread commands
6246 @kindex T k (Summary)
6247 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
6248 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6249 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6250 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6251 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6256 @kindex T l (Summary)
6257 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
6258 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6259 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6260 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6263 @kindex T i (Summary)
6264 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6265 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6266 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6269 @kindex T # (Summary)
6270 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6271 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6272 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6275 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6276 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6277 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6278 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6281 @kindex T T (Summary)
6282 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6283 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6286 @kindex T s (Summary)
6287 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6288 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6289 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6292 @kindex T h (Summary)
6293 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6294 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6297 @kindex T S (Summary)
6298 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6299 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6302 @kindex T H (Summary)
6303 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6304 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6307 @kindex T t (Summary)
6308 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6309 Re-thread the current article's thread
6310 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6311 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6314 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6315 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6316 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6317 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6321 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6322 understand the numeric prefix.
6327 @kindex T n (Summary)
6329 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
6331 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6332 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6333 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6336 @kindex T p (Summary)
6338 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
6340 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6341 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6342 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6345 @kindex T d (Summary)
6346 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6347 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6350 @kindex T u (Summary)
6351 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6352 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6355 @kindex T o (Summary)
6356 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6357 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6360 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6361 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6362 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6363 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6364 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6365 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6366 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6367 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6368 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6369 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6370 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6371 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6375 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6376 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6378 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6379 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6380 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6381 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6382 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6383 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6384 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6385 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6386 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6387 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6388 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6390 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6391 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6392 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6393 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
6394 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6396 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6397 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6398 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6400 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6401 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6402 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6403 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6404 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6405 ascending article order.
6407 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6408 by number, you could do something like:
6411 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6412 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6413 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6414 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6417 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6418 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6419 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6420 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6421 which the articles arrived.
6423 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6427 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6429 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6430 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6433 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6434 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6435 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6436 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6439 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6440 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6441 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6442 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6443 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6444 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6445 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6446 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6447 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6448 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6449 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6450 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6451 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6453 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6457 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6458 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6459 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6464 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6465 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6466 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6467 @cindex article pre-fetch
6470 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6471 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6472 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6473 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6474 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6476 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6477 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6479 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6480 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6481 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6482 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6483 connection is blocked.
6485 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6486 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6487 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6488 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6490 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6491 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6492 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6493 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6496 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6499 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6500 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6501 happen automatically.
6503 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6504 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6505 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6506 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6507 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6508 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6509 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6511 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6512 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6513 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6514 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6515 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6516 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6517 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6518 data structure as the only parameter.
6520 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6523 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6524 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6525 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6526 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6529 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6532 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6533 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6534 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6536 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6537 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6538 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6539 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6543 Remove articles when they are read.
6546 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6549 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6551 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6552 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6553 @c from the next group.
6556 @node Article Caching
6557 @section Article Caching
6558 @cindex article caching
6561 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6562 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6563 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6564 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6565 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6567 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6569 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6570 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6571 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6572 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6573 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6574 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6575 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6576 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6578 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6579 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6580 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6581 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6582 as dormant, and don't worry.
6584 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6586 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6587 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6588 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6589 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6590 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6591 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6592 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6593 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6594 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6595 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6597 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6598 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6599 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6600 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6601 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6602 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6603 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6604 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6605 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6606 not then be downloaded by this command.
6608 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6609 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6610 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6611 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6612 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6613 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6615 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6616 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6617 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6618 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6619 variables, the group is not cached.
6621 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6622 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6623 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6624 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6625 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6626 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6627 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6628 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6629 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6633 @node Persistent Articles
6634 @section Persistent Articles
6635 @cindex persistent articles
6637 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6638 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6639 useful in my opinion.
6641 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6642 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6643 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6644 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6645 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6646 the expiry going on at the news server.
6648 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6649 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6650 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6656 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6657 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6660 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6661 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6662 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6663 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6667 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6669 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6670 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6671 interested in persistent articles:
6674 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6678 @node Article Backlog
6679 @section Article Backlog
6681 @cindex article backlog
6683 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6684 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6685 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6686 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6687 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6688 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6689 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6690 increase memory usage some.
6692 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6693 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6694 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6695 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6696 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6697 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6698 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6700 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6703 @node Saving Articles
6704 @section Saving Articles
6705 @cindex saving articles
6707 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6708 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6709 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6710 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6711 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6713 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6714 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6715 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6717 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6718 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6719 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6720 deleted before saving.
6726 @kindex O o (Summary)
6728 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6729 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6730 Save the current article using the default article saver
6731 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6734 @kindex O m (Summary)
6735 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6736 Save the current article in mail format
6737 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6740 @kindex O r (Summary)
6741 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6742 Save the current article in rmail format
6743 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6746 @kindex O f (Summary)
6747 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6748 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6749 Save the current article in plain file format
6750 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6753 @kindex O F (Summary)
6754 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6755 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6756 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6759 @kindex O b (Summary)
6760 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6761 Save the current article body in plain file format
6762 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6765 @kindex O h (Summary)
6766 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6767 Save the current article in mh folder format
6768 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6771 @kindex O v (Summary)
6772 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6773 Save the current article in a VM folder
6774 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6778 @kindex O p (Summary)
6780 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6781 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6782 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6785 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6786 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6787 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6788 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6789 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6790 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6791 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6792 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6793 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6794 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6795 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6796 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6800 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6801 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6802 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6803 functions below, or you can create your own.
6807 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6808 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6809 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6810 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6811 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6812 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6813 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6815 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6816 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6817 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6818 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6819 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6820 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6822 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6823 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6824 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6825 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6826 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6827 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6828 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6830 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6831 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6832 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6833 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6834 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6836 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6837 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6838 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6839 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6840 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6843 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6844 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6845 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6846 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6847 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6849 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6850 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6851 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6852 reader to use this setting.
6855 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6856 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6857 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6858 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6861 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6862 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6863 available functions that generate names:
6867 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6868 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6869 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6871 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6872 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6873 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6875 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6876 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6877 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6879 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6880 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6881 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6883 @item gnus-sender-save-name
6884 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
6885 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
6888 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6889 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6890 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6891 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6892 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6896 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6897 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6898 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6899 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6902 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6903 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6904 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6905 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6906 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6907 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6908 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6909 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6910 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6912 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6913 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6914 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6915 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6917 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6918 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6919 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6922 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6923 lots of mail groups called things like
6924 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6925 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6926 following will do just that:
6929 (defun my-save-name (group)
6930 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6931 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6933 (setq gnus-split-methods
6934 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6939 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6940 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6941 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6942 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6943 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6944 all the files in the top level directory
6945 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6946 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6947 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6948 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6950 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6951 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6952 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6953 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6954 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6957 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6961 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6962 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
6963 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6966 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6967 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6968 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6969 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6972 @node Decoding Articles
6973 @section Decoding Articles
6974 @cindex decoding articles
6976 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6977 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6980 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6981 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6982 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6983 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6984 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6985 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6989 @cindex article series
6990 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6991 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6992 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6993 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6994 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6996 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6997 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6998 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7000 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7001 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7002 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7004 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7005 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7006 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7009 @node Uuencoded Articles
7010 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7012 @cindex uuencoded articles
7017 @kindex X u (Summary)
7018 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7019 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7020 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7023 @kindex X U (Summary)
7024 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7025 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7026 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7029 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7030 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7031 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7034 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7035 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7036 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7037 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7041 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7042 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7043 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7044 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7045 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7047 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7048 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7049 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7050 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7053 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7054 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7055 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7056 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7057 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7058 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7062 @node Shell Archives
7063 @subsection Shell Archives
7065 @cindex shell archives
7066 @cindex shared articles
7068 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7069 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7070 some commands to deal with these:
7075 @kindex X s (Summary)
7076 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7077 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7080 @kindex X S (Summary)
7081 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7082 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7085 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7086 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7087 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7090 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7091 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7092 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7093 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7097 @node PostScript Files
7098 @subsection PostScript Files
7104 @kindex X p (Summary)
7105 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7106 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7109 @kindex X P (Summary)
7110 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7111 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7112 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7115 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7116 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7117 View the current PostScript series
7118 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7121 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7122 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7123 View and save the current PostScript series
7124 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7129 @subsection Other Files
7133 @kindex X o (Summary)
7134 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7135 Save the current series
7136 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7139 @kindex X b (Summary)
7140 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7141 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7142 doesn't really work yet.
7146 @node Decoding Variables
7147 @subsection Decoding Variables
7149 Adjective, not verb.
7152 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7153 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7154 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7158 @node Rule Variables
7159 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7160 @cindex rule variables
7162 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7163 variables are of the form
7166 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7173 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7174 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7176 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7177 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7180 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7181 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7184 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7185 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7186 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7187 user and default view rules.
7189 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7190 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7191 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7196 @node Other Decode Variables
7197 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7200 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7202 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7203 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7204 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7205 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7206 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7210 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7211 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7214 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7215 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7216 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7219 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7220 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7221 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7222 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7223 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7226 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7227 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7228 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7230 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7231 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7232 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7233 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7234 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7237 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7238 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7239 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7241 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7242 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7243 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7244 looking for files to display.
7246 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7247 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7248 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7251 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7252 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7253 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7256 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7257 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7258 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7261 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7262 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7263 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7266 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7267 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7268 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7269 decoded articles as unread.
7271 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7272 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7273 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7274 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7276 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7277 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7278 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7280 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7281 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7283 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7284 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7285 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7286 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7288 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7289 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7290 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7291 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7292 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7293 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7294 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7295 simply dropped them.
7300 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7301 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7305 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7306 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7307 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7308 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7309 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7310 for you when you post the article.
7312 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7313 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7314 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7315 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7317 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7318 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7319 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7320 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7321 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7322 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7323 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7325 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7326 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7327 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7328 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7329 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7330 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7331 Default is @code{t}.
7337 @subsection Viewing Files
7338 @cindex viewing files
7339 @cindex pseudo-articles
7341 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7342 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7343 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7344 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7345 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7346 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7347 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7349 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7350 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7351 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7352 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7354 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7355 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7356 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7358 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7359 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7360 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7361 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7362 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7364 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7365 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7366 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7367 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7368 a list of parameters to that command.
7370 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7371 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7372 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7374 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7375 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7376 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7379 @node Article Treatment
7380 @section Article Treatment
7382 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7383 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7384 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7385 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7386 these articles easier.
7389 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7390 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7391 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7392 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7393 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7394 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7395 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7396 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7400 @node Article Highlighting
7401 @subsection Article Highlighting
7402 @cindex highlighting
7404 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7405 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7410 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7411 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7412 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7413 Do much highlighting of the current article
7414 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7415 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7418 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7419 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7420 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7421 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7422 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7423 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7424 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7425 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7426 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7427 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7428 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7429 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7432 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7433 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7434 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7436 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7439 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7441 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7442 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7443 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7445 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7446 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7447 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7449 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7450 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7451 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7452 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7453 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7454 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7456 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7457 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7458 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7460 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7461 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7462 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7464 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7465 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7466 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7467 that it's a citation.
7469 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7470 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7471 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7473 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7474 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7475 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7477 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7478 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7479 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7480 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7486 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7487 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7488 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7489 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7490 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7491 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7492 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7493 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7498 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7501 @node Article Fontisizing
7502 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7504 @cindex article emphasis
7506 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7507 @kindex W e (Summary)
7508 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7509 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7510 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7511 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7513 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7514 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7515 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7516 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7517 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7518 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7519 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7520 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7524 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7525 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7526 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7535 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7536 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7537 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7538 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7539 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7540 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7541 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7542 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7543 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7544 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7545 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7546 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7547 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7549 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7550 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7551 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7555 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7558 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7560 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7561 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7562 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7563 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7565 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7568 @node Article Hiding
7569 @subsection Article Hiding
7570 @cindex article hiding
7572 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7573 too much cruft in most articles.
7578 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7579 @findex gnus-article-hide
7580 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7581 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7582 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7585 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7586 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7587 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7591 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7592 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7593 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7594 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7597 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7598 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7599 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7603 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7604 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7605 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7606 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7607 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7608 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7609 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7610 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7614 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7615 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7616 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7617 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7622 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7623 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7624 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7625 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7626 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7627 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7628 articles that have signatures in them do:
7630 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7632 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7634 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7635 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7637 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7640 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7645 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7646 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7647 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7648 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7651 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7652 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7655 @cindex stripping advertisements
7656 @cindex advertisements
7657 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7658 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7659 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7660 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7661 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7662 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7663 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7664 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7665 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7666 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7670 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7671 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7672 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7673 customizing the hiding:
7677 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7678 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7679 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7680 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7681 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7682 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7683 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7688 Starting point of the hidden text.
7690 Ending point of the hidden text.
7692 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7694 Number of lines of hidden text.
7697 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7698 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7699 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7700 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7701 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7706 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7707 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7709 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7710 following two variables:
7713 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7714 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7715 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7716 50), hide the cited text.
7718 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7719 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7720 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7725 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7726 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7727 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7728 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7729 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7730 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7734 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7735 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7736 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7738 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7739 citation customization.
7741 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7745 @node Article Washing
7746 @subsection Article Washing
7748 @cindex article washing
7750 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7751 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7753 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7754 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7757 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7758 articles by default.
7763 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7764 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7768 @kindex W l (Summary)
7769 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7770 Remove page breaks from the current article
7771 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7775 @kindex W r (Summary)
7776 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7777 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7778 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7779 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7780 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7781 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7783 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7784 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7785 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7786 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7790 @kindex W t (Summary)
7792 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7793 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7794 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7797 @kindex W v (Summary)
7798 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7799 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7800 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7803 @kindex W o (Summary)
7804 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7805 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7808 @kindex W d (Summary)
7809 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7810 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7812 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7814 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7815 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7816 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7817 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7820 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7821 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7822 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7823 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7826 @kindex W w (Summary)
7827 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7828 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7830 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7834 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7835 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7836 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7839 @kindex W C (Summary)
7840 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7841 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7842 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7845 @kindex W c (Summary)
7846 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7847 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7848 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7849 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7850 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7853 @kindex W q (Summary)
7854 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7855 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7856 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7857 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7858 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7859 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7860 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7861 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7862 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7865 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7866 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7867 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7868 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7869 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7870 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7871 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7873 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7876 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7877 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7878 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7879 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7880 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7883 @kindex W h (Summary)
7884 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7885 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7886 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7887 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7889 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7892 @kindex W f (Summary)
7894 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7895 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7896 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7897 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7904 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7905 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7906 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7907 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7908 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7909 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7910 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7911 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7912 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7913 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7914 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7915 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7916 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7917 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7918 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7919 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7920 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7921 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7922 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7923 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7927 @kindex W b (Summary)
7928 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7929 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7930 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7933 @kindex W B (Summary)
7934 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7935 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7936 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7939 @kindex W p (Summary)
7940 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
7941 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
7942 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
7943 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
7944 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
7945 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
7946 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
7949 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7950 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7951 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7952 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7955 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7956 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7957 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7958 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7961 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7962 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7963 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7964 lines with a single empty line.
7965 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7968 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7969 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7970 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7971 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7974 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7975 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7976 Do all the three commands above
7977 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7980 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7981 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7982 Remove all blank lines
7983 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7986 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7987 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7988 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7989 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7992 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7993 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7994 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7995 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7999 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8002 @node Article Buttons
8003 @subsection Article Buttons
8006 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8007 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8008 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8009 button on these references.
8011 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8012 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
8013 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
8018 @item gnus-button-alist
8019 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8020 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8023 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8029 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8030 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8031 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
8034 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8035 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8036 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8039 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8040 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8041 avoid false matches.
8044 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8047 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8048 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8052 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8055 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8058 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8059 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8060 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8061 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8062 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8065 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8068 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8070 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8071 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8072 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8073 default values of the variables above.
8075 @item gnus-article-button-face
8076 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8077 Face used on buttons.
8079 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8080 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8081 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8085 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8089 @subsection Article Date
8091 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8092 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8093 when the article was sent.
8098 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8099 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8100 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8101 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8104 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8105 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8107 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8108 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8111 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8112 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8113 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8116 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8117 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8118 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8119 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8122 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8123 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8124 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8125 @findex format-time-string
8126 Display the date using a user-defined format
8127 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8128 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8129 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8130 for a list of possible format specs.
8133 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8134 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8135 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8136 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8137 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8138 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8141 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8144 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8145 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8148 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8149 into wonderful absurdities.
8151 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8154 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8157 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8158 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8162 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8163 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8164 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8165 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8166 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8167 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8168 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8172 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8173 preferred format automatically.
8176 @node Article Signature
8177 @subsection Article Signature
8179 @cindex article signature
8181 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8182 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8183 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8184 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8185 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8186 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8187 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8188 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8189 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8192 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8193 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8194 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8195 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8196 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8197 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8198 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8199 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8202 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8205 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8206 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8207 signature when displaying articles.
8211 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8214 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8217 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8218 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8220 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8221 in question is not a signature.
8224 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8225 listed above. Here's an example:
8228 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8229 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8232 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8233 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8234 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8235 signature after all.
8238 @node Article Miscellania
8239 @subsection Article Miscellania
8243 @kindex A t (Summary)
8244 @findex gnus-article-babel
8245 Translate the article from one language to another
8246 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8252 @section @sc{mime} Commands
8253 @cindex MIME decoding
8255 @cindex viewing attachments
8257 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8258 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8264 @kindex K v (Summary)
8265 View the @sc{mime} part.
8268 @kindex K o (Summary)
8269 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8272 @kindex K c (Summary)
8273 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8276 @kindex K e (Summary)
8277 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8280 @kindex K i (Summary)
8281 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8284 @kindex K | (Summary)
8285 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8288 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8293 @kindex K b (Summary)
8294 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8295 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8299 @kindex K m (Summary)
8300 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8301 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8302 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8303 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8304 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8307 @kindex X m (Summary)
8308 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8309 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8310 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8311 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8314 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8315 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
8316 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8317 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8320 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8321 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8322 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8325 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8326 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8327 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8329 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8330 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8331 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8332 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
8333 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
8334 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8337 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8338 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8339 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8346 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8347 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8348 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8349 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8352 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8355 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8359 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8360 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8361 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8362 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8363 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8364 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8367 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8368 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8369 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8370 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8371 displayed. This variable overrides
8372 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8374 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8375 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8376 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8378 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8379 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8380 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8381 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8382 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8383 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8384 save all jpegs into some directory).
8386 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8389 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8390 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8392 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8393 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8394 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8395 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8396 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8399 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8400 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8401 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8403 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8404 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8405 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8406 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8408 Ready-made functions include@*
8409 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8410 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8411 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8412 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8413 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8414 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8415 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8416 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8417 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8418 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8419 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8420 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8422 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8423 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8425 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8426 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8427 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8430 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8431 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8432 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8433 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8437 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8446 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8447 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8448 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8449 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8450 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8451 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8452 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8454 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8455 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8456 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8457 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8459 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8460 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8461 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8462 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8463 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8464 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8465 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8466 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8468 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8469 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8470 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8471 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8472 quoted-printable header encoding.
8474 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8475 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8476 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8480 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8483 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8484 means encode all charsets),
8486 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8487 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8488 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8495 @cindex coding system aliases
8496 @cindex preferred charset
8498 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8500 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8501 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8504 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8505 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8508 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8509 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8511 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8514 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8517 This will almost do the right thing.
8519 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8523 (codepage-setup 1251)
8524 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8528 @node Article Commands
8529 @section Article Commands
8536 @kindex A P (Summary)
8537 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8538 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8539 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8540 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8541 run just before printing the buffer.
8546 @node Summary Sorting
8547 @section Summary Sorting
8548 @cindex summary sorting
8550 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8551 can't really see why you'd want that.
8556 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8557 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8558 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8561 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8562 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8563 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8566 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8567 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8568 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8571 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8572 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8573 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8576 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8577 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8578 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8581 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8582 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8583 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8586 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8587 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8588 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8591 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8592 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8593 Sort using the default sorting method
8594 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8597 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8598 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8599 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8600 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8601 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8605 @node Finding the Parent
8606 @section Finding the Parent
8607 @cindex parent articles
8608 @cindex referring articles
8613 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8614 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8615 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8616 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8617 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8618 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8619 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8620 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8621 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8623 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8624 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8625 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8626 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8627 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8631 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8632 @kindex A R (Summary)
8633 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8634 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8637 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8638 @kindex A T (Summary)
8639 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8640 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8641 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8642 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8643 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8644 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8645 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8647 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8648 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8649 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8650 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8651 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8652 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8655 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8656 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8658 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8659 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8660 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8661 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8662 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8663 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8664 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8667 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8668 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8669 by giving this command a prefix.
8671 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8672 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
8673 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8674 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8675 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8676 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8679 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8680 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8681 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8684 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8685 then ask Deja if that fails:
8688 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8690 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8693 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
8694 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox}
8695 and @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8696 @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder} and @code{nnimap}1 are only able to locate
8697 articles that have been posted to the current group. (Anything else
8698 would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at
8702 @node Alternative Approaches
8703 @section Alternative Approaches
8705 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8706 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8709 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8710 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8715 @subsection Pick and Read
8716 @cindex pick and read
8718 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8719 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8720 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8721 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8723 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8724 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8725 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8726 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8727 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8728 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8730 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8735 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8736 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8737 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8738 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8739 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8740 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8741 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8742 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8745 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8746 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8747 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8748 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8752 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8753 Unpick the thread or article
8754 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8755 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8756 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8757 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8758 the thread or article at that line.
8762 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8763 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8764 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8765 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8766 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8767 will still be visible when you are reading.
8771 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8772 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8773 which is mapped to the same function
8774 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8776 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8779 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8782 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8783 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8785 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8786 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8787 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8789 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8790 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8791 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8792 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8793 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8794 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8795 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8799 @subsection Binary Groups
8800 @cindex binary groups
8802 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8803 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8804 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8805 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8806 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8807 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8808 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8811 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8812 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8813 command, when you have turned on this mode
8814 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8816 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8817 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8821 @section Tree Display
8824 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8825 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8826 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8827 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8830 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8833 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8834 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8835 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8837 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8838 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8839 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8840 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8841 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8843 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8844 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8845 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8846 default is @code{modeline}.
8848 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8849 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8850 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8851 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8852 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8853 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8854 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8860 The name of the poster.
8862 The @code{From} header.
8864 The number of the article.
8866 The opening bracket.
8868 The closing bracket.
8873 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8875 Variables related to the display are:
8878 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8879 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8880 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8881 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8882 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8883 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8885 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8886 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8887 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8888 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8892 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8893 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8894 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
8895 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
8896 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8897 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8898 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8899 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8900 other windows displayed next to it.
8902 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8903 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8904 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8905 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8906 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8907 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8908 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8912 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8915 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8925 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8929 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8930 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8932 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8934 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8939 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8940 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8941 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8944 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8945 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8946 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8947 (gnus-add-configuration
8951 (summary 0.75 point)
8956 @xref{Window Layout}.
8959 @node Mail Group Commands
8960 @section Mail Group Commands
8961 @cindex mail group commands
8963 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8964 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8966 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8967 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8972 @kindex B e (Summary)
8973 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8974 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
8975 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
8976 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
8977 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
8980 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8981 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8982 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8983 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8984 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8985 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8988 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8989 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8990 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8991 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8992 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8993 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8996 @kindex B m (Summary)
8998 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8999 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9000 Move the article from one mail group to another
9001 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9002 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9005 @kindex B c (Summary)
9007 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9008 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9009 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9010 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9011 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9014 @kindex B B (Summary)
9015 @cindex crosspost mail
9016 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9017 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9018 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9019 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9020 be properly updated.
9023 @kindex B i (Summary)
9024 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9025 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9026 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9027 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9030 @kindex B r (Summary)
9031 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9032 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9033 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9034 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9035 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9036 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9037 (which is the default).
9041 @kindex B w (Summary)
9043 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9044 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9045 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9046 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9047 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9048 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9051 @kindex B q (Summary)
9052 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9053 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9054 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9055 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9058 @kindex B t (Summary)
9059 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9060 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9061 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9064 @kindex B p (Summary)
9065 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9066 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9067 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9068 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9069 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9070 article from your news server (or rather, from
9071 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9072 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9073 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9074 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9075 just not have arrived yet.
9079 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9080 @cindex moving articles
9081 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9082 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9083 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9084 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9085 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9086 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9087 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9090 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9091 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9092 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9093 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9097 @node Various Summary Stuff
9098 @section Various Summary Stuff
9101 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9102 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9103 * Summary Generation Commands::
9104 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9108 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9109 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9110 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9112 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9113 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9114 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9115 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9116 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9117 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9120 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9121 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9122 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9123 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9124 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9126 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9127 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9128 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9131 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9132 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9133 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9134 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9135 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9136 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9137 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9138 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9139 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9140 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9142 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9143 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9144 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9145 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9146 list of articles to be selected.
9148 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9149 the list in one particular group:
9152 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9153 (if (string= group "some.group")
9154 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9161 @node Summary Group Information
9162 @subsection Summary Group Information
9167 @kindex H f (Summary)
9168 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9169 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9170 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9171 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9172 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9173 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9174 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9175 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9176 be used for fetching the file.
9179 @kindex H d (Summary)
9180 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9181 Give a brief description of the current group
9182 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9183 rereading the description from the server.
9186 @kindex H h (Summary)
9187 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9188 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9189 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9192 @kindex H i (Summary)
9193 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9194 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9198 @node Searching for Articles
9199 @subsection Searching for Articles
9204 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9205 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9206 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9207 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9210 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9211 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9212 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9213 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9217 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9218 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9219 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9220 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9221 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9222 search backward instead.
9224 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9225 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9228 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9229 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9230 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9231 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9234 @node Summary Generation Commands
9235 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9240 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9241 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9242 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9245 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9246 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9247 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9248 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9253 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9254 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9260 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9261 @kindex A D (Summary)
9262 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9263 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9264 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9265 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9266 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9267 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9268 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9269 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9273 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
9274 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9275 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9276 several documents into one biiig group
9277 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9278 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9279 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9280 command understands the process/prefix convention
9281 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9284 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9285 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9286 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9287 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9288 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9289 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9293 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9294 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9295 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9298 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
9299 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9300 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9301 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9304 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
9305 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9306 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9307 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9312 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9313 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9314 @cindex summary exit
9315 @cindex exiting groups
9317 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9318 group and return you to the group buffer.
9324 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9326 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9327 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9328 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9329 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9330 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9331 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9332 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9333 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9334 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9335 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9336 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9340 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9342 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9343 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9344 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9348 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9350 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9351 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9352 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9353 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9356 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9357 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9358 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9359 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9362 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9363 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9364 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9365 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9368 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9369 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9370 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9371 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9372 all articles, both read and unread.
9376 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9377 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9378 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9379 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9380 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9381 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9382 articles, both read and unread.
9385 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9386 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9387 Exit the group and go to the next group
9388 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9391 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9392 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9393 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9394 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9397 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9398 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9399 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9400 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9401 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9402 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9405 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9406 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9407 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9408 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9410 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9411 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9412 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9413 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9414 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9415 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9416 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9417 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9418 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9419 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9420 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9421 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9423 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9425 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9426 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9427 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9428 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9429 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9430 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9431 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9432 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9433 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9436 @node Crosspost Handling
9437 @section Crosspost Handling
9441 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9442 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9443 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9444 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9445 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9446 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9449 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9450 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9451 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9452 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9453 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9455 @cindex cross-posting
9458 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9459 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9460 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9461 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9462 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9463 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9464 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9465 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9466 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9467 the cross reference mechanism.
9469 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9470 @cindex overview.fmt
9471 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9472 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9473 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9474 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9475 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9476 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9479 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9480 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9481 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9486 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9489 @node Duplicate Suppression
9490 @section Duplicate Suppression
9492 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9493 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9494 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9495 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9500 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9501 is evil and not very common.
9504 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9505 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9508 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9509 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9512 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9515 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9516 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9518 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9519 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9520 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9521 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9522 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9523 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9524 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9527 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9528 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9529 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9530 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9531 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9535 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9536 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9537 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9539 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9540 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9541 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9542 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9543 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9544 session are suppressed.
9546 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9547 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9548 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9549 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9551 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9552 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9553 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9554 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9557 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9558 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9559 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9560 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9561 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9562 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9563 to you to figure out, I think.
9568 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
9569 The formats that are supported are PGP and S/MIME, however you need
9570 some external programs to get things to work:
9574 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9575 gpg.el as well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG). @xref{Using GPG}.
9578 To verify or decrypt S/MIME message, you need to install OpenSSL.
9579 OpenSSL 0.9.6 or newer is recommended.
9583 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
9584 manual. @xref{Security, ,Security, message, The Message Manual}.
9587 @item mm-verify-option
9588 @vindex mm-verify-option
9589 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9590 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9591 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9593 @item mm-decrypt-option
9594 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9595 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9596 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9597 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9602 @section Mailing List
9604 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
9605 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
9606 possibly using @kbd{A M} in the summary buffer, or say:
9609 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
9612 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
9617 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
9618 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
9619 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
9622 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
9623 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
9624 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
9627 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
9628 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
9629 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
9633 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
9634 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
9635 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
9638 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
9639 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9640 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
9643 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
9644 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9645 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
9649 @node Article Buffer
9650 @chapter Article Buffer
9651 @cindex article buffer
9653 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9654 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9655 tell Gnus otherwise.
9658 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9659 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9660 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9661 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9662 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9666 @node Hiding Headers
9667 @section Hiding Headers
9668 @cindex hiding headers
9669 @cindex deleting headers
9671 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9672 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9674 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9675 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9676 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9677 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9678 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9679 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9680 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9681 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9682 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9684 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9688 @item gnus-visible-headers
9689 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9690 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9691 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9692 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9694 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9695 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9698 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9701 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9704 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9705 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9706 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9707 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9708 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9709 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9711 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9712 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9715 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9718 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9721 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9722 variable will have no effect.
9726 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9727 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9728 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9729 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9730 the headers are to be displayed.
9732 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9733 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9736 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9739 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9740 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9742 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9743 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9744 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9745 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9746 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9747 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9748 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9751 These conditions are:
9754 Remove all empty headers.
9756 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9757 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9759 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9762 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9765 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
9766 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
9768 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9771 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9773 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9776 To include these three elements, you could say something like;
9779 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9780 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9783 This is also the default value for this variable.
9787 @section Using @sc{mime}
9790 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9791 while people stand around yawning.
9793 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9794 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9796 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9797 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9798 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9800 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9801 @findex gnus-display-mime
9802 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9803 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9804 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9805 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9807 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9811 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9813 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9814 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9815 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9817 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9818 @item M-RET (Article)
9820 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9821 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9823 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9825 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9826 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9828 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
9830 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9831 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
9833 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9835 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9836 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9838 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
9840 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
9841 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
9842 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
9843 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
9844 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
9845 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
9847 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9849 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9850 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9852 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9854 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9855 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
9856 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
9857 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
9858 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
9861 @findex gnus-mime-internalize-part
9863 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
9864 viewer is available, use an external viewer
9865 (@code{gnus-mime-internalize-part}).
9867 @findex gnus-mime-externalize-part
9869 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
9870 (@code{gnus-mime-externalize-part}).
9872 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
9874 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
9876 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
9878 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
9879 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
9883 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
9884 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
9887 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
9888 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
9889 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
9890 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
9891 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
9892 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
9893 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
9894 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
9895 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
9897 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9899 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9902 @node Customizing Articles
9903 @section Customizing Articles
9904 @cindex article customization
9906 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9907 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9908 called automatically when you select the articles.
9910 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9911 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9912 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9913 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9915 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9916 for sensible values.
9920 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9923 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9926 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9929 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9932 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9936 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9937 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9938 regexps in the list.
9941 A list where the first element is not a string:
9943 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9944 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9945 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9949 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9954 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9955 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9956 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9957 considered to contain just a single part.
9959 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9960 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9961 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9962 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9963 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9964 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9965 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9967 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9968 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9969 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9970 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9973 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9974 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9975 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9976 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9977 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9978 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9979 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9980 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9981 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9982 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9983 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
9984 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9985 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
9986 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9987 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9988 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9989 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9990 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9991 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9992 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
9993 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9994 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9995 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
9996 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
9997 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9998 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9999 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10000 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10001 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10002 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10003 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10004 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
10005 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10006 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10007 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10008 @item gnus-treat-translate
10011 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10012 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10013 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10014 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10015 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10019 @node Article Keymap
10020 @section Article Keymap
10022 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10023 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10024 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10025 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10028 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10033 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10034 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10035 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10038 @kindex DEL (Article)
10039 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10040 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10043 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10044 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10045 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10046 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10047 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10050 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10051 @findex gnus-article-mail
10052 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10053 given a prefix, include the mail.
10056 @kindex s (Article)
10057 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10058 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10059 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10062 @kindex ? (Article)
10063 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10064 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10065 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10068 @kindex TAB (Article)
10069 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10070 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10071 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10074 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10075 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10076 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10082 @section Misc Article
10086 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10087 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10088 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10089 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10092 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10093 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10095 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10096 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10098 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10099 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10100 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10101 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10102 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10103 the contents of the article buffer.
10105 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10106 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10107 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10109 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10110 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10111 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10112 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10114 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10115 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10116 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10117 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10118 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10123 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10124 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10127 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10130 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10132 @item gnus-break-pages
10133 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10134 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10135 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10136 paging will not be done.
10138 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10139 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10140 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10145 @node Composing Messages
10146 @chapter Composing Messages
10147 @cindex composing messages
10150 @cindex sending mail
10156 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10157 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10158 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10159 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
10160 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10161 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10164 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10165 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
10166 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10167 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10168 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10169 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10170 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10171 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
10174 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10175 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10181 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10184 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10185 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10186 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10187 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10189 @item gnus-add-to-list
10190 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10191 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10192 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10197 @node Posting Server
10198 @section Posting Server
10200 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10201 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10203 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10205 @vindex gnus-post-method
10207 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
10208 select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
10209 you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
10210 However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
10211 just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
10212 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
10213 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10216 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10219 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10220 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10221 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10222 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10224 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10225 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10227 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10228 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10231 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10232 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
10235 @node Mail and Post
10236 @section Mail and Post
10238 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10242 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10243 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10244 @cindex mailing lists
10246 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10247 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10248 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10249 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10250 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10251 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10252 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10253 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10254 still a pain, though.
10258 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10259 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10260 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10263 @findex ispell-message
10265 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10268 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10269 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10272 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10276 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10277 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10279 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10282 Modify to suit your needs.
10285 @node Archived Messages
10286 @section Archived Messages
10287 @cindex archived messages
10288 @cindex sent messages
10290 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10291 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10292 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10293 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10296 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10297 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
10298 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10301 (nnfolder "archive"
10302 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10303 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10304 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10305 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10308 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10309 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10310 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10311 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10314 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10315 '(nnfolder "archive"
10316 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10317 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10318 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10321 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10323 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10324 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10325 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10327 This variable can be used to do the following:
10331 Messages will be saved in that group.
10333 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10334 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10335 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10336 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10337 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10338 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10339 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10340 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10342 @item a list of strings
10343 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10344 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10345 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10347 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10352 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10354 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10357 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10359 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10362 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10364 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10365 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10366 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10367 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10370 More complex stuff:
10372 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10373 '((if (message-news-p)
10378 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10379 messages in one file per month:
10382 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10383 '((if (message-news-p)
10385 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10388 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10389 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10391 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10392 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10393 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10394 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10395 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10396 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10397 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10398 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10399 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10400 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10402 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10403 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10404 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10405 this will disable archiving.
10408 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10409 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10410 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10411 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10412 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
10415 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
10416 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
10417 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
10420 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
10421 but the latter is the preferred method.
10423 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10424 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10425 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
10430 @node Posting Styles
10431 @section Posting Styles
10432 @cindex posting styles
10435 All them variables, they make my head swim.
10437 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
10438 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
10439 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
10442 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
10443 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
10444 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
10445 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
10446 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
10451 (signature "Peace and happiness")
10452 (organization "What me?"))
10454 (signature "Death to everybody"))
10455 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
10456 (organization "Emacs is it")))
10459 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
10460 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
10461 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
10462 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
10463 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
10464 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
10465 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
10466 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
10468 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
10469 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
10470 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
10471 next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
10472 the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
10473 will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
10474 variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
10475 @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
10476 then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
10478 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
10479 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
10480 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
10481 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
10482 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
10483 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
10484 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
10485 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
10486 result is thrown away.
10488 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
10489 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
10490 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
10491 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
10492 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
10493 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
10495 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
10496 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
10497 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
10499 @findex message-mail-p
10500 @findex message-news-p
10502 So here's a new example:
10505 (setq gnus-posting-styles
10507 (signature-file "~/.signature")
10509 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
10510 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
10512 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
10513 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
10514 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
10516 (signature my-news-signature))
10517 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
10518 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
10519 ((posting-from-work-p)
10520 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
10521 (address "user@@bar.foo")
10522 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
10523 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
10525 (From (save-excursion
10526 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
10527 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
10529 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
10532 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
10533 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
10534 if you fill many roles.
10541 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
10542 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
10543 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
10544 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
10545 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
10547 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
10548 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
10549 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
10550 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
10551 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
10555 @vindex nndraft-directory
10556 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10557 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10558 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10559 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10560 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10561 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10563 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10564 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10567 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10568 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10569 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10570 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10571 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10572 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10573 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10574 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10575 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10576 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10577 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10578 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10579 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10580 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10582 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10583 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10584 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10586 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10587 @kindex D e (Draft)
10588 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10589 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10590 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10592 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10595 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10596 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10597 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10598 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10599 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10600 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10601 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10604 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10605 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10606 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10609 @node Rejected Articles
10610 @section Rejected Articles
10611 @cindex rejected articles
10613 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10614 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10615 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10616 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10618 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
10619 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10620 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10621 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
10622 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10624 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10625 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10626 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10632 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
10633 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
10634 verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
10636 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10637 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10641 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10642 (setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
10645 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10646 to 700, for your own safety.
10648 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10649 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10653 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10656 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10657 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10660 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10663 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security
10664 menu or @kbd{C-c C-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME,
10665 @kbd{C-c C-m s s} to sign your message using S/MIME. There's also
10666 @kbd{C-c C-m c p} to encrypt your message with PGP/MIME and @kbd{C-c
10667 C-m c s} to encrypt using S/MIME. @xref{Security, ,Security, message,
10668 The Message Manual}.
10670 Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
10671 you've typed it correctly.
10673 @node Select Methods
10674 @chapter Select Methods
10675 @cindex foreign groups
10676 @cindex select methods
10678 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10679 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10680 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10681 personal mail group.
10683 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10684 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10685 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10686 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10687 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10688 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
10690 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10691 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
10693 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
10696 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10697 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10698 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10699 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10700 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10702 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10705 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10706 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10707 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10708 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10709 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
10710 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10711 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10712 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10716 @node Server Buffer
10717 @section Server Buffer
10719 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10720 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10721 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10722 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10723 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10724 back end represents a virtual server.
10726 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
10727 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10728 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
10729 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10731 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10732 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10733 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10734 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10735 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10736 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10737 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10739 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10740 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10743 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10744 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10745 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10746 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10747 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10748 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10749 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10752 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10753 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10756 @node Server Buffer Format
10757 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10758 @cindex server buffer format
10760 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10761 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10762 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10763 variable, with some simple extensions:
10768 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
10771 The name of this server.
10774 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10777 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10780 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10781 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10782 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10783 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10793 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10796 @node Server Commands
10797 @subsection Server Commands
10798 @cindex server commands
10804 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10805 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10809 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10810 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10813 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10814 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10815 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10819 @findex gnus-server-exit
10820 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10824 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10825 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10829 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10830 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10834 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10835 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10839 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10840 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10844 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10845 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10846 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10851 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10852 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10853 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10854 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
10859 @node Example Methods
10860 @subsection Example Methods
10862 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10865 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10868 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10874 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10875 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10878 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10879 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10881 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10882 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10886 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10889 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
10890 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10892 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10893 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10894 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10898 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10901 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10904 Here's the method for a public spool:
10908 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10909 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10915 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10916 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10917 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10918 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10919 should probably look something like this:
10923 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
10924 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
10925 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
10926 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10929 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10930 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
10931 configuration to the example above:
10934 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
10937 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
10938 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
10939 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
10943 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
10944 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
10945 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
10946 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10949 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10950 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10951 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10952 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10955 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10956 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10958 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10959 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10961 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10962 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10963 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10965 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10967 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10968 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10969 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10970 will contain the following:
10980 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10981 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10982 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10985 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10986 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10987 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10990 @node Server Variables
10991 @subsection Server Variables
10993 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
10994 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10995 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10996 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10997 won't change the "derived" variables.
10999 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11000 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11001 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11002 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11003 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11004 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11005 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11006 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11007 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11011 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11012 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11013 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11017 @node Servers and Methods
11018 @subsection Servers and Methods
11020 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11021 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11022 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11023 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11027 @node Unavailable Servers
11028 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11030 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11031 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11032 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11033 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11034 actually the case or not.
11036 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11037 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11038 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11039 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11040 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11041 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11042 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11043 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11045 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11046 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11048 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11049 with the following commands:
11055 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11056 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11057 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11061 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11062 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11063 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11067 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11068 Mark the current server as unreachable
11069 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11072 @kindex M-o (Server)
11073 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11074 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11075 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11078 @kindex M-c (Server)
11079 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11080 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11081 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11085 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11086 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11087 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11093 @section Getting News
11094 @cindex reading news
11095 @cindex news back ends
11097 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11098 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11099 or it can read from a local spool.
11102 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11103 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11108 @subsection @sc{nntp}
11111 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11112 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11113 server as the, uhm, address.
11115 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11116 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11117 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11118 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11120 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11121 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11122 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11124 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11129 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11130 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11131 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11133 @cindex authentification
11134 @cindex nntp authentification
11135 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11136 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11137 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11138 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11139 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11140 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11141 present in this hook.
11143 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11144 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11145 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11146 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11147 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11148 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11149 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11150 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11151 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11152 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11153 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11154 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11158 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11161 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11163 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11164 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11165 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11166 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11167 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11168 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11169 @samp{force} is explained below.
11173 Here's an example file:
11176 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11177 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11180 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11181 have to be first, for instance.
11183 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11184 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11185 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11186 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11187 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11188 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11189 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11191 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11192 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11198 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11199 previously mentioned.
11201 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11203 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11204 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11205 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11206 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11207 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11210 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11211 '(("innd" (ding))))
11214 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11216 The default value is
11219 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11220 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11221 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11224 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11225 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11227 @item nntp-maximum-request
11228 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11229 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11230 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11231 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11232 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11233 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11234 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11236 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11237 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11238 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11239 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11240 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11241 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11242 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11243 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11244 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11245 no timeouts are done.
11247 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11248 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11249 @c @cindex PPP connections
11250 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11251 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11252 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11253 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11254 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11255 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11256 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11257 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11258 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11259 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11261 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11262 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11263 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11264 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11265 @c described above.
11267 @item nntp-server-hook
11268 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11269 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11272 @item nntp-buggy-select
11273 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11274 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11276 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11277 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
11278 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
11279 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
11282 @item nntp-xover-commands
11283 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
11286 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
11287 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
11291 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
11292 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
11293 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
11294 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
11295 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
11296 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
11297 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
11298 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
11299 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
11300 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
11301 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
11303 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
11304 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
11305 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
11307 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11308 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11309 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
11310 server closes connection.
11312 @item nntp-record-commands
11313 @vindex nntp-record-commands
11314 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
11315 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
11316 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
11317 that doesn't seem to work.
11319 @item nntp-open-connection-function
11320 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
11321 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
11322 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
11323 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
11324 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
11325 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
11326 indirect ones (two pre-made).
11330 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
11331 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
11332 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
11336 @node Direct Functions
11337 @subsubsection Direct Functions
11338 @cindex direct connection functions
11340 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
11341 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
11342 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
11343 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11346 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
11347 @item nntp-open-network-stream
11348 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
11351 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
11352 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
11353 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
11354 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
11355 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
11356 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
11357 define a server as follows:
11360 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
11362 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
11364 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
11365 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
11366 (nntp-port-number "snews")
11367 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
11370 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
11371 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
11372 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
11373 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
11374 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
11375 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
11376 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
11377 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
11381 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11382 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
11383 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
11386 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
11387 session, which is not a good idea.
11391 @node Indirect Functions
11392 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
11393 @cindex indirect connection functions
11395 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
11396 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
11397 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
11398 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
11399 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
11400 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11403 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11404 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11405 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
11406 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
11407 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
11409 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11412 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
11413 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
11414 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
11415 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
11418 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11419 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11420 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
11421 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
11423 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11426 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
11427 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
11428 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
11431 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
11432 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
11433 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
11434 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
11436 @item nntp-via-user-password
11437 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
11438 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
11440 @item nntp-via-envuser
11441 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
11442 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
11443 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
11444 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
11446 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
11447 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
11448 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
11449 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
11456 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
11461 @item nntp-via-user-name
11462 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
11463 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
11465 @item nntp-via-address
11466 @vindex nntp-via-address
11467 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
11472 @node Common Variables
11473 @subsubsection Common Variables
11475 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
11476 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
11481 @item nntp-pre-command
11482 @vindex nntp-pre-command
11483 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
11484 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
11485 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
11486 wrapper for instance.
11489 @vindex nntp-address
11490 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
11492 @item nntp-port-number
11493 @vindex nntp-port-number
11494 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
11496 @item nntp-end-of-line
11497 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
11498 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
11499 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
11500 using a non native connection function.
11502 @item nntp-telnet-command
11503 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
11504 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
11505 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
11506 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
11508 @item nntp-telnet-switches
11509 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
11510 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
11517 @subsection News Spool
11521 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
11522 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
11523 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
11526 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
11527 anything else) as the address.
11529 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
11530 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
11531 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
11532 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
11536 @item nnspool-inews-program
11537 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
11538 Program used to post an article.
11540 @item nnspool-inews-switches
11541 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
11542 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
11544 @item nnspool-spool-directory
11545 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
11546 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
11547 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
11549 @item nnspool-nov-directory
11550 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
11551 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
11552 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
11554 @item nnspool-lib-dir
11555 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
11556 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
11558 @item nnspool-active-file
11559 @vindex nnspool-active-file
11560 The path to the active file.
11562 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
11563 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
11564 The path to the group descriptions file.
11566 @item nnspool-history-file
11567 @vindex nnspool-history-file
11568 The path to the news history file.
11570 @item nnspool-active-times-file
11571 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
11572 The path to the active date file.
11574 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
11575 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
11576 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
11579 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11580 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11582 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
11583 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
11584 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
11590 @section Getting Mail
11591 @cindex reading mail
11594 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
11598 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
11599 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
11600 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
11601 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
11602 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
11603 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
11604 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
11605 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
11606 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
11607 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
11608 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
11609 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
11610 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
11611 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
11615 @node Mail in a Newsreader
11616 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
11618 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
11619 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
11620 of a culture shock.
11622 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
11623 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
11625 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
11626 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
11627 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
11628 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
11630 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
11632 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
11633 deleted? How awful!
11635 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
11636 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
11637 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
11638 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
11641 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
11642 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
11643 they want to treat a message.
11645 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11646 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11647 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11648 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11649 archived somewhere else.
11651 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11652 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11653 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11654 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11655 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11657 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11658 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11659 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11661 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11662 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11665 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11666 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11667 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11668 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11669 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11671 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11672 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11673 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11674 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11675 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11676 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11680 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11681 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11683 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11684 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11685 and things will happen automatically.
11687 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11688 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11691 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11694 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
11695 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11696 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11697 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11698 like any other group.
11700 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11703 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11704 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11705 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11709 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11710 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11711 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11714 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11715 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11716 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11719 @node Splitting Mail
11720 @subsection Splitting Mail
11721 @cindex splitting mail
11722 @cindex mail splitting
11724 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11725 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11726 to be split into groups.
11729 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11730 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11731 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11732 ("mail.other" "")))
11735 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11736 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11737 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11738 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11739 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11740 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11741 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11744 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11747 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11748 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11749 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11750 mail belongs in that group.
11752 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11753 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11754 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11755 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11756 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11757 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11759 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11760 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11761 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11762 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11763 thinks should carry this mail message.
11765 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11766 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11767 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11768 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11770 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11771 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11772 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11773 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11774 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11776 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11779 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11780 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11781 links. If that's the case for you, set
11782 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11783 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11785 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11786 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11787 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11788 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11789 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11790 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11793 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11794 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11795 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11796 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11797 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11798 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11799 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11800 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11801 month's rent money.
11805 @subsection Mail Sources
11807 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11808 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11812 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11813 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11814 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11818 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11819 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11821 @cindex mail server
11824 @cindex mail source
11826 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11827 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11832 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11835 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11836 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11837 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11840 The following mail source types are available:
11844 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11850 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11851 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11854 An example file mail source:
11857 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11860 Or using the default path:
11866 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11867 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11868 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11871 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11875 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11878 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11882 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11885 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11887 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11890 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11894 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11895 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11896 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
11897 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
11898 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
11904 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11908 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11912 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11913 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11914 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11915 predicate are considered.
11919 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11923 An example directory mail source:
11926 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11931 Get mail from a POP server.
11937 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11938 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11941 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11942 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11943 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11944 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
11945 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
11948 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11952 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11956 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
11957 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11960 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11963 The valid format specifier characters are:
11967 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11968 included in this string.
11971 The name of the server.
11974 The port number of the server.
11977 The user name to use.
11980 The password to use.
11983 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11984 corresponding keywords.
11987 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11988 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11991 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11992 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11995 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11996 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11999 @item :authentication
12000 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12001 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12006 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12007 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12009 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12010 default user name, and default fetcher:
12016 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12019 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12020 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12023 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12026 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12030 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12031 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12032 contains exactly one mail.
12038 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12039 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12042 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12043 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12045 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12046 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12047 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12050 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12051 from locking problems).
12055 Two example maildir mail sources:
12058 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12059 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12063 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12068 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12069 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12070 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12071 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12078 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12079 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12082 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12083 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
12086 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12090 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12094 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12095 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12096 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12097 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12099 @item :authentication
12100 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12101 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12102 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12103 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12106 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12107 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12108 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12114 The valid format specifier characters are:
12118 The name of the server.
12121 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12124 The port number of the server.
12127 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12128 corresponding keywords.
12131 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12132 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12135 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12136 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12137 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12138 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
12139 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12140 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
12143 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12144 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12145 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12146 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
12149 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12150 after finishing the fetch.
12154 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12157 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12159 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12163 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
12164 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
12166 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
12169 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12170 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12172 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
12178 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12179 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
12182 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
12186 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
12190 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
12191 folder after finishing the fetch.
12195 An example webmail source:
12198 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
12200 :password "secret")
12205 @item Common Keywords
12206 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
12212 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
12213 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
12217 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
12222 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
12223 useful when you use local mail and news.
12228 @subsubsection Function Interface
12230 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
12231 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
12232 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
12233 consider the following mail-source setting:
12236 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
12237 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
12240 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
12241 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
12242 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
12243 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
12244 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
12246 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
12249 @node Mail Source Customization
12250 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
12252 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
12253 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
12257 @item mail-source-crash-box
12258 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
12259 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
12260 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
12262 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
12263 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
12264 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
12266 @item mail-source-directory
12267 @vindex mail-source-directory
12268 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
12269 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
12270 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
12273 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12274 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12275 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
12276 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
12277 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
12278 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
12280 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
12281 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
12282 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
12284 @item mail-source-movemail-program
12285 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
12286 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
12287 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
12292 @node Fetching Mail
12293 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
12295 @vindex mail-sources
12296 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
12297 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
12298 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
12299 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
12301 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
12302 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
12305 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
12306 mail server, you'd say something like:
12311 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12312 :password "secret")))
12315 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
12319 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
12320 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12323 :password "secret")))
12327 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
12328 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
12329 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
12330 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
12331 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
12332 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
12336 @node Mail Back End Variables
12337 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
12339 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
12343 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12344 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12345 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
12346 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
12348 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
12349 @item nnmail-split-hook
12350 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
12351 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
12352 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
12353 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
12354 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
12355 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
12356 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
12357 in the buffer will show up in any files.
12358 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
12361 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12362 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12363 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12364 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12365 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
12366 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
12367 starting to handle the new mail) and
12368 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
12369 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
12370 default file modes the new mail files get:
12373 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12374 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
12376 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12377 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
12380 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
12381 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
12382 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
12383 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
12384 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
12385 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
12386 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
12388 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
12389 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
12390 @findex delete-file
12391 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
12393 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12394 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12395 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
12396 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
12397 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
12402 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
12403 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
12404 @cindex mail splitting
12405 @cindex fancy mail splitting
12407 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
12408 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
12409 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
12410 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
12411 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
12412 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
12414 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
12417 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
12418 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
12419 ;; from real errors.
12420 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
12422 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
12423 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
12424 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
12425 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
12426 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
12427 ;; Other mailing lists...
12428 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
12429 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
12430 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
12431 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
12432 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
12433 ;; message was really cross-posted.
12434 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
12435 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
12437 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
12438 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
12442 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
12443 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
12444 the five possible split syntaxes:
12449 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
12450 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
12454 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
12455 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
12456 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
12457 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
12458 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
12459 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
12460 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
12461 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
12464 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12465 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
12466 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
12467 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
12470 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12471 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
12474 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
12475 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
12478 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
12479 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
12480 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
12481 function should return a @var{split}.
12484 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
12485 body of the messages:
12488 (defun split-on-body ()
12490 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
12491 (goto-char (point-min))
12492 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
12496 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
12497 when the @code{:} function is run.
12500 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12501 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
12502 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
12506 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
12510 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
12511 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
12512 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
12513 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
12514 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
12516 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
12517 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
12518 are expanded as specified by the variable
12519 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
12520 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
12523 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
12524 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
12525 when all this splitting is performed.
12527 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
12528 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
12529 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
12532 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
12535 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
12536 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
12538 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
12539 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
12540 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
12541 groupings 1 through 9.
12543 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
12544 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
12545 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
12546 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
12547 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
12548 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
12549 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
12550 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
12551 it once per thread.
12553 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
12554 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
12555 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
12558 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12559 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
12560 ;; other splits go here
12564 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
12565 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
12566 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
12567 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
12568 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
12569 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
12570 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
12571 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
12572 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
12573 unless the group name matches the regexp
12574 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
12575 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
12576 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
12577 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
12578 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12579 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
12580 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
12581 messages goes into the new group.
12584 @node Group Mail Splitting
12585 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
12586 @cindex mail splitting
12587 @cindex group mail splitting
12589 @findex gnus-group-split
12590 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
12591 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
12592 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
12593 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
12594 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
12595 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
12596 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
12597 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
12599 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
12600 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
12601 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
12602 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
12604 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
12605 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
12606 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
12607 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
12608 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
12609 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
12610 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
12612 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
12613 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
12614 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
12615 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
12616 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
12617 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
12618 @code{gnus-group-split}.
12620 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
12621 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
12622 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
12623 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
12624 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
12625 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
12626 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
12627 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
12628 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
12629 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
12630 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
12631 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
12632 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
12634 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
12639 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
12640 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
12642 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
12643 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
12644 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
12645 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
12647 ((split-spec . catch-all))
12650 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
12651 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
12652 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
12655 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
12656 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
12657 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
12661 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
12662 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
12663 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
12667 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
12670 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
12671 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
12672 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
12673 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
12674 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
12675 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
12676 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
12677 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
12678 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
12680 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
12681 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
12682 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
12683 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
12684 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
12685 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
12686 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
12687 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
12688 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12690 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12691 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12692 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12693 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12694 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12695 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12698 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12701 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12702 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12703 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12704 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12705 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12708 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12709 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12710 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12711 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12713 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12714 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12715 @cindex incorporating old mail
12716 @cindex import old mail
12718 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12719 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12720 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12723 Doing so can be quite easy.
12725 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12726 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12727 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12728 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12729 your @code{nnml} groups.
12735 Go to the group buffer.
12738 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12739 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12742 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12745 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12746 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12749 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12750 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12753 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12754 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12755 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12756 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
12757 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
12759 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
12760 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
12761 using the new mail back end.
12764 @node Expiring Mail
12765 @subsection Expiring Mail
12766 @cindex article expiry
12768 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
12769 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
12770 different approach to mail reading.
12772 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
12773 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
12774 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
12775 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
12776 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
12777 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
12780 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
12781 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
12782 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
12783 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
12784 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
12785 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
12786 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
12787 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
12789 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12790 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
12791 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
12792 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
12793 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
12794 column in the summary buffer.
12796 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
12797 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
12798 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
12799 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
12802 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
12804 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
12805 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
12806 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12809 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
12810 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
12811 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
12812 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
12813 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
12815 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
12816 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
12819 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12820 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
12823 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
12824 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
12826 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
12827 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
12828 don't really mix very well.
12830 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
12831 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
12832 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
12833 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
12836 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
12837 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
12838 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
12839 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
12842 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12844 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12846 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
12848 ((string= group "mail.junk")
12850 ((string= group "important")
12856 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
12857 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
12859 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
12860 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
12861 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
12864 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
12865 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
12867 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
12868 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
12869 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
12870 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
12871 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
12872 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
12873 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
12874 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
12875 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
12876 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
12877 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
12878 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
12881 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
12883 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
12887 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
12888 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
12889 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
12890 easier for procmail users.
12892 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
12893 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
12894 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
12895 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
12896 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
12897 caution. Even more dangerous is the
12898 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
12899 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12900 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12901 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12902 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12903 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12904 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12907 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12909 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12910 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12911 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12912 auto-expire turned on.
12916 @subsection Washing Mail
12917 @cindex mail washing
12918 @cindex list server brain damage
12919 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12921 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12922 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12923 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12924 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12925 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12926 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12928 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12929 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12930 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12933 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12934 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12935 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12936 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12939 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12940 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12941 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12942 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12943 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12946 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12947 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12948 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12949 Emacs running on MS machines.
12953 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12954 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12955 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12956 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12959 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12960 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12961 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12962 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12964 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12965 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12966 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12967 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12968 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12969 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12970 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12973 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12974 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12977 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12978 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12981 This can also be done non-destructively with
12982 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12984 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12985 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12986 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12988 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12989 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12991 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12992 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12993 @code{References} headers.
12997 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12998 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12999 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13003 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13004 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13005 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13012 @subsection Duplicates
13014 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13015 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13016 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13017 @cindex duplicate mails
13018 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13019 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13020 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13021 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13022 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13023 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13024 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13025 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13026 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13027 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13028 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13029 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13030 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13032 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13033 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13034 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13035 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13037 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13040 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13041 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13045 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13046 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13047 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13048 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13049 (any mail "mail.misc")
13056 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13057 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13062 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13063 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13064 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13065 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13066 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13069 @node Not Reading Mail
13070 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13072 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13073 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13074 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13076 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13077 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13078 mail, which should help.
13080 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13081 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13082 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13083 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13084 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13085 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13086 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13087 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13088 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13089 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13090 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13092 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13093 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13097 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13098 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13100 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13101 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13102 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13104 There are five different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13105 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13106 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
13107 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
13110 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13111 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13112 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13113 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13114 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13115 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13119 @node Unix Mail Box
13120 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13122 @cindex unix mail box
13124 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13125 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13126 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13127 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13128 which group it belongs in.
13130 Virtual server settings:
13133 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
13134 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13135 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
13138 @item nnmbox-active-file
13139 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13140 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
13141 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
13143 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
13144 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13145 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
13146 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
13151 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
13155 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13156 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13157 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
13158 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
13159 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
13161 Virtual server settings:
13164 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
13165 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13166 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
13168 @item nnbabyl-active-file
13169 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13170 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
13171 @file{~/.rmail-active}
13173 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13174 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13175 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
13181 @subsubsection Mail Spool
13183 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
13185 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
13186 format. It should be used with some caution.
13188 @vindex nnml-directory
13189 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
13190 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
13191 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
13192 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
13194 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
13197 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
13198 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
13199 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
13200 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
13201 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
13202 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
13203 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
13204 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
13206 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
13207 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
13208 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
13209 back end when it comes to reading mail.
13211 @cindex self contained nnml servers
13212 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
13213 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13214 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13215 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
13216 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
13217 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
13218 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
13219 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
13222 Virtual server settings:
13225 @item nnml-directory
13226 @vindex nnml-directory
13227 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
13228 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
13231 @item nnml-active-file
13232 @vindex nnml-active-file
13233 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
13234 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
13236 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
13237 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
13238 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13239 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
13241 @item nnml-get-new-mail
13242 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13243 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
13246 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
13247 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
13248 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13249 default is @code{nil}.
13251 @item nnml-nov-file-name
13252 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
13253 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
13255 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13256 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13257 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
13259 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
13260 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
13261 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13262 default is @code{nil}.
13264 @item nnml-marks-file-name
13265 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
13266 The name of the @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
13270 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
13271 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
13272 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
13273 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
13274 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
13275 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
13276 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
13281 @subsubsection MH Spool
13283 @cindex mh-e mail spool
13285 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
13286 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
13287 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
13288 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
13290 Virtual server settings:
13293 @item nnmh-directory
13294 @vindex nnmh-directory
13295 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
13296 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13299 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
13300 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13301 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
13305 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
13306 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
13307 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
13308 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
13309 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
13310 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
13311 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
13316 @subsubsection Mail Folders
13318 @cindex mbox folders
13319 @cindex mail folders
13321 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
13322 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
13323 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
13326 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
13327 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
13328 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13329 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13330 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
13331 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
13332 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
13333 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
13334 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
13335 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
13336 @code{nnfolder} directory).
13338 Virtual server settings:
13341 @item nnfolder-directory
13342 @vindex nnfolder-directory
13343 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
13344 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13347 @item nnfolder-active-file
13348 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
13349 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
13351 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13352 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13353 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13354 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
13356 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
13357 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13358 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
13361 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13362 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13363 @cindex backup files
13364 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
13365 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
13366 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
13367 your @file{.emacs} file:
13370 (defun turn-off-backup ()
13371 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
13373 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
13376 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13377 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13378 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
13379 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
13380 extract some information from it before removing it.
13382 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13383 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13384 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13385 default is @code{nil}.
13387 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13388 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13389 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
13391 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
13392 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
13393 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
13394 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13396 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13397 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13398 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13399 default is @code{nil}.
13401 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13402 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13403 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
13405 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
13406 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
13407 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
13408 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13413 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
13414 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
13415 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
13416 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
13417 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
13418 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
13421 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
13422 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
13424 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
13425 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
13426 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
13427 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
13428 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
13430 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
13431 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
13432 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
13433 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
13434 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
13435 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
13436 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
13437 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
13440 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
13441 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
13442 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
13443 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
13448 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
13449 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
13450 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
13451 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
13452 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
13453 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
13454 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
13455 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
13456 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
13457 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
13458 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
13459 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
13460 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
13465 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
13466 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
13467 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
13468 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
13469 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
13470 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
13471 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
13472 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
13473 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
13474 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
13475 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
13476 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
13477 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
13478 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
13480 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
13481 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
13486 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
13487 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
13488 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
13489 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
13490 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
13491 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
13492 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
13493 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
13494 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
13495 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
13496 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
13497 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
13498 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
13499 provided by the active file and overviews.
13501 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
13502 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
13503 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
13504 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
13505 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
13508 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
13509 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
13514 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
13515 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
13516 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
13517 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
13518 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
13519 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
13520 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
13524 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
13525 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
13526 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
13527 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
13528 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
13529 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
13530 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
13531 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
13532 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
13534 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
13535 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
13536 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
13537 friendly mail back end all over.
13542 @node Browsing the Web
13543 @section Browsing the Web
13545 @cindex browsing the web
13549 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
13550 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
13551 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
13552 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
13553 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
13554 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
13555 even know what a news group is.
13557 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
13558 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
13559 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
13560 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
13561 you mad in the end.
13563 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
13566 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
13567 interfaces to these sources.
13570 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
13571 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
13572 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
13573 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
13574 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
13575 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
13578 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
13580 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
13581 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
13582 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
13583 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
13584 though, you should be ok.
13586 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
13587 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
13588 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
13589 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
13590 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
13592 @node Archiving Mail
13593 @subsection Archiving Mail
13594 @cindex archiving mail
13595 @cindex backup of mail
13597 Some of the back ends, notably nnml and nnfolder, now actually store
13598 the article marks with each group. For these servers, archiving and
13599 restoring a group while preserving marks is fairly simple.
13601 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
13602 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @code{.newsrc.eld} deity
13605 To archive an entire @code{nnml} or @code{nnfolder} server, take a
13606 recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need to shut down
13607 Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or similar. You
13608 restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and adding a server
13609 definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The @ref{Article
13610 Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things might interfer
13611 with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus before you
13614 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml} or
13615 @code{nnfolder} groups, while preserving marks. For @code{nnml}, you
13616 copy all files in the group's directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need
13617 to copy both the base folder file itself (@code{FOO}, say), and the
13618 marks file (@code{FOO.mrk} in this example). Restoring the group is
13619 done with @kbd{G m} from the Group buffer. The last step makes Gnus
13620 notice the new directory.
13623 @subsection Web Searches
13627 @cindex InReference
13628 @cindex Usenet searches
13629 @cindex searching the Usenet
13631 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
13632 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
13633 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
13634 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
13635 searches without having to use a browser.
13637 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
13638 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
13639 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
13640 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
13641 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
13643 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
13644 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
13645 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
13646 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
13647 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
13648 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
13649 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
13650 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
13651 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
13652 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
13655 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
13656 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
13657 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
13658 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
13659 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
13660 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
13662 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
13663 to use @code{nnweb}.
13665 Virtual server variables:
13670 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
13671 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
13675 @vindex nnweb-search
13676 The search string to feed to the search engine.
13678 @item nnweb-max-hits
13679 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
13680 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
13683 @item nnweb-type-definition
13684 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
13685 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
13686 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
13691 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
13695 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
13698 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
13701 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
13705 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
13712 @subsection Slashdot
13716 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
13717 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
13718 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
13720 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
13721 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
13724 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13725 '((nnslashdot "")))
13728 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
13729 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
13730 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
13731 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
13732 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
13735 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
13736 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13738 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
13739 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
13740 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
13741 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
13742 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
13743 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
13746 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
13749 @item nnslashdot-threaded
13750 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
13751 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
13752 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
13753 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
13754 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
13755 but much, much slower than untreaded.
13757 @item nnslashdot-login-name
13758 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
13759 The login name to use when posting.
13761 @item nnslashdot-password
13762 @vindex nnslashdot-password
13763 The password to use when posting.
13765 @item nnslashdot-directory
13766 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
13767 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
13768 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
13770 @item nnslashdot-active-url
13771 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
13772 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
13773 news articles and comments. The default is
13774 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
13776 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
13777 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
13778 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
13780 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
13782 @item nnslashdot-article-url
13783 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
13784 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
13786 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
13788 @item nnslashdot-threshold
13789 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
13790 The score threshold. The default is -1.
13792 @item nnslashdot-group-number
13793 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
13794 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
13795 updated. The default is 0.
13802 @subsection Ultimate
13804 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
13806 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
13807 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
13808 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
13809 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
13811 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
13812 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
13813 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
13814 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
13815 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
13816 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
13817 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
13819 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
13822 @item nnultimate-directory
13823 @vindex nnultimate-directory
13824 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
13825 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
13830 @subsection Web Archive
13832 @cindex Web Archive
13834 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
13835 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
13836 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
13837 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13840 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
13841 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
13842 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
13843 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
13844 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
13845 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
13846 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
13848 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
13851 @item nnwarchive-directory
13852 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
13853 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
13854 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
13856 @item nnwarchive-login
13857 @vindex nnwarchive-login
13858 The account name on the web server.
13860 @item nnwarchive-passwd
13861 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
13862 The password for your account on the web server.
13870 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
13871 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
13872 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13875 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
13876 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
13879 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
13882 @item nnrss-directory
13883 @vindex nnrss-directory
13884 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
13885 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
13889 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
13890 the summary buffer.
13893 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
13894 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
13896 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
13898 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
13899 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
13902 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
13905 (require 'browse-url)
13907 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
13909 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
13912 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
13913 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
13915 (browse-url (cdr url))
13916 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
13918 (eval-after-load "gnus"
13919 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
13920 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
13921 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
13924 @node Customizing w3
13925 @subsection Customizing w3
13931 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
13932 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
13933 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
13935 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
13936 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
13937 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
13940 (eval-after-load "w3"
13942 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
13943 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
13944 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
13945 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
13947 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
13950 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
13951 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
13959 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13960 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
13961 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
13962 specify the network address of the server.
13964 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
13965 POP can, it can hence be viewed as POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
13966 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
13967 protocol. (@sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp} because news
13968 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.)
13970 If you want to use @sc{imap} as POP++, use an imap entry in
13971 mail-sources. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the @sc{imap}
13972 server and store them on the local disk. This is not the usage
13973 described in this section. @xref{Mail Sources}.
13975 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
13976 entry in gnus-secondary-select-methods. With this, Gnus will
13977 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
13978 usage explained in this section.
13980 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
13981 might look something like this:
13984 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13985 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
13986 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
13988 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13989 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
13990 ; a UW server running on localhost
13992 (nnimap-server-port 143)
13993 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13994 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
13995 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
13996 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
13997 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
13998 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
13999 (nnimap-stream network))
14000 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14002 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14003 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14004 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14007 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14012 @item nnimap-address
14013 @vindex nnimap-address
14015 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14016 server name if not specified.
14018 @item nnimap-server-port
14019 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14020 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14022 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
14025 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14026 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14029 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14030 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14031 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14032 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14033 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14034 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14035 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14037 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14038 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14039 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14042 Example server specification:
14045 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14046 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14047 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14050 @item nnimap-stream
14051 @vindex nnimap-stream
14052 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14053 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14054 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
14055 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
14057 Example server specification:
14060 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14061 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14064 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14068 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Requires the
14069 @samp{imtest} program.
14071 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14073 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14074 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14077 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the
14078 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
14080 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14082 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14085 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14086 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
14087 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
14088 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
14089 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
14090 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
14091 restrictions on IMAP commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
14092 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
14093 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14096 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14097 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14098 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14099 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
14100 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14101 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14102 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14105 @vindex imap-shell-program
14106 @vindex imap-shell-host
14107 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14108 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14110 @item nnimap-authenticator
14111 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14113 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14114 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14116 Example server specification:
14119 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14120 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14123 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
14127 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
14128 external program @code{imtest}.
14130 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
14133 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
14134 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
14136 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
14138 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
14140 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
14143 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
14145 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
14146 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
14147 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
14148 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
14149 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
14150 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
14153 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
14154 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
14155 running in circles yet?
14157 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
14158 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
14161 The possible options are:
14166 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
14169 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
14170 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
14171 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
14172 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
14174 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
14179 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
14180 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
14182 If non-nil, marks dormant articles as ticked (as well), for other IMAP
14183 clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will naturally still (only) be
14184 marked as ticked. This is to make dormant articles stand out, just
14185 like ticked articles, in other IMAP clients. (In other words, Gnus has
14186 two ``Tick'' marks and IMAP has only one.)
14188 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
14189 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
14192 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
14193 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14194 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
14195 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14198 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
14199 as ticked for other users.
14201 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
14203 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
14205 This variable contain the IMAP search command sent to server when
14206 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
14207 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
14208 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
14210 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
14211 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
14212 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
14213 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
14215 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
14216 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14218 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14219 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14220 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14226 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14227 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14228 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14233 @node Splitting in IMAP
14234 @subsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14235 @cindex splitting imap mail
14237 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14238 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14239 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14240 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14241 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14245 Here are the variables of interest:
14249 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14250 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14252 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14254 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14255 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14257 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14259 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14260 @cindex splitting, inbox
14262 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14264 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14265 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14269 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14270 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14273 No nnmail equivalent.
14275 @item nnimap-split-rule
14276 @cindex Splitting, rules
14277 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14279 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14282 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14283 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14284 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14285 Neither did I, we need examples.
14288 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14290 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14291 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14292 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14295 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14296 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14297 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
14299 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14300 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14304 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14307 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14308 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14309 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14310 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14312 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14313 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14314 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14315 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
14316 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14317 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14319 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14320 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14321 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14323 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14324 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14325 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14327 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
14329 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14330 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14331 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14334 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14335 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14336 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14337 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14338 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14339 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14342 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14343 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14344 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14345 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14346 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14347 group/function elements.
14349 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14351 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14353 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14355 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14356 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14358 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14359 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14360 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14363 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14364 @cindex splitting, fancy
14365 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14366 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14368 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14369 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14370 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14372 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14373 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14374 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14375 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14380 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14381 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14384 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14388 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14389 @subsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14390 @cindex editing imap acls
14391 @cindex Access Control Lists
14392 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14394 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14396 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14397 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14398 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14401 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14402 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14403 editing window with detailed instructions.
14405 Some possible uses:
14409 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14410 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14411 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14413 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14414 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14415 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14419 @node Expunging mailboxes
14420 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
14424 @cindex Manual expunging
14426 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14428 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
14429 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14430 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14432 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14437 @node Other Sources
14438 @section Other Sources
14440 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
14441 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
14445 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
14446 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
14447 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
14448 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
14449 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
14453 @node Directory Groups
14454 @subsection Directory Groups
14456 @cindex directory groups
14458 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
14459 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
14462 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
14463 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
14464 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
14465 back end to read directories. Big deal.
14467 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
14468 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
14469 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
14470 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
14471 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
14473 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
14475 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
14476 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
14477 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
14478 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
14481 @node Anything Groups
14482 @subsection Anything Groups
14485 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
14486 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
14487 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
14490 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
14491 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
14492 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
14493 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
14494 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
14495 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
14496 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
14497 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
14498 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
14499 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
14502 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
14503 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
14504 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
14505 in the article buffer, just as usual.
14507 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
14508 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
14509 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
14510 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
14512 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
14513 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
14514 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
14515 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
14516 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
14517 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
14518 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
14519 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
14524 @item nneething-map-file-directory
14525 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
14526 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
14527 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
14529 @item nneething-exclude-files
14530 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
14531 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
14532 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
14534 @item nneething-include-files
14535 @vindex nneething-include-files
14536 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
14537 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
14539 @item nneething-map-file
14540 @vindex nneething-map-file
14541 Name of the map files.
14545 @node Document Groups
14546 @subsection Document Groups
14548 @cindex documentation group
14551 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
14552 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
14559 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
14564 The standard Unix mbox file.
14566 @cindex MMDF mail box
14568 The MMDF mail box format.
14571 Several news articles appended into a file.
14574 @cindex rnews batch files
14575 The rnews batch transport format.
14576 @cindex forwarded messages
14579 Forwarded articles.
14582 Netscape mail boxes.
14585 MIME multipart messages.
14587 @item standard-digest
14588 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
14591 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
14594 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
14595 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
14596 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
14599 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
14600 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
14601 group. And that's it.
14603 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
14604 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
14605 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
14606 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
14607 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
14608 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
14609 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
14610 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
14611 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
14612 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
14614 Virtual server variables:
14617 @item nndoc-article-type
14618 @vindex nndoc-article-type
14619 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
14620 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
14621 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
14622 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail},
14623 @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman} or @code{guess}.
14625 @item nndoc-post-type
14626 @vindex nndoc-post-type
14627 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
14628 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
14633 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
14637 @node Document Server Internals
14638 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
14640 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
14641 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
14642 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
14643 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
14645 First, here's an example document type definition:
14649 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
14650 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
14653 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
14654 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
14655 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
14656 types can be defined with very few settings:
14659 @item first-article
14660 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
14661 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
14664 @item article-begin
14665 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
14666 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
14668 @item head-begin-function
14669 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
14672 @item nndoc-head-begin
14673 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
14676 @item nndoc-head-end
14677 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
14678 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
14680 @item body-begin-function
14681 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
14685 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
14688 @item body-end-function
14689 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
14693 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
14696 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
14697 regexp will be totally ignored.
14701 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
14702 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
14703 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
14704 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
14705 something that's palatable for Gnus:
14708 @item prepare-body-function
14709 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
14710 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
14711 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
14713 @item article-transform-function
14714 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
14715 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
14716 body of the article.
14718 @item generate-head-function
14719 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
14720 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
14721 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
14722 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
14726 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
14731 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14732 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14733 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
14734 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
14735 (head-end . "^ ?$")
14736 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
14737 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
14738 (subtype digest guess))
14741 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
14742 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
14743 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
14744 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
14745 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
14747 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
14748 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
14749 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
14750 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
14751 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
14752 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
14753 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
14754 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
14755 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
14756 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
14764 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
14765 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
14766 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
14768 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
14769 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
14770 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
14773 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
14774 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
14775 that interested in doing things properly.
14777 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
14778 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
14781 First some terminology:
14786 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
14787 get news and/or mail from.
14790 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
14791 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
14794 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
14798 @item message packets
14799 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
14800 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
14801 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14803 @item response packets
14804 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
14805 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
14806 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14816 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
14817 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
14818 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
14819 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
14822 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
14825 You put the packet in your home directory.
14828 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
14829 the native or secondary server.
14832 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
14833 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
14836 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
14840 You transfer this packet to the server.
14843 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
14846 You then repeat until you die.
14850 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
14851 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
14854 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
14855 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
14856 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
14860 @node SOUP Commands
14861 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
14863 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
14867 @kindex G s b (Group)
14868 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
14869 Pack all unread articles in the current group
14870 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
14871 process/prefix convention.
14874 @kindex G s w (Group)
14875 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
14876 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
14879 @kindex G s s (Group)
14880 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
14881 Send all replies from the replies packet
14882 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
14885 @kindex G s p (Group)
14886 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
14887 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
14890 @kindex G s r (Group)
14891 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
14892 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
14895 @kindex O s (Summary)
14896 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
14897 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
14898 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
14899 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14904 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
14909 @item gnus-soup-directory
14910 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
14911 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
14912 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
14914 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
14915 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
14916 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
14917 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
14919 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
14920 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
14921 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
14922 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
14924 @item gnus-soup-packer
14925 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
14926 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
14927 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
14929 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
14930 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
14931 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
14932 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
14934 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
14935 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
14936 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
14938 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
14939 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
14940 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
14941 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
14947 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
14950 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
14951 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
14952 you can read them at leisure.
14954 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
14958 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
14959 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
14960 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
14961 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
14963 @item nnsoup-directory
14964 @vindex nnsoup-directory
14965 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
14966 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
14968 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
14969 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
14970 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
14971 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
14973 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
14974 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
14975 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
14976 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
14977 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
14979 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
14980 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
14981 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
14982 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
14984 @item nnsoup-active-file
14985 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
14986 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
14987 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
14988 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
14989 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
14991 @item nnsoup-packer
14992 @vindex nnsoup-packer
14993 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
14994 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
14996 @item nnsoup-unpacker
14997 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
14998 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
14999 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15001 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
15002 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
15003 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
15006 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
15007 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
15008 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
15011 @item nnsoup-always-save
15012 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
15013 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
15019 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
15021 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
15022 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
15023 more for that to happen.
15025 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
15026 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
15027 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
15030 In specific, this is what it does:
15033 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
15034 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
15037 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
15038 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
15039 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
15042 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
15043 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
15044 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
15047 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
15048 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
15049 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
15051 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
15057 @item nngateway-address
15058 @vindex nngateway-address
15059 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
15061 @item nngateway-header-transformation
15062 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
15063 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
15064 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
15065 transformation should be called, and defaults to
15066 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
15067 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
15070 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
15071 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
15072 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
15075 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
15078 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
15081 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
15084 The following pre-defined functions exist:
15086 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15089 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15090 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15091 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
15093 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15095 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15096 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15097 @code{nngateway-address}.
15102 (setq gnus-post-method
15104 "mail2news@@replay.com"
15105 (nngateway-header-transformation
15106 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
15114 So, to use this, simply say something like:
15117 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
15122 @node Combined Groups
15123 @section Combined Groups
15125 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
15129 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
15130 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
15134 @node Virtual Groups
15135 @subsection Virtual Groups
15137 @cindex virtual groups
15138 @cindex merging groups
15140 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
15143 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
15144 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
15145 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
15147 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
15148 regexp to match component groups.
15150 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
15151 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
15152 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
15153 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
15154 the virtual group.)
15156 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
15157 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
15160 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
15163 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
15164 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
15166 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
15167 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
15168 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
15169 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
15172 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
15175 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
15176 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
15177 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
15179 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
15180 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
15181 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
15182 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
15183 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
15185 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
15186 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
15187 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
15189 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
15190 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
15191 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
15192 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15193 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
15194 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
15195 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
15196 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
15197 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
15198 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
15199 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
15201 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
15202 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
15203 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
15204 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
15205 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
15206 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
15207 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
15209 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
15210 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
15214 @node Kibozed Groups
15215 @subsection Kibozed Groups
15219 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
15220 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
15221 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
15222 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
15224 @kindex G k (Group)
15225 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
15228 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
15229 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
15230 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
15231 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
15233 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
15234 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
15235 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
15237 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
15238 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
15239 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
15240 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
15241 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
15242 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
15243 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
15244 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
15246 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
15247 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
15248 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
15249 Stranger things have happened.
15251 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
15252 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
15254 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
15255 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
15256 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
15257 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
15258 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
15259 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
15261 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
15262 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
15265 @node Gnus Unplugged
15266 @section Gnus Unplugged
15271 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
15273 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
15274 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
15275 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
15276 read news. Believe it or not.
15278 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
15279 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
15280 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
15281 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
15282 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
15284 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
15285 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
15286 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
15287 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
15288 reading news on a machine.
15290 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
15294 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
15295 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
15299 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
15300 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15307 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
15309 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
15312 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
15313 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
15314 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
15315 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
15316 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
15317 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
15318 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
15319 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
15320 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
15321 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
15326 @subsection Agent Basics
15328 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
15330 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
15331 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
15332 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
15333 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
15335 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
15336 connected to the net continuously.
15338 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
15339 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
15341 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
15346 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
15347 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
15348 already fetched while in this mode.
15351 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
15352 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
15353 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
15354 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
15355 Source Specifiers}).
15358 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
15359 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
15360 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
15361 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
15362 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
15365 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
15366 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
15367 then you read the news offline.
15370 And then you go to step 2.
15373 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
15379 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
15380 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
15381 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
15382 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
15383 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
15384 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
15387 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
15394 @node Agent Categories
15395 @subsection Agent Categories
15397 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
15398 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
15399 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
15400 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
15401 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
15402 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
15403 you're interested in the articles anyway.
15405 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
15406 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
15407 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
15408 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
15409 managing categories.
15412 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
15413 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
15414 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
15418 @node Category Syntax
15419 @subsubsection Category Syntax
15421 A category consists of two things.
15425 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
15426 are eligible for downloading; and
15429 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
15430 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
15431 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
15434 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
15435 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
15436 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
15437 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
15439 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
15440 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
15441 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
15443 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
15444 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
15445 operators sprinkled in between.
15447 Perhaps some examples are in order.
15449 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
15450 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
15456 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
15457 short (for some value of ``short'').
15459 Here's a more complex predicate:
15468 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
15469 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
15472 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
15473 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
15474 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
15476 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
15477 you want to do, you can write your own.
15481 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
15482 lines; default 100.
15485 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
15486 lines; default 200.
15489 True iff the article has a download score less than
15490 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
15493 True iff the article has a download score greater than
15494 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
15497 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
15498 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
15499 checksum and sees whether articles match.
15508 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
15509 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
15510 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
15513 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
15514 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
15515 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
15516 something along the lines of the following:
15519 (defun my-article-old-p ()
15520 "Say whether an article is old."
15521 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
15522 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
15525 with the predicate then defined as:
15528 (not my-article-old-p)
15531 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
15532 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
15533 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
15534 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
15537 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
15538 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
15539 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
15542 and simply specify your predicate as:
15548 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
15549 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
15550 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
15551 just don't give a damn.
15553 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
15554 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
15555 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
15556 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
15557 parameters like so:
15560 (agent-predicate . short)
15563 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
15564 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
15565 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
15567 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
15570 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
15573 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
15574 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
15575 predicate is assumed to be a list.
15578 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
15579 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
15580 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
15581 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
15582 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
15583 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
15585 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
15586 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
15587 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
15588 if it's to be specific to that group.
15590 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
15597 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
15598 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
15604 Category specification
15608 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15614 Group Parameter specification
15617 (agent-score ("from"
15618 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15623 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
15629 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
15636 Category specification
15639 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
15645 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
15649 Group Parameter specification
15652 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
15655 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
15660 Use @code{normal} score files
15662 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
15663 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
15664 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
15665 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
15667 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
15668 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
15669 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
15670 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
15674 Category Specification
15681 Group Parameter specification
15684 (agent-score . file)
15689 @node Category Buffer
15690 @subsubsection Category Buffer
15692 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
15693 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
15694 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
15696 The following commands are available in this buffer:
15700 @kindex q (Category)
15701 @findex gnus-category-exit
15702 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
15705 @kindex k (Category)
15706 @findex gnus-category-kill
15707 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
15710 @kindex c (Category)
15711 @findex gnus-category-copy
15712 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
15715 @kindex a (Category)
15716 @findex gnus-category-add
15717 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
15720 @kindex p (Category)
15721 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
15722 Edit the predicate of the current category
15723 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
15726 @kindex g (Category)
15727 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
15728 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
15729 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
15732 @kindex s (Category)
15733 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
15734 Edit the download score rule of the current category
15735 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
15738 @kindex l (Category)
15739 @findex gnus-category-list
15740 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
15744 @node Category Variables
15745 @subsubsection Category Variables
15748 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
15749 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
15750 Hook run in category buffers.
15752 @item gnus-category-line-format
15753 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
15754 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
15755 Variables}). Valid elements are:
15759 The name of the category.
15762 The number of groups in the category.
15765 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
15766 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
15767 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
15769 @item gnus-agent-short-article
15770 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
15771 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
15773 @item gnus-agent-long-article
15774 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
15775 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
15777 @item gnus-agent-low-score
15778 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
15779 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
15782 @item gnus-agent-high-score
15783 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
15784 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
15790 @node Agent Commands
15791 @subsection Agent Commands
15793 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
15794 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
15795 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
15799 * Group Agent Commands::
15800 * Summary Agent Commands::
15801 * Server Agent Commands::
15804 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
15805 following incantation:
15807 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15809 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15814 @node Group Agent Commands
15815 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
15819 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
15820 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
15821 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
15822 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
15825 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
15826 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
15827 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
15830 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
15831 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
15832 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
15833 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
15836 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
15837 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
15838 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
15839 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
15842 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
15843 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
15844 Add the current group to an Agent category
15845 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
15846 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15849 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
15850 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
15851 Remove the current group from its category, if any
15852 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
15853 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15856 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
15857 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15858 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
15864 @node Summary Agent Commands
15865 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
15869 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
15870 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
15871 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
15874 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
15875 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
15876 Remove the downloading mark from the article
15877 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
15880 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
15881 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
15882 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
15885 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
15886 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
15887 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
15890 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
15891 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
15892 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
15893 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
15898 @node Server Agent Commands
15899 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
15903 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
15904 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
15905 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
15906 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
15909 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
15910 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
15911 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
15912 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
15918 @subsection Agent Expiry
15920 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
15921 @findex gnus-agent-expire
15922 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
15923 @cindex Agent expiry
15924 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
15927 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
15928 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
15929 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
15930 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
15931 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
15932 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
15934 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
15935 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
15936 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
15937 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
15938 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
15941 @node Agent and IMAP
15942 @subsection Agent and IMAP
15944 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
15945 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
15946 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
15947 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
15949 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
15950 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
15951 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
15952 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
15954 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
15955 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
15956 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
15957 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
15958 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
15960 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15961 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
15962 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
15963 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
15964 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
15965 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
15967 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
15968 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
15969 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
15970 in the group buffer by default.
15972 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
15973 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
15978 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
15981 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
15985 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
15986 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
15987 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
15988 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
15989 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
15990 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
15991 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
15992 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
15995 @node Outgoing Messages
15996 @subsection Outgoing Messages
15998 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
15999 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
16000 after posting, and edit them at will.
16002 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
16003 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
16004 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
16005 messages in the draft group.
16009 @node Agent Variables
16010 @subsection Agent Variables
16013 @item gnus-agent-directory
16014 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
16015 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
16016 @file{~/News/agent/}.
16018 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
16019 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
16020 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
16021 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
16022 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
16025 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16026 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
16027 Hook run when connecting to the network.
16029 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16030 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
16031 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
16036 @node Example Setup
16037 @subsection Example Setup
16039 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
16040 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
16041 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
16044 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
16045 ;;; from your ISP's server.
16046 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
16048 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
16049 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
16050 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
16052 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
16053 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
16055 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
16059 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
16060 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
16063 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
16064 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
16065 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
16066 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
16067 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
16070 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
16071 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
16072 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
16073 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
16074 back all the killed groups.)
16076 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
16077 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
16078 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
16081 @node Batching Agents
16082 @subsection Batching Agents
16084 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
16085 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
16086 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
16090 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
16094 @node Agent Caveats
16095 @subsection Agent Caveats
16097 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
16098 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
16102 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
16107 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
16108 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
16114 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
16115 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
16122 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
16123 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
16124 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
16127 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
16128 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
16129 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
16130 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
16131 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
16133 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
16134 before generating the summary buffer.
16136 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
16137 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
16138 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
16140 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
16141 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
16142 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
16143 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
16146 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
16147 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
16148 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
16149 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
16150 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
16151 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
16152 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
16153 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
16154 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
16155 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
16156 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
16157 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
16158 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
16159 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
16160 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
16161 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
16162 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
16166 @node Summary Score Commands
16167 @section Summary Score Commands
16168 @cindex score commands
16170 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
16171 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
16172 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
16173 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
16174 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
16176 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
16177 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
16178 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
16179 score file the current one.
16181 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
16186 @kindex V s (Summary)
16187 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
16188 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
16191 @kindex V S (Summary)
16192 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
16193 Display the score of the current article
16194 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
16197 @kindex V t (Summary)
16198 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
16199 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
16200 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
16203 @kindex V R (Summary)
16204 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
16205 Run the current summary through the scoring process
16206 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
16207 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
16208 effect you're having.
16211 @kindex V c (Summary)
16212 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
16213 Make a different score file the current
16214 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
16217 @kindex V e (Summary)
16218 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
16219 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
16220 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
16224 @kindex V f (Summary)
16225 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
16226 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
16227 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
16230 @kindex V F (Summary)
16231 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16232 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
16233 after editing score files.
16236 @kindex V C (Summary)
16237 @findex gnus-score-customize
16238 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
16239 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
16243 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
16248 @kindex V m (Summary)
16249 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
16250 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
16251 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
16254 @kindex V x (Summary)
16255 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
16256 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
16257 expunge all articles below this score
16258 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
16261 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
16262 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
16265 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
16266 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
16270 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
16271 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
16273 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
16274 keys are available:
16278 Score on the author name.
16281 Score on the subject line.
16284 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
16287 Score on the @code{References} line.
16293 Score on the number of lines.
16296 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
16299 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
16300 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
16301 @file{ADAPT} files.)
16310 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
16316 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
16317 what headers you are scoring on.
16329 Substring matching.
16332 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
16361 Greater than number.
16366 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
16367 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
16368 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
16372 Temporary score entry.
16375 Permanent score entry.
16378 Immediately scoring.
16383 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
16384 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
16385 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
16386 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
16388 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
16389 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
16390 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
16391 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
16392 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
16394 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
16395 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
16396 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
16397 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
16398 current score file.
16400 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
16401 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
16402 pretend they are keymaps or not.
16405 @node Group Score Commands
16406 @section Group Score Commands
16407 @cindex group score commands
16409 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
16414 @kindex W f (Group)
16415 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16416 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
16417 all the time. This command will flush the cache
16418 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
16422 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
16424 @findex gnus-batch-score
16425 @cindex batch scoring
16427 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
16431 @node Score Variables
16432 @section Score Variables
16433 @cindex score variables
16437 @item gnus-use-scoring
16438 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
16439 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
16440 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
16442 @item gnus-kill-killed
16443 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
16444 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
16445 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
16446 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
16447 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
16448 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
16449 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
16451 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
16452 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
16453 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
16454 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
16455 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
16457 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
16458 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
16459 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
16460 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
16462 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16463 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16464 @cindex score cache
16465 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
16466 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
16467 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
16468 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
16469 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
16470 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
16473 @item gnus-save-score
16474 @vindex gnus-save-score
16475 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
16476 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
16477 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
16479 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
16480 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
16481 across group visits.
16483 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16484 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16485 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
16486 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
16487 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
16488 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
16489 manually entered data.
16491 @item gnus-summary-default-score
16492 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
16493 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
16495 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
16496 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
16497 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
16498 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
16499 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
16500 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
16502 @item gnus-score-over-mark
16503 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
16504 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
16505 default. Default is @samp{+}.
16507 @item gnus-score-below-mark
16508 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
16509 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
16510 default. Default is @samp{-}.
16512 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16513 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16514 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
16515 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
16517 Predefined functions available are:
16520 @item gnus-score-find-single
16521 @findex gnus-score-find-single
16522 Only apply the group's own score file.
16524 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
16525 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
16526 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
16527 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
16528 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
16529 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
16530 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
16531 then a regexp match is done.
16533 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
16534 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
16536 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
16537 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
16538 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
16539 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
16541 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16542 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16543 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
16544 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
16545 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
16549 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
16550 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
16551 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
16552 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
16553 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
16554 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
16555 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
16558 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
16559 overall score file, you could use the value
16561 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
16562 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
16565 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
16566 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
16567 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
16568 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
16569 are expired. It's 7 by default.
16571 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16572 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16573 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
16574 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
16575 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
16576 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
16577 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
16580 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16581 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16582 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
16584 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
16585 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
16586 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
16587 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
16588 threading---according to the current value of
16589 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
16590 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
16591 simplified in this manner.
16596 @node Score File Format
16597 @section Score File Format
16598 @cindex score file format
16600 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
16601 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
16602 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
16604 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
16608 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
16610 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
16612 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
16614 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
16619 (mark-and-expunge -10)
16623 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
16624 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
16625 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
16626 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
16630 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
16631 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
16633 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
16634 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
16635 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
16637 Six keys are supported by this alist:
16642 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
16643 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
16644 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
16645 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
16646 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
16647 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
16648 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
16649 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
16650 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
16651 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
16652 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
16653 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
16654 to articles that matches these score entries.
16656 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
16657 score entry has one to four elements.
16661 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
16662 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
16666 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
16667 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
16668 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
16669 is successful. If this element is not present, the
16670 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
16671 instead. This is 1000 by default.
16674 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
16675 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
16676 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
16677 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
16678 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
16681 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
16682 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
16683 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
16684 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
16687 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
16688 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
16689 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
16690 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
16691 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
16692 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
16693 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
16694 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
16695 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
16696 instead, if you feel like.
16699 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
16700 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
16702 These predicates are true if
16705 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
16708 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
16709 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
16716 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
16717 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
16718 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
16719 it's not. I think.)
16721 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
16722 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
16723 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
16724 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
16727 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
16728 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
16729 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
16730 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
16731 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
16732 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
16733 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
16737 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
16738 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
16739 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
16740 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
16741 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
16742 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
16743 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
16744 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
16747 @item Head, Body, All
16748 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
16752 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
16753 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
16754 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
16755 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
16756 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
16757 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
16758 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
16762 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
16763 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
16764 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
16765 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
16766 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
16767 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
16768 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
16769 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
16770 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
16771 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
16772 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
16776 @cindex Score File Atoms
16778 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16779 lower than this number will be marked as read.
16782 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16783 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
16785 @item mark-and-expunge
16786 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16787 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
16790 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
16791 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
16792 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
16793 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
16794 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
16797 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
16798 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
16801 @item exclude-files
16802 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
16803 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
16807 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
16808 ignored when handling global score files.
16811 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
16812 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
16813 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
16814 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
16817 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
16818 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
16819 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
16820 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
16822 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
16826 (mark-and-expunge -100)
16829 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
16830 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
16831 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
16832 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
16833 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
16835 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
16836 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
16837 scoring rules exist.
16840 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
16841 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
16842 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
16843 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
16844 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
16845 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
16846 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16847 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
16848 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
16849 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
16850 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
16854 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
16855 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
16856 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
16857 file for a number of groups.
16860 @cindex local variables
16861 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
16862 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
16863 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
16864 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
16865 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
16869 @node Score File Editing
16870 @section Score File Editing
16872 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
16873 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
16874 with a mode for that.
16876 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
16877 additional commands:
16882 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
16883 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
16884 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
16885 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
16888 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
16889 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
16890 Insert the current date in numerical format
16891 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
16892 you were wondering.
16895 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
16896 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
16897 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
16898 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
16899 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
16904 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
16906 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
16907 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
16909 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
16910 e} to begin editing score files.
16913 @node Adaptive Scoring
16914 @section Adaptive Scoring
16915 @cindex adaptive scoring
16917 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
16918 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
16919 stupidity, to be precise.
16921 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
16922 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
16923 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
16924 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
16925 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16926 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
16927 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
16928 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
16929 variable to @code{(word line)}.
16931 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16932 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
16933 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
16934 might look something like this:
16937 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16938 '((gnus-unread-mark)
16939 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
16940 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
16941 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
16942 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
16943 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
16944 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
16945 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
16946 (gnus-ancient-mark)
16947 (gnus-low-score-mark)
16948 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
16951 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
16952 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
16953 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
16954 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
16955 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
16956 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
16959 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
16960 will be applied to each article.
16962 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
16963 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
16964 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
16965 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
16967 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
16968 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
16969 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
16970 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
16972 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
16973 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
16974 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
16975 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
16977 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
16978 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
16979 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
16980 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
16981 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
16982 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
16984 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
16985 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
16986 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
16987 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
16988 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
16989 aspirins afterwards.)
16991 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
16992 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
16993 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
16995 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
16996 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
16997 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
16999 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
17000 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
17001 let you use different rules in different groups.
17003 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
17004 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
17005 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
17008 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
17009 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
17010 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
17011 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
17012 the length of the match is less than
17013 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
17014 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
17017 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17018 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
17019 headers. If you adapt on words, the
17020 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
17021 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
17024 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
17025 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
17026 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
17027 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
17028 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
17031 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
17032 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
17033 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
17034 score with 30 points.
17036 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
17037 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
17038 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
17039 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
17040 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
17042 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
17043 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
17044 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
17045 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
17046 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
17048 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
17049 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
17050 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
17051 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
17053 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
17054 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
17055 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
17056 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
17058 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
17059 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
17060 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
17061 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
17062 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
17064 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
17065 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
17066 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
17068 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
17069 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
17070 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
17071 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
17074 @node Home Score File
17075 @section Home Score File
17077 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
17078 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
17079 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
17080 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
17082 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
17083 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
17084 could perhaps use the same home score file.
17086 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
17087 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
17092 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
17096 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
17097 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
17101 A list. The elements in this list can be:
17105 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
17106 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
17109 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
17110 the home score file.
17113 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
17116 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
17121 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
17124 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17125 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
17128 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
17129 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
17131 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
17133 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17134 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
17137 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
17138 Other functions include
17141 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
17142 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
17143 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
17144 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
17148 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
17149 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
17150 their own home score files:
17153 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17154 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
17155 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
17156 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
17157 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
17160 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
17161 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
17162 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
17163 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
17164 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
17166 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
17167 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
17168 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
17169 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
17170 precedence over this variable.
17173 @node Followups To Yourself
17174 @section Followups To Yourself
17176 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
17177 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
17178 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
17179 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
17180 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
17181 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
17185 @item gnus-score-followup-article
17186 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
17187 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
17190 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
17191 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
17192 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
17196 @vindex message-sent-hook
17197 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
17198 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
17200 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
17204 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
17205 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
17209 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17210 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17213 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
17214 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
17219 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
17223 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
17224 is system-dependent.
17227 @node Scoring On Other Headers
17228 @section Scoring On Other Headers
17229 @cindex scoring on other headers
17231 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
17232 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
17233 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
17234 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
17235 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
17237 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
17238 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
17239 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
17240 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
17241 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
17243 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17246 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
17247 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
17250 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
17251 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
17252 time if you have much mail.
17254 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
17255 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
17261 @section Scoring Tips
17262 @cindex scoring tips
17268 @cindex scoring crossposts
17269 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
17270 the @code{Xref} header.
17272 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
17275 @item Multiple crossposts
17276 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
17277 more than, say, 3 groups:
17280 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
17284 @item Matching on the body
17285 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
17286 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
17287 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
17288 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
17289 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
17290 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
17291 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
17294 @item Marking as read
17295 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
17296 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
17297 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
17301 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
17303 @item Negated character classes
17304 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
17305 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
17306 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
17310 @node Reverse Scoring
17311 @section Reverse Scoring
17312 @cindex reverse scoring
17314 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
17315 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
17316 like this in your score file:
17320 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
17325 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
17326 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
17329 @node Global Score Files
17330 @section Global Score Files
17331 @cindex global score files
17333 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
17334 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
17335 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
17337 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
17338 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
17339 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
17341 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
17342 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
17343 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
17344 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
17345 files are applicable to which group.
17347 To use the score file
17348 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
17349 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
17353 (setq gnus-global-score-files
17354 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
17355 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
17358 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
17360 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
17361 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
17362 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
17363 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
17365 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
17366 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
17368 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
17369 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
17370 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
17371 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
17372 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
17373 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
17375 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
17381 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
17383 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
17385 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
17387 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
17388 lowered out of existence.
17390 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
17391 articles completely.
17394 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
17395 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
17396 old articles for a long time.
17399 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
17400 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
17401 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
17402 holding our breath yet?
17406 @section Kill Files
17409 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
17410 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
17411 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
17413 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
17414 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
17415 files into score files.
17417 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
17418 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
17419 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
17420 that isn't a very good idea.
17422 Normal kill files look like this:
17425 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17426 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
17430 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
17431 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
17433 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
17434 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
17437 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
17442 @kindex M-k (Summary)
17443 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
17444 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
17447 @kindex M-K (Summary)
17448 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
17449 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
17452 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
17457 @kindex M-k (Group)
17458 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
17459 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
17462 @kindex M-K (Group)
17463 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
17464 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
17467 Kill file variables:
17470 @item gnus-kill-file-name
17471 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
17472 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
17473 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
17474 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
17475 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
17476 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
17478 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17479 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17480 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
17481 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
17484 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
17485 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
17486 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
17487 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
17488 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
17489 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
17490 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
17491 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
17492 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
17494 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17495 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17496 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
17501 @node Converting Kill Files
17502 @section Converting Kill Files
17504 @cindex converting kill files
17506 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
17507 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
17508 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
17511 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
17512 You can fetch it from
17513 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
17515 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
17516 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
17517 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
17525 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
17526 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
17527 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
17528 news articles generated every day.
17530 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
17531 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
17532 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
17533 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
17534 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
17535 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
17536 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
17537 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
17540 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
17541 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
17544 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
17545 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
17546 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
17547 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
17551 @node Using GroupLens
17552 @subsection Using GroupLens
17554 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
17556 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
17557 better bit in town at the moment.
17559 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
17563 @item gnus-use-grouplens
17564 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
17565 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
17566 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
17568 @item grouplens-pseudonym
17569 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
17570 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
17571 with the Better Bit Bureau.
17573 @item grouplens-newsgroups
17574 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
17575 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
17579 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
17580 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
17581 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
17582 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
17583 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
17584 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
17587 @node Rating Articles
17588 @subsection Rating Articles
17590 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
17591 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
17592 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
17593 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
17596 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
17601 @kindex r (GroupLens)
17602 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
17603 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
17606 @kindex k (GroupLens)
17607 @findex grouplens-score-thread
17608 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
17609 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
17610 threads in rec.humor.
17614 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
17615 the score of the article you're reading.
17620 @kindex n (GroupLens)
17621 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
17622 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
17625 @kindex , (GroupLens)
17626 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
17627 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
17631 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
17632 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
17635 @node Displaying Predictions
17636 @subsection Displaying Predictions
17638 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
17639 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
17640 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
17641 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
17642 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
17644 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
17645 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
17646 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
17647 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
17648 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
17649 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
17650 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
17651 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
17652 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
17653 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
17654 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
17655 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
17656 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
17658 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
17659 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
17660 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
17661 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
17663 The following are valid values for that variable.
17666 @item prediction-spot
17667 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
17670 @item confidence-interval
17671 A numeric confidence interval.
17673 @item prediction-bar
17674 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
17676 @item confidence-bar
17677 Numerical confidence.
17679 @item confidence-spot
17680 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
17682 @item prediction-num
17683 Plain-old numeric value.
17685 @item confidence-plus-minus
17686 Prediction +/- confidence.
17691 @node GroupLens Variables
17692 @subsection GroupLens Variables
17696 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
17697 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
17698 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
17699 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
17702 @item grouplens-bbb-host
17703 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
17706 @item grouplens-bbb-port
17707 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
17709 @item grouplens-score-offset
17710 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
17711 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
17714 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
17715 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
17716 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
17721 @node Advanced Scoring
17722 @section Advanced Scoring
17724 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
17725 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
17726 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
17727 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
17728 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
17730 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
17734 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
17735 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
17736 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
17740 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
17741 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
17743 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
17744 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
17745 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
17746 non-@code{nil} value.
17748 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
17749 operator, and various match operators.
17756 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17757 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
17758 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
17763 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17764 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
17765 then this operator will return @code{false}.
17770 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
17771 logical negation of the value of its argument.
17775 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
17776 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
17777 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
17778 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
17779 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
17780 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
17781 the ancestry you want to go.
17783 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
17784 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
17785 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
17786 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
17787 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
17790 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
17791 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
17793 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
17794 when he's talking about Gnus:
17798 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17799 ("subject" "Gnus"))
17805 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
17809 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17816 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
17817 really don't want to read what he's written:
17821 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17822 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
17826 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
17827 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
17828 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
17835 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
17836 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
17837 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
17838 ("body" "white.*socks"))
17842 The possibilities are endless.
17845 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
17846 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
17848 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
17849 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
17850 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
17851 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
17852 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
17853 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
17854 @samp{subject}) first.
17856 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
17857 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
17868 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
17869 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
17875 ("subject" "Gnus")))
17882 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
17883 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
17888 @section Score Decays
17889 @cindex score decays
17892 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
17893 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
17894 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
17895 use them in any sensible way.
17897 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
17898 @findex gnus-decay-score
17899 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
17900 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
17901 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
17902 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
17903 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
17904 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
17905 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
17906 definition of that function:
17909 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
17911 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
17912 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
17915 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
17917 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
17919 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
17922 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
17923 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
17924 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
17925 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
17929 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
17932 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
17935 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
17939 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
17940 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
17941 the new score, which should be an integer.
17943 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
17944 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
17949 @include message.texi
17950 @chapter Emacs MIME
17951 @include emacs-mime.texi
17959 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
17960 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
17961 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
17962 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
17963 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
17964 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
17965 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
17966 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
17967 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
17968 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
17969 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
17970 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
17971 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
17972 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
17973 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
17974 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
17975 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
17976 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
17980 @node Process/Prefix
17981 @section Process/Prefix
17982 @cindex process/prefix convention
17984 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
17985 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
17987 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
17988 command to be performed on.
17992 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
17993 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
17994 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
17995 with the current one.
17997 @vindex transient-mark-mode
17998 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
17999 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
18001 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
18002 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
18005 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
18006 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
18008 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
18011 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
18012 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
18013 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
18014 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
18016 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
18017 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
18018 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
18019 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
18020 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
18021 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
18022 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
18023 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
18025 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
18026 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
18027 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
18028 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
18029 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
18033 @section Interactive
18034 @cindex interaction
18038 @item gnus-novice-user
18039 @vindex gnus-novice-user
18040 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
18041 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
18042 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
18043 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
18046 @item gnus-expert-user
18047 @vindex gnus-expert-user
18048 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
18049 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
18050 matter how strange.
18052 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
18053 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
18054 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
18055 is @code{t} by default.
18057 @item gnus-interactive-exit
18058 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
18059 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18064 @node Symbolic Prefixes
18065 @section Symbolic Prefixes
18066 @cindex symbolic prefixes
18068 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
18069 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
18070 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
18071 rule of 900 to the current article.
18073 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
18074 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
18075 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
18076 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
18077 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
18078 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
18079 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
18081 @kindex M-i (Summary)
18082 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
18083 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
18084 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
18085 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
18086 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
18087 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
18088 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
18089 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
18091 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
18092 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
18093 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
18095 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
18099 @node Formatting Variables
18100 @section Formatting Variables
18101 @cindex formatting variables
18103 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
18104 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
18105 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
18106 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
18107 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
18110 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
18111 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
18112 lots of percentages everywhere.
18115 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
18116 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
18117 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
18118 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
18119 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
18120 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
18121 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
18122 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
18125 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
18126 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
18127 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
18128 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
18129 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
18130 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
18131 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
18132 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
18134 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
18135 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
18137 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
18138 @findex gnus-update-format
18139 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
18140 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
18141 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
18142 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
18146 @node Formatting Basics
18147 @subsection Formatting Basics
18149 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
18150 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
18151 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
18153 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
18154 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
18155 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
18156 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
18157 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
18160 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
18161 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
18162 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
18163 less than 4 characters wide.
18166 @node Mode Line Formatting
18167 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
18169 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
18170 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
18171 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
18172 with the following two differences:
18177 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
18180 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
18181 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
18182 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
18183 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
18184 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
18185 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
18186 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
18191 @node Advanced Formatting
18192 @subsection Advanced Formatting
18194 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
18195 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
18196 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
18197 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
18199 These are the valid modifiers:
18204 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
18208 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
18213 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
18216 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
18221 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
18224 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
18227 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
18230 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
18234 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
18235 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
18236 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
18237 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
18238 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
18239 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
18240 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
18242 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
18243 last operation, padding.
18245 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
18246 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
18247 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
18248 @xref{Compilation}.
18251 @node User-Defined Specs
18252 @subsection User-Defined Specs
18254 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
18255 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
18256 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
18257 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
18258 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
18259 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
18260 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
18261 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
18262 should protect against that.
18264 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
18265 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
18266 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
18267 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
18271 @node Formatting Fonts
18272 @subsection Formatting Fonts
18274 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
18275 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
18276 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
18277 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
18280 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
18281 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
18282 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
18283 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
18284 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
18285 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
18287 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
18288 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
18289 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
18290 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
18291 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
18292 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
18293 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
18294 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
18296 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
18299 ;; Create three face types.
18300 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
18301 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
18303 ;; We want the article count to be in
18304 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
18305 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
18306 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
18308 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
18309 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
18311 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
18312 (setq gnus-group-line-format
18313 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
18316 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
18317 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
18319 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
18320 mode-line variables.
18322 @node Positioning Point
18323 @subsection Positioning Point
18325 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
18326 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
18327 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
18329 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
18331 @findex gnus-goto-colon
18332 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
18333 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
18335 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
18336 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
18337 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
18342 @subsection Tabulation
18344 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
18345 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
18346 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
18347 about lining up the following text afterwards.
18349 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
18350 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
18352 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18353 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
18354 This is the soft tabulator.
18356 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18357 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
18358 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
18361 @node Wide Characters
18362 @subsection Wide Characters
18364 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
18365 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
18366 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
18368 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
18369 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
18370 these coutries, that's not true.
18372 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
18373 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
18374 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
18375 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
18379 @node Window Layout
18380 @section Window Layout
18381 @cindex window layout
18383 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
18385 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
18386 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
18387 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
18388 @code{t} by default.
18390 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
18391 glitches. Use at your own peril.
18393 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
18394 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
18395 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
18398 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
18399 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
18400 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18404 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
18405 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
18406 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
18407 possible names is listed below.
18409 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
18410 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
18413 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18417 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
18418 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
18419 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
18420 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
18421 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
18422 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
18423 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
18424 size spec per split.
18426 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
18427 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
18428 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
18429 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
18430 present) gets focus.
18432 Here's a more complicated example:
18435 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
18436 (summary 0.25 point)
18437 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
18441 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
18442 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
18443 occupy, not a percentage.
18445 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
18446 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
18447 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
18448 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
18449 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
18452 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
18455 (article (horizontal 1.0
18460 (summary 0.25 point)
18465 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
18466 @code{horizontal} thingie?
18468 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
18469 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
18470 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
18471 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
18472 the screen is to be given to this strip.
18474 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
18475 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
18476 lines from the splits.
18478 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
18482 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
18483 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
18484 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
18485 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
18486 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
18487 size = number | frame-params
18488 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
18491 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
18492 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
18493 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
18494 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
18496 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
18497 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
18498 @cindex window height
18499 @cindex window width
18500 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
18501 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
18502 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
18503 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
18504 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
18505 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
18507 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
18508 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
18509 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
18510 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
18512 @findex gnus-configure-frame
18513 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
18514 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
18515 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
18516 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
18517 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
18518 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
18519 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
18520 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
18521 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
18522 configuration list.
18525 (gnus-configure-frame
18529 (article 0.3 point))
18537 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
18538 @code{frame} split:
18541 (gnus-configure-frame
18544 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
18546 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
18547 (user-position . t)
18548 (left . -1) (top . 1))
18553 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
18554 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
18555 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
18556 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
18557 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
18558 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
18559 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
18560 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
18562 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
18563 be found in its default value.
18565 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
18566 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
18567 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
18571 (message (horizontal 1.0
18572 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
18574 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
18579 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
18580 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
18581 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
18586 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
18587 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
18588 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
18589 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
18590 (name . "Message"))
18591 (message 1.0 point))))
18594 @findex gnus-add-configuration
18595 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
18596 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
18597 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
18598 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
18601 (gnus-add-configuration
18602 '(article (vertical 1.0
18604 (summary .25 point)
18608 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
18609 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
18610 Gnus has been loaded.
18612 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
18613 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
18614 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
18615 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
18616 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
18618 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
18619 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
18620 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
18623 @subsection Example Window Configurations
18627 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
18628 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
18643 (gnus-add-configuration
18646 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18648 (summary 0.16 point)
18651 (gnus-add-configuration
18654 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18655 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
18661 @node Faces and Fonts
18662 @section Faces and Fonts
18667 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
18668 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
18669 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
18674 @section Compilation
18675 @cindex compilation
18676 @cindex byte-compilation
18678 @findex gnus-compile
18680 Remember all those line format specification variables?
18681 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
18682 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
18683 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
18684 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
18685 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
18688 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
18689 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
18690 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
18691 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
18692 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
18693 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
18694 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
18698 @section Mode Lines
18701 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
18702 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
18703 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
18704 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
18705 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
18706 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
18707 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
18710 @cindex display-time
18712 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
18713 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
18714 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
18715 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
18716 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
18717 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
18718 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
18719 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
18722 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
18724 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
18725 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
18727 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
18728 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
18729 (length display-time-string)))))
18732 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
18733 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
18734 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
18735 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
18736 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
18739 @node Highlighting and Menus
18740 @section Highlighting and Menus
18742 @cindex highlighting
18745 @vindex gnus-visual
18746 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
18747 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
18748 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
18751 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
18752 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
18755 @item group-highlight
18756 Do highlights in the group buffer.
18757 @item summary-highlight
18758 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
18759 @item article-highlight
18760 Do highlights in the article buffer.
18762 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
18764 Create menus in the group buffer.
18766 Create menus in the summary buffers.
18768 Create menus in the article buffer.
18770 Create menus in the browse buffer.
18772 Create menus in the server buffer.
18774 Create menus in the score buffers.
18776 Create menus in all buffers.
18779 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
18780 buffers, you could say something like:
18783 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
18786 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
18789 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
18792 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
18793 in all Gnus buffers.
18795 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
18798 @item gnus-mouse-face
18799 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
18800 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
18801 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
18805 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
18809 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
18810 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
18811 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
18813 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
18814 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
18815 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
18817 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
18818 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
18819 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
18821 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
18822 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
18823 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
18825 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
18826 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
18827 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
18829 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
18830 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
18831 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
18842 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
18843 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
18844 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
18845 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
18846 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
18850 @vindex gnus-carpal
18851 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
18852 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
18853 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
18858 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18859 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18860 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
18862 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
18863 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
18864 Face used on buttons.
18866 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
18867 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
18868 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
18870 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18871 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18872 Buttons in the group buffer.
18874 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18875 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18876 Buttons in the summary buffer.
18878 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18879 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18880 Buttons in the server buffer.
18882 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18883 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18884 Buttons in the browse buffer.
18887 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
18888 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
18889 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
18897 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
18898 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
18899 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
18900 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
18901 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
18903 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
18904 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
18905 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
18907 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
18908 been idle for thirty minutes:
18911 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
18914 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
18918 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
18921 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
18922 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
18923 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18925 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
18926 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
18927 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
18928 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18930 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
18931 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
18932 @var{idle} minutes.
18934 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
18935 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
18938 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
18939 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
18940 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
18942 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
18943 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
18944 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
18945 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
18947 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
18948 your @file{.gnus} file:
18950 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
18952 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
18955 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
18956 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
18957 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
18958 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
18959 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
18960 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
18961 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
18962 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
18963 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
18964 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
18965 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
18967 @findex gnus-demon-init
18968 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
18969 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
18970 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
18971 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
18972 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
18974 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
18975 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
18976 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
18985 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
18986 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
18988 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
18989 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
18990 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
18991 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
18994 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
18995 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
18996 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
18997 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
18999 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
19000 this will make spam disappear.
19002 There are some variables to customize, of course:
19005 @item gnus-use-nocem
19006 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
19007 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
19010 @item gnus-nocem-groups
19011 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
19012 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
19013 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
19014 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
19016 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
19017 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
19018 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
19019 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
19020 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
19021 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
19023 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
19024 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
19026 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
19027 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
19028 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
19029 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
19030 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
19031 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
19032 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
19033 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
19034 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
19035 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
19037 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
19038 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
19041 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
19044 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
19045 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
19048 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
19051 The specs are applied left-to-right.
19054 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
19055 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
19057 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
19058 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
19059 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
19060 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
19062 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
19063 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
19066 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
19068 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
19076 This might be dangerous, though.
19078 @item gnus-nocem-directory
19079 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
19080 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
19081 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
19083 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19084 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19085 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
19086 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
19087 might then see old spam.
19089 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
19090 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
19091 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
19092 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
19093 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
19096 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19097 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19098 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
19099 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
19103 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
19104 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
19105 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
19106 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
19113 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
19114 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
19115 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
19117 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
19118 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
19119 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
19120 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
19121 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
19122 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
19123 @code{undo} function.
19125 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
19126 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
19127 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
19128 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
19129 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
19130 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
19131 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
19132 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
19133 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
19134 never be totally undoable.
19136 @findex gnus-undo-mode
19137 @vindex gnus-use-undo
19139 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
19140 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
19141 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
19142 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
19147 @section Moderation
19150 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
19151 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
19152 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
19155 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
19159 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
19162 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
19164 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
19169 You split your incoming mail by matching on
19170 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
19171 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
19174 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
19175 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
19178 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
19179 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
19183 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
19186 (setq gnus-moderated-list
19187 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
19191 @node XEmacs Enhancements
19192 @section XEmacs Enhancements
19195 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
19199 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
19200 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
19201 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
19202 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
19215 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
19216 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
19217 over your shoulder as you read news.
19220 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
19221 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
19222 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
19223 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
19224 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
19229 @subsubsection Picon Basics
19231 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
19240 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
19241 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
19242 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
19243 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
19244 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
19245 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
19246 @code{GIF} formats.
19249 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19250 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
19251 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
19252 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
19253 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
19255 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19256 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
19257 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
19258 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
19259 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
19260 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19263 @node Picon Requirements
19264 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
19266 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
19267 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
19268 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
19269 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
19271 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19272 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
19273 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
19274 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
19275 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
19279 @subsubsection Easy Picons
19281 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
19282 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
19285 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
19286 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
19289 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
19290 containing the Picons databases.
19292 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
19295 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19296 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
19301 @subsubsection Hard Picons
19309 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
19310 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
19311 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
19312 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
19313 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
19318 @item gnus-picons-database
19319 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19320 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
19321 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
19322 subdirectories. This is only useful if
19323 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
19324 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
19326 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19327 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19328 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
19329 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
19330 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
19331 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
19332 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19334 @item gnus-picons-display-where
19335 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19336 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
19337 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
19338 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
19339 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
19340 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
19341 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
19343 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19344 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19345 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
19350 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
19351 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
19353 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
19354 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
19357 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19359 @item gnus-article-display-picons
19360 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19361 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
19362 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
19364 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
19365 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19366 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
19372 @node Picon Useless Configuration
19373 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
19381 The following variables offer further control over how things are
19382 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
19383 don't need to worry about.
19387 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
19388 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
19389 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19390 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
19392 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
19393 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
19394 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
19395 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
19397 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
19398 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
19399 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19400 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
19401 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
19403 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19404 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19405 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
19406 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
19407 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
19408 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
19409 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
19411 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19412 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19413 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
19414 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
19416 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19417 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19418 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
19419 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
19420 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
19421 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
19422 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
19424 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19425 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19426 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
19427 Defaults to @code{nil}.
19429 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
19430 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
19431 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
19432 Defaults to @code{t}.
19434 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19435 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19436 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
19437 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
19439 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
19440 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
19441 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
19443 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19444 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19445 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
19446 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
19448 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
19449 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
19451 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19452 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19453 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
19454 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
19455 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
19456 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
19457 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
19458 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
19469 @subsection Smileys
19474 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
19479 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
19480 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
19482 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
19483 @file{.gnus.el} file:
19486 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
19489 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
19490 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
19491 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
19492 text and maps that to file names.
19494 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
19495 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
19496 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
19497 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
19498 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
19499 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
19501 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
19502 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
19504 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
19505 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
19506 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
19508 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
19509 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
19513 @item smiley-data-directory
19514 @vindex smiley-data-directory
19515 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
19517 @item smiley-flesh-color
19518 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
19519 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
19521 @item smiley-features-color
19522 @vindex smiley-features-color
19523 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19525 @item smiley-tongue-color
19526 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
19527 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
19529 @item smiley-circle-color
19530 @vindex smiley-circle-color
19531 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19533 @item smiley-mouse-face
19534 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
19535 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
19541 @subsection Toolbar
19551 @item gnus-use-toolbar
19552 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
19553 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
19554 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
19555 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
19557 @item gnus-group-toolbar
19558 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
19559 The toolbar in the group buffer.
19561 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
19562 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
19563 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
19565 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19566 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19567 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
19573 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
19576 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19577 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19578 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
19579 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
19580 unusual directory structure.
19582 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19583 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19584 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
19585 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
19587 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19588 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19589 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
19590 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
19591 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
19592 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
19594 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19595 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19596 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
19610 @node Fuzzy Matching
19611 @section Fuzzy Matching
19612 @cindex fuzzy matching
19614 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
19615 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
19617 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
19618 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
19619 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
19621 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
19622 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
19623 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
19624 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
19625 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
19628 @node Thwarting Email Spam
19629 @section Thwarting Email Spam
19633 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
19635 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
19636 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
19637 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
19638 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
19639 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
19640 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
19641 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
19642 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
19645 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
19646 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
19647 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
19648 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
19649 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
19650 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
19654 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
19655 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
19657 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
19658 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
19659 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
19660 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
19661 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
19662 part of the mail address.)
19665 (setq message-default-news-headers
19666 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
19669 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
19670 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
19675 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
19676 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
19677 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
19683 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
19684 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
19685 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
19686 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
19688 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
19689 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
19690 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
19691 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
19692 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
19693 your fancy split rule in this way:
19698 (to "larsi" "misc")
19702 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
19703 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
19704 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
19705 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
19706 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
19708 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
19709 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
19710 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
19711 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
19712 cosmic balance somewhat.
19714 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
19715 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
19716 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
19717 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
19720 @node Various Various
19721 @section Various Various
19727 @item gnus-home-directory
19728 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
19729 defaults to @file{~/}.
19731 @item gnus-directory
19732 @vindex gnus-directory
19733 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
19734 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
19735 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
19737 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
19738 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
19739 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
19740 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
19742 @item gnus-default-directory
19743 @vindex gnus-default-directory
19744 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
19745 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
19746 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
19747 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
19748 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
19749 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
19752 @vindex gnus-verbose
19753 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
19754 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
19755 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
19756 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
19757 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
19759 @item gnus-verbose-backends
19760 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
19761 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
19762 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
19764 @item nnheader-max-head-length
19765 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
19766 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
19767 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
19768 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
19769 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
19770 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
19771 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
19772 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
19773 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
19775 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
19776 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
19777 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
19778 read when doing the operation described above.
19780 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19781 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19783 @cindex invalid characters in file names
19784 @cindex characters in file names
19785 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
19786 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
19787 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
19790 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19794 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
19795 Windows (phooey) systems.
19797 @item gnus-hidden-properties
19798 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
19799 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
19800 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
19801 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
19803 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
19804 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
19805 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
19806 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
19807 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
19809 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
19810 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
19811 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
19813 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19814 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19816 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
19817 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
19818 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
19819 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
19822 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
19830 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
19831 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
19833 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
19835 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
19841 Not because of victories @*
19844 but for the common sunshine,@*
19846 the largess of the spring.
19850 but for the day's work done@*
19851 as well as I was able;@*
19852 not for a seat upon the dais@*
19853 but at the common table.@*
19858 @chapter Appendices
19861 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
19862 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
19863 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
19864 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
19865 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
19866 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
19867 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
19868 * Frequently Asked Questions::
19876 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
19877 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
19879 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
19880 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
19881 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
19882 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
19883 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
19885 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
19886 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
19887 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
19888 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
19889 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
19890 appropriate name, don't you think?)
19892 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
19893 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
19894 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
19895 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
19898 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
19899 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
19900 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
19901 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
19902 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
19903 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
19904 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
19905 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
19906 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
19910 @node Gnus Versions
19911 @subsection Gnus Versions
19912 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
19914 @cindex September Gnus
19915 @cindex Quassia Gnus
19917 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
19918 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
19919 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
19921 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
19922 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
19924 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
19925 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
19927 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
19928 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
19930 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
19931 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
19934 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
19936 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
19937 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
19938 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
19939 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
19940 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
19941 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
19944 @node Other Gnus Versions
19945 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
19948 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
19949 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
19950 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
19951 @sc{mime} capabilities.
19953 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
19954 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
19955 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
19956 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
19963 What's the point of Gnus?
19965 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
19966 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
19967 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
19968 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
19969 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
19970 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
19971 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
19972 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
19973 keep track of millions of people who post?
19975 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
19976 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
19977 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
19978 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
19979 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
19980 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
19981 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
19982 every one of you to explore and invent.
19984 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
19985 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
19988 @node Compatibility
19989 @subsection Compatibility
19991 @cindex compatibility
19992 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
19993 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
19994 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
19999 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
20003 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
20006 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
20009 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
20010 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
20011 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
20012 important variables have their values copied into their global
20013 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
20014 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
20016 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
20017 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
20018 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
20019 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
20020 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
20024 @cindex highlighting
20025 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
20026 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
20027 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
20028 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
20029 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
20030 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
20033 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
20034 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
20035 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
20036 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
20038 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
20039 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
20040 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
20041 to stop doing it the old way.
20043 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
20045 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
20047 @cindex reporting bugs
20049 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
20050 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
20051 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
20053 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
20054 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
20055 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
20056 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
20061 @subsection Conformity
20063 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
20064 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
20071 There are no known breaches of this standard.
20075 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
20077 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
20078 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
20079 We do have some breaches to this one.
20085 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
20086 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
20087 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
20088 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
20089 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
20094 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
20095 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
20096 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
20097 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
20101 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
20102 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
20107 @subsection Emacsen
20113 Gnus should work on :
20121 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
20125 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
20126 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
20129 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
20130 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
20131 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
20135 @node Gnus Development
20136 @subsection Gnus Development
20138 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
20139 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
20140 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
20141 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
20142 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
20143 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
20144 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
20145 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
20147 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
20148 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
20149 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
20150 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
20151 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
20154 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
20155 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
20156 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
20157 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
20158 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
20160 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
20161 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
20162 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
20163 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
20164 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
20165 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
20166 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
20167 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
20168 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
20169 can't be assumed to do so.
20174 @subsection Contributors
20175 @cindex contributors
20177 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
20178 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
20179 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
20180 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
20181 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
20182 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
20183 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
20184 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
20185 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
20186 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
20188 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
20194 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
20197 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
20198 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
20199 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
20200 functionality and stuff.
20203 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
20204 well as numerous other things).
20207 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
20210 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
20213 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
20216 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
20219 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
20220 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
20223 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
20226 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
20227 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20230 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
20233 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
20236 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
20239 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
20242 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
20243 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
20246 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
20249 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
20252 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
20255 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
20259 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
20262 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
20265 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
20268 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
20269 well as autoconf support.
20273 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
20274 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
20276 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
20285 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
20289 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
20299 Alexei V. Barantsev,
20314 Massimo Campostrini,
20319 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
20320 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
20324 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
20327 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
20333 Michael Welsh Duggan,
20338 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
20342 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
20350 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
20352 Michelangelo Grigni,
20356 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
20358 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
20360 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
20367 François Felix Ingrand,
20368 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
20369 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
20371 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
20382 Peter Skov Knudsen,
20383 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
20385 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
20386 Thor Kristoffersen,
20389 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
20407 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
20408 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
20415 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
20420 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
20424 John McClary Prevost,
20430 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
20435 Christian von Roques,
20438 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
20445 Philippe Schnoebelen,
20447 Randal L. Schwartz,
20461 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
20466 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
20482 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
20487 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
20488 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
20489 (550kB and counting).
20491 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
20494 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
20495 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
20499 @subsection New Features
20500 @cindex new features
20503 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
20504 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
20505 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
20506 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
20507 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
20510 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
20511 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
20512 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
20515 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
20517 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
20522 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
20523 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
20526 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
20527 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
20530 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
20533 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
20534 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
20535 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
20538 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
20539 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
20540 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
20541 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20544 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
20545 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20548 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
20549 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
20550 (@pxref{The Active File}).
20553 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
20554 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
20557 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
20558 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
20559 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20562 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
20563 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
20564 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
20567 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
20568 the @file{.emacs} file.
20571 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
20572 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
20575 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
20576 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
20579 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
20580 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20583 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
20584 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
20587 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
20588 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20591 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
20594 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
20595 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
20598 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
20599 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
20602 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
20603 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
20606 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
20609 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
20610 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20613 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
20617 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
20621 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
20622 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
20625 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
20631 @node September Gnus
20632 @subsubsection September Gnus
20636 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
20640 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
20645 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
20646 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
20650 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
20651 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
20655 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
20659 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
20660 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
20663 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
20667 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20670 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
20673 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
20676 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
20680 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
20681 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
20684 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
20688 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
20692 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
20696 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
20700 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
20703 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
20704 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
20707 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
20711 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
20712 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
20715 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
20718 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
20719 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
20720 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20723 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
20727 The Gnus cache is much faster.
20730 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
20734 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
20735 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
20738 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
20739 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
20742 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
20743 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20746 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
20747 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
20748 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
20751 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
20752 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
20755 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
20758 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20761 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
20764 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
20767 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
20768 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
20771 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
20775 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
20778 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
20783 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
20786 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
20790 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20793 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
20797 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
20800 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
20803 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
20804 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20807 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
20808 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
20812 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
20813 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
20816 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
20820 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
20821 buffer to allow easier treatment.
20824 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
20827 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
20831 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
20835 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
20836 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
20839 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
20843 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
20844 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20847 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
20848 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20851 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
20855 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20858 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
20861 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
20867 @subsubsection Red Gnus
20869 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
20873 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
20880 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
20883 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
20884 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20887 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
20888 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
20892 Article washing status can be displayed in the
20893 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
20896 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
20899 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
20900 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
20903 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
20907 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
20908 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
20912 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
20913 Server Internals}).
20916 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
20920 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
20923 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
20924 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
20927 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
20928 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
20929 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
20932 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
20933 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20936 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
20937 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
20940 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
20944 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
20945 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20948 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
20949 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20952 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
20956 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
20959 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
20963 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
20964 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20967 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
20968 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20971 A new command for reading collections of documents
20972 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
20973 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
20976 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
20980 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
20981 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
20984 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
20985 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
20986 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
20989 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
20990 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
20994 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
20998 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
21002 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
21007 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
21011 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
21015 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
21016 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
21019 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
21025 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
21027 New features in Gnus 5.6:
21032 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
21033 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
21034 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
21037 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
21038 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
21039 group, which is created automatically.
21042 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
21046 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
21049 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
21050 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
21053 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
21057 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
21060 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
21061 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
21064 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
21067 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
21068 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
21071 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
21072 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
21075 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
21076 control over simplification.
21079 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
21082 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
21086 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
21089 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
21092 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
21093 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
21094 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
21097 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
21098 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
21101 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
21105 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
21106 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
21109 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
21110 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
21113 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
21117 A history of where mails have been split is available.
21120 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
21123 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
21124 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
21127 A new function for citing in Message has been
21128 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
21131 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
21134 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
21138 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
21139 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
21142 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
21143 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
21146 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
21149 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
21153 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
21154 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
21156 New features in Gnus 5.8:
21161 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
21162 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
21164 If you used procmail like in
21167 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
21168 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
21169 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
21170 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
21173 this now has changed to
21177 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
21181 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
21182 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
21185 Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
21186 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
21189 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
21190 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
21193 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
21194 called to position point.
21197 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
21198 summary buffers and NOV files.
21201 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
21202 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
21205 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
21206 subtly different manner.
21209 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
21210 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
21211 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
21214 Gnus can now read IMAP mail via @code{nnimap}.
21222 @section The Manual
21226 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21227 either @code{texi2dvi}
21229 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21230 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21232 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21234 The following conventions have been used:
21239 This is a @samp{string}
21242 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21245 This is a @file{file}
21248 This is a @code{symbol}
21252 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21256 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21259 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21262 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21265 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21266 ever get them confused.
21270 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21271 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21272 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21273 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21274 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21275 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21276 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21282 @node On Writing Manuals
21283 @section On Writing Manuals
21285 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21286 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21287 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21288 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21289 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21290 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21293 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21294 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21295 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21298 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21299 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21304 @section Terminology
21306 @cindex terminology
21311 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21312 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21313 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21314 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21315 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21319 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21320 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21321 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21322 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21326 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21330 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21335 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of back ends, both news and mail
21336 back ends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21337 is all done by the back ends.
21341 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
21342 default, way of getting news.
21346 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21347 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
21352 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21353 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21357 A message that has been posted as news.
21360 @cindex mail message
21361 A message that has been mailed.
21365 A mail message or news article
21369 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21374 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21379 A line from the head of an article.
21383 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21384 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21388 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
21389 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21390 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21391 normal @sc{head} format.
21395 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21396 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21397 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21398 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21399 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21400 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21402 @item killed groups
21403 @cindex killed groups
21404 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21405 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21407 @item zombie groups
21408 @cindex zombie groups
21409 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21412 @cindex active file
21413 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21414 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21415 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21418 @cindex bogus groups
21419 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21420 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21421 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21424 @cindex activating groups
21425 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21426 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21427 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21431 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21433 @item select method
21434 @cindex select method
21435 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
21438 @item virtual server
21439 @cindex virtual server
21440 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21441 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21442 whole is a virtual server.
21446 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21447 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21450 @item ephemeral groups
21451 @cindex ephemeral groups
21452 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21453 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21454 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21457 @cindex solid groups
21458 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21459 group buffer are solid groups.
21461 @item sparse articles
21462 @cindex sparse articles
21463 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21464 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21468 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21469 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21473 @cindex thread root
21474 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21475 articles in the thread.
21479 An article that has responses.
21483 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21487 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21488 specified by RFC 1153.
21494 @node Customization
21495 @section Customization
21496 @cindex general customization
21498 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21499 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21500 for some quite common situations.
21503 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21504 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21505 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21506 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21510 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21511 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21513 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21514 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21515 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21519 @item gnus-read-active-file
21520 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21521 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21522 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21523 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21524 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21526 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21527 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21528 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21529 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21533 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21534 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21536 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21537 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21538 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21542 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21543 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21544 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21545 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21546 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21548 @item gnus-visible-headers
21549 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21550 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21551 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21552 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21554 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21556 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21557 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21558 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21561 @item gnus-use-full-window
21562 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21563 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21564 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21565 want to read them anyway.
21567 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21568 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21571 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21572 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21573 lines, which might save some time.
21577 @node Little Disk Space
21578 @subsection Little Disk Space
21581 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21582 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21586 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21587 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21588 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21589 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21592 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21593 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21594 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21595 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21598 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21599 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21600 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21601 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21602 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21608 @subsection Slow Machine
21609 @cindex slow machine
21611 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21612 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21614 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21615 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21617 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21618 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21619 summary buffer faster.
21623 @node Troubleshooting
21624 @section Troubleshooting
21625 @cindex troubleshooting
21627 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21635 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21638 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21639 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21643 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21644 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21645 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21646 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21649 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21653 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21654 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21655 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21656 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21657 something like that.
21660 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21663 @cindex reporting bugs
21665 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21667 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21668 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21669 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21670 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21672 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21673 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21674 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21675 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21678 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21679 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21680 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21681 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21682 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21683 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21685 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21686 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21687 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21691 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
21692 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
21694 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21695 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21697 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21698 @cindex ding mailing list
21699 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21700 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21704 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21705 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21707 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21708 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21709 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21710 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21713 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21714 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21715 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21716 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21717 and general methods of operation.
21720 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21721 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21722 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21723 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21724 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21725 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21726 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21727 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21728 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21732 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21733 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21734 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21735 @cindex utility functions
21737 @cindex internal variables
21739 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21740 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21741 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21745 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21746 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21747 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21749 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21750 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21751 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21753 @item gnus-group-real-name
21754 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21755 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21758 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21759 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21760 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21761 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21763 @item gnus-get-info
21764 @findex gnus-get-info
21765 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21767 @item gnus-group-unread
21768 @findex gnus-group-unread
21769 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21773 @findex gnus-active
21774 The active entry for @var{group}.
21776 @item gnus-set-active
21777 @findex gnus-set-active
21778 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21780 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21781 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21782 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21785 @item gnus-continuum-version
21786 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21787 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21788 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21791 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21792 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21793 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21795 @item gnus-news-group-p
21796 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21797 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
21799 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21800 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21801 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21803 @item gnus-server-to-method
21804 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21805 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21807 @item gnus-server-equal
21808 @findex gnus-server-equal
21809 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21811 @item gnus-group-native-p
21812 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21813 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21815 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21816 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21817 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21819 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21820 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21821 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21823 @item group-group-find-parameter
21824 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21825 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21826 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21828 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21829 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21830 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21832 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21833 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21834 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21836 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21837 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21838 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
21839 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21842 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21846 @item gnus-read-method
21847 @findex gnus-read-method
21848 Prompts the user for a select method.
21853 @node Back End Interface
21854 @subsection Back End Interface
21856 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21857 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21858 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
21859 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21860 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21861 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21863 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
21864 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21865 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
21866 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21867 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21868 been opened, the function should fail.
21870 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21871 name. Take this example:
21875 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21876 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21879 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21880 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21882 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21883 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21884 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21886 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21887 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21888 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21890 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21891 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21892 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21893 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21894 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21895 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21898 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
21899 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
21900 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21901 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21904 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
21905 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
21906 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
21907 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
21908 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
21909 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
21910 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
21911 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
21912 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
21913 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
21915 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
21916 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
21917 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
21918 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
21919 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
21920 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
21921 of numbers as long as possible.
21923 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
21926 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21929 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21930 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21931 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21932 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
21933 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21934 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
21938 @node Required Back End Functions
21939 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
21943 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21945 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21946 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
21947 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
21948 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21950 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21951 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21952 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21953 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21955 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21956 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21957 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21958 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21959 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
21960 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21961 number, do maximum fetches.
21963 Here's an example HEAD:
21966 221 1056 Article retrieved.
21967 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
21968 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
21969 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
21970 Subject: Re: Something very droll
21971 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
21972 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
21974 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
21975 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
21976 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
21980 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
21981 these in the data buffer.
21983 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
21987 head = error / valid-head
21988 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
21989 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
21990 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
21991 header = <text> eol
21994 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
21995 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
21999 nov-buffer = *nov-line
22000 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
22001 field = <text except TAB>
22004 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
22008 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
22010 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
22011 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
22013 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
22014 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
22015 server. In fact, it should do so.
22017 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
22018 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
22021 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
22023 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
22024 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
22027 There should be no data returned.
22030 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
22032 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
22033 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
22034 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
22035 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
22037 There should be no data returned.
22040 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
22042 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
22043 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
22044 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
22045 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
22047 There should be no data returned.
22050 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
22052 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
22054 There should be no data returned.
22057 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
22059 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
22060 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
22061 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
22062 it would be nice if that were possible.
22064 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
22065 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
22066 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22067 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22068 into its article buffer.
22070 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22071 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22072 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22073 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22074 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22075 on successful article retrieval.
22078 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22080 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22081 making @var{group} the current group.
22083 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22086 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22089 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22092 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22093 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22094 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22095 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22096 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22097 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22098 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22099 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22102 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22103 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22104 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22108 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22110 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22111 a no-op on most back ends.
22113 There should be no data returned.
22116 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22118 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22121 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22124 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22125 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22128 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22129 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22132 active-file = *active-line
22133 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22135 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22138 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22139 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22140 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22143 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22145 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22146 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22147 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22148 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22149 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22150 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22152 There should be no result data from this function.
22157 @node Optional Back End Functions
22158 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
22162 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22164 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22165 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22166 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22168 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22169 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22170 former is in the same format as the data from
22171 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22172 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22175 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22179 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22181 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
22182 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
22183 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22184 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22185 should return the (altered) group info.
22187 There should be no result data from this function.
22190 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22192 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22193 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22194 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22195 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22196 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22197 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22198 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22199 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22201 There should be no result data from this function.
22204 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22206 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22207 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22208 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22209 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22210 propagate the mark information to the server.
22212 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22215 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22218 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
22219 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
22220 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
22221 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
22222 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
22223 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
22224 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
22225 possible, not limit itself to these.
22227 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22228 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22229 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22230 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22232 An example action list:
22235 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22236 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22237 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22240 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22241 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22243 There should be no result data from this function.
22245 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22247 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
22248 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22249 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22250 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
22251 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22253 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22254 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22255 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22258 There should be no result data from this function.
22261 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22263 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22264 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
22265 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
22266 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22267 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
22268 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22269 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22271 There should be no result data from this function.
22274 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22276 The result data from this function should be a description of
22280 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22282 description = <text>
22285 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22287 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22288 groups available on the server.
22291 description-buffer = *description-line
22295 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22297 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22298 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
22299 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
22300 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
22301 in the active buffer format.
22303 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
22304 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
22305 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
22306 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
22307 many groups, so nnml and the like are probably safe. But for back ends
22308 like nntp, where the groups have been created by the server, it is quite
22309 likely that there can be many groups.
22312 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22314 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22316 There should be no return data.
22319 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22321 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22322 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22323 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
22324 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22325 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22328 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22331 There should be no result data returned.
22334 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22337 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22338 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22340 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22341 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22342 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22343 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22344 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22345 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22347 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22348 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22351 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22352 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22354 There should be no data returned.
22357 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22359 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22360 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22361 this function in short order.
22363 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22364 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22366 There should be no data returned.
22369 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22371 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22372 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22374 There should be no data returned.
22377 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22379 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22380 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22381 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22383 There should be no data returned.
22386 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22388 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22389 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22391 There should be no data returned.
22396 @node Error Messaging
22397 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22399 @findex nnheader-report
22400 @findex nnheader-get-report
22401 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22402 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22403 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
22404 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22405 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22406 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22409 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22411 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22414 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22415 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22416 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
22417 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22419 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
22420 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
22421 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22424 @node Writing New Back Ends
22425 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
22427 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22428 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22429 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22430 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22431 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22434 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22435 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22436 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22438 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22439 package called @code{nnoo}.
22441 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
22442 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
22448 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22449 parameters. For instance:
22452 (nnoo-declare nndir
22456 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22457 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22460 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22461 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22462 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22464 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22465 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
22466 a function in those back ends.
22469 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22470 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22471 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22474 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22475 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22476 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22478 @item nnoo-define-basics
22479 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
22483 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22487 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22488 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22489 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
22491 @item nnoo-map-functions
22492 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
22493 functions from the parent back ends.
22496 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22497 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22498 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22501 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22502 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22503 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22504 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22507 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
22508 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22509 haven't already been defined.
22515 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22519 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22520 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22521 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22526 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
22529 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22530 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22534 (require 'nnheader)
22538 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22540 (nnoo-declare nndir
22543 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22544 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22545 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22547 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22548 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22551 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
22553 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22554 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22555 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22557 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22558 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22560 ;;; Interface functions.
22562 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22564 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22565 (setq nndir-directory
22566 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22568 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22569 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22570 (push `(nndir-current-group
22571 ,(file-name-nondirectory
22572 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22574 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22575 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22577 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22579 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22580 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22581 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22582 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22583 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22587 nnmh-status-message
22589 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22595 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22596 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22598 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22599 @findex gnus-declare-backend
22600 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
22601 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22602 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22604 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
22605 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22610 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22613 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
22615 The abilities can be:
22619 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22621 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
22623 This back end supports both mail and news.
22625 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
22628 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22629 articles and groups.
22631 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22632 true for almost all back ends.
22633 @item prompt-address
22634 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22635 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
22636 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22640 @node Mail-like Back Ends
22641 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
22643 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
22644 back ends is the heavy dependence by the mail back ends on common
22645 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22646 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22649 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22650 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22651 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22654 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22655 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22658 This function takes four parameters.
22662 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
22665 @item exit-function
22666 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22668 @item temp-directory
22669 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22672 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22673 performed for one group only.
22676 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
22677 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22678 find the article number assigned to this article.
22680 The function also uses the following variables:
22681 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22682 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
22683 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22684 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22688 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22689 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22693 @node Score File Syntax
22694 @subsection Score File Syntax
22696 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22697 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22698 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22700 Here's a typical score file:
22704 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22711 BNF definition of a score file:
22714 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22715 element = rule / atom
22716 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22717 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22718 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22719 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22721 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22722 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22723 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22724 date-header = "date"
22725 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22726 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22727 score = "nil" / <integer>
22728 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22729 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22730 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22731 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22732 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22733 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22734 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22735 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22736 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22737 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22738 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22739 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22740 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22741 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22742 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22743 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22744 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22745 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22746 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22747 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22748 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22749 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22750 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22751 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22752 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22753 eval = "eval" space <form>
22754 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22757 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22760 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22761 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22762 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22763 one looong line, then that's ok.
22765 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22766 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22770 @subsection Headers
22772 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22773 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22774 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22775 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22777 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22778 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22779 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22780 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22781 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22782 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22783 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22785 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22786 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22787 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22788 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22789 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22791 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22792 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22798 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22799 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22801 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22802 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22803 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22804 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22806 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22810 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22813 is transformed into
22816 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22819 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22820 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22823 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22826 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22827 is slightly tricky:
22830 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22836 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22839 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22845 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22852 and is equal to the previous range.
22854 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22855 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22856 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22860 range = simple-range / normal-range
22861 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22862 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22863 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22864 number *[ " " contents ]
22867 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22868 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22869 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22870 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22871 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22876 @subsection Group Info
22878 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22879 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22880 describes the group.
22882 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22883 second is a more complex one:
22886 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22888 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22889 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22891 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22894 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22895 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22896 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22897 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22898 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22899 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22900 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22901 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22902 this section is about.
22904 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22905 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22906 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22908 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22911 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22912 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22913 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22914 group = quote <string> quote
22915 ralevel = rank / level
22916 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22917 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22918 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22920 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22921 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22922 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22923 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22926 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22927 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22930 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22931 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22934 @item gnus-info-group
22935 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22936 @findex gnus-info-group
22937 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22938 Get/set the group name.
22940 @item gnus-info-rank
22941 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22942 @findex gnus-info-rank
22943 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22944 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22946 @item gnus-info-level
22947 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22948 @findex gnus-info-level
22949 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22950 Get/set the group level.
22952 @item gnus-info-score
22953 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22954 @findex gnus-info-score
22955 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22956 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22958 @item gnus-info-read
22959 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22960 @findex gnus-info-read
22961 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22962 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22964 @item gnus-info-marks
22965 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
22966 @findex gnus-info-marks
22967 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
22968 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
22970 @item gnus-info-method
22971 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
22972 @findex gnus-info-method
22973 @findex gnus-info-set-method
22974 Get/set the group select method.
22976 @item gnus-info-params
22977 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
22978 @findex gnus-info-params
22979 @findex gnus-info-set-params
22980 Get/set the group parameters.
22983 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
22984 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
22986 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
22987 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
22988 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
22989 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
22992 @node Extended Interactive
22993 @subsection Extended Interactive
22994 @cindex interactive
22995 @findex gnus-interactive
22997 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
22998 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
22999 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
23002 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
23003 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
23008 The best thing to do would have been to implement
23009 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
23010 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
23011 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
23012 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
23013 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
23014 @code{interactive}.
23016 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
23021 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
23022 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
23026 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
23027 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
23028 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
23031 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
23035 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
23039 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
23045 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
23046 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
23050 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
23051 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
23052 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
23054 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
23055 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
23056 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
23057 Gnus, that's very useful.
23059 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
23060 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
23061 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
23062 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
23063 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
23064 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
23065 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
23066 following function:
23069 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
23073 (,function ,@@args))
23077 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
23078 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
23079 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23082 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23083 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23084 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23086 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23087 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23088 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23091 @node Various File Formats
23092 @subsection Various File Formats
23095 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23096 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23100 @node Active File Format
23101 @subsubsection Active File Format
23103 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23104 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23107 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23110 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23111 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23112 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23113 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23114 no.general 1000 900 y
23117 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23120 active = *group-line
23121 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
23122 group = <non-white-space string>
23124 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23125 low-number = <positive integer>
23126 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23129 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23130 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23133 @node Newsgroups File Format
23134 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23136 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23137 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23138 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23141 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23142 Here's the definition:
23146 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23147 group = <non-white-space string>
23149 description = <string>
23154 @node Emacs for Heathens
23155 @section Emacs for Heathens
23157 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23158 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23159 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
23160 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23161 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23162 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23163 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23167 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23168 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23173 @subsection Keystrokes
23177 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23180 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23183 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23184 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23185 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23186 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23187 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23188 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23190 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23191 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23192 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23193 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23194 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23195 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23196 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23198 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23199 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
23200 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23201 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23202 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23203 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23204 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23206 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23207 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23208 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23209 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23210 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23216 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23218 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23219 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23220 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23221 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23223 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23224 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23225 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23226 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23227 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23228 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23229 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23232 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23233 write the following:
23236 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23239 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23240 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23241 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23244 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23245 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23246 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23247 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23248 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23250 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23251 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23252 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23256 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23260 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23263 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23264 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23267 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23270 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23271 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23274 @include gnus-faq.texi
23295 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
23296 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
23297 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
23298 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
23299 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref