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4 @settitle September Gnus Manual
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176 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
183 \thispagestyle{empty}
185 Copyright \copyright{} 1995 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
187 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
188 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
189 are preserved on all copies.
191 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
192 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
193 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
194 permission notice identical to this one.
196 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
197 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
206 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
208 Copyright (C) 1995 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
210 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
211 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
212 are preserved on all copies.
215 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
216 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
217 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
218 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
221 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
222 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
223 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
224 permission notice identical to this one.
226 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
227 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
233 @title September Gnus Manual
235 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
238 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
239 Copyright @copyright{} 1995 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
241 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
242 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
243 are preserved on all copies.
245 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
246 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
247 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
248 permission notice identical to this one.
250 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
251 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
260 @top The Gnus Newsreader
264 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
265 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
266 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
274 \thispagestyle{empty}
277 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
278 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
280 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
281 being accused of plagiarism:
283 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
284 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
285 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
286 even read news with it!
288 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
289 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
290 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
291 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
292 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
299 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
300 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
301 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
302 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
303 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
304 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
305 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
306 * Various:: General purpose settings.
307 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
308 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
309 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
310 * Key Index:: Key Index.
315 @chapter Starting Gnus
320 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
321 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
324 @findex gnus-other-frame
325 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
326 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
327 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
329 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
333 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
334 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
335 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
336 * Slave Gnusii:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
337 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
338 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
339 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
340 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
341 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
342 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
346 @node Finding the News
347 @section Finding the News
349 @vindex gnus-select-method
351 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
352 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
353 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
354 native method. All groups that are not fetched with this method are
357 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
358 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
361 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
364 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
367 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
370 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
371 certainly be much faster.
373 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
375 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
376 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
377 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
378 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
379 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
380 that fails as well, Gnus will will try to use the machine that is
381 running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long-shot, though.
383 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
384 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
385 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
386 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
388 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
389 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
390 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
391 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
392 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
393 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
395 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
397 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
398 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
399 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
400 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
401 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
402 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
404 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
406 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
407 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
408 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
409 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
410 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
411 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
414 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read you mail, you
415 would typically set this variable to
418 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
423 @section The First Time
424 @cindex first time usage
426 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
427 be subscribed by default.
429 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
430 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
431 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
432 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
435 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few randomly picked
436 groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Random} is here defined as
437 @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
439 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
440 help you with most common problems.
442 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
443 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
447 @node The Server is Down
448 @section The Server is Down
449 @cindex server errors
451 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
452 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
453 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
455 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
456 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
457 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
458 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
459 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
460 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
461 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
463 @findex gnus-no-server
465 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
466 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
467 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
468 if you're in a hurry as well.
472 @section Slave Gnusiï
475 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
476 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (eg., if you
477 are using the two different Gnusiï to read from two different servers),
478 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
480 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusiï that use the same
483 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
484 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
485 @dfn{servants}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
486 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
487 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
488 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
489 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
491 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
492 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusiï should be started with
493 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
494 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contains information only
495 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
496 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
497 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
498 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
500 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
501 information in the normal (i. e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
504 @node Fetching a Group
505 @section Fetching a Group
507 @findex gnus-fetch-group
508 It it sometime convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
509 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
510 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
511 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
512 It takes the group name as a parameter.
519 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
520 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
521 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
523 This variable should contain a function. Some handy pre-fab values
528 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
529 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
530 Make all new groups zombies. You can browse the zombies later (with
531 @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly, or subscribe to them.
534 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
535 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
536 Subscribe all new groups randomly.
538 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
539 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
540 Subscribe all new groups alphabetically.
542 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
543 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
544 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically.
546 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
547 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
548 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
549 you about @strong{all} new groups.
551 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
552 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
557 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
558 A closely related variable is
559 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
560 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
561 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
562 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
565 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above to
566 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
567 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
569 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
570 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
571 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
574 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
577 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
578 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
579 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
580 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
581 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
582 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
583 subscribing these groups.
584 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
585 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
587 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
588 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
589 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
590 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
591 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
592 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
593 and if the the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
594 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
596 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
597 Yet another variable that meddles here is
598 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
599 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
600 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
601 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
602 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
603 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
604 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
605 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
607 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
608 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
609 you could set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
610 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
611 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
612 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
613 is @code{t} by default.
615 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
616 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
617 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
618 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
619 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster &
620 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
621 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
622 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
623 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
624 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
626 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
627 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
628 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
629 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
630 few days. If any do, then it works. If any don't, then it doesn't
631 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
632 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
633 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
634 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
635 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
636 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
638 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
639 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
640 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
641 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
642 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
643 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
647 @section Startup Files
648 @cindex startup files
651 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
652 information is traditionally stored in this file.
654 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
655 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
656 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
657 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
658 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
659 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
660 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
662 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
663 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
664 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
665 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file.
667 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
668 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
669 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
670 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
671 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
672 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
674 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
675 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
676 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
677 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
678 will also means that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
679 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
680 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
681 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
684 @vindex gnus-startup-file
685 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
686 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
687 file being whatever that one is with a @samp{.eld} appended.
689 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
690 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
691 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
692 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
693 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
694 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
695 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
696 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
697 control on or off. Version control is off by default when saving the
706 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
707 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
708 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
709 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
710 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
713 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
714 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
717 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
718 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
719 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
721 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
722 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
723 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
724 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
725 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
726 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
729 @node The Active File
730 @section The Active File
732 @cindex ignored groups
734 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
735 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
736 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
738 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
739 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
740 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
741 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
742 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
743 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
744 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
747 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
748 @c if you set it to anything else.
750 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
752 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
753 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
754 reading the active file. This variable is @code{t} by default.
756 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
757 you actually subscribe to.
759 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
760 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
761 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
762 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
764 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
765 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
766 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
767 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
768 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
769 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
771 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
772 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
773 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
774 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
775 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
776 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
778 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
779 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
782 @node Startup Variables
783 @section Startup Variables
788 @vindex gnus-load-hook
789 A hook that is run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
790 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
791 times you start Gnus.
793 @item gnus-startup-hook
794 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
795 A hook that is run after starting up Gnus successfully.
797 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
798 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
799 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
800 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
801 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
802 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
803 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
804 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
806 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
807 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
808 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
809 your boss might not notice that you are reading news instead of doing
812 @item gnus-no-groups-message
813 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
814 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
818 @node The Group Buffer
819 @chapter The Group Buffer
822 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
823 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
824 long as Gnus is active.
827 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
828 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
829 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
830 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
831 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
832 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
833 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
834 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
835 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
836 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
837 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
838 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
839 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what if has to offer.
840 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
841 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
842 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
846 @node Group Buffer Format
847 @section Group Buffer Format
848 @cindex group buffer format
851 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
852 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
853 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
857 @node Group Line Specification
858 @subsection Group Line Specification
860 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
861 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
863 Here's a couple of example group lines:
866 25: news.announce.newusers
867 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
872 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
873 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
874 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
875 asterisk at the beginning of the line?)
877 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
878 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
879 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
880 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
881 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
882 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
884 The default value that produced those lines above is
885 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n}.
887 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
888 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
889 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
890 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
893 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
894 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
895 instead of wasting time reading news.)
897 Here's a list of all available format characters:
902 Only marked articles.
905 Whether the group is subscribed.
908 Level of subscribedness.
911 Number of unread articles.
914 Number of dormant articles.
917 Number of ticked articles.
920 Number of read articles.
923 Total number of articles.
926 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
929 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
938 Newsgroup description.
941 @samp{m} if moderated.
944 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
953 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
957 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
960 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
961 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
962 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
963 The default is @code{1}.
966 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
967 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
968 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
969 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current headers as
970 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
971 into the buffer just like information from any other specifier.
975 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
976 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
977 group, or a bogus (or semi-bogus) native group.
980 @node Group Modeline Specification
981 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
983 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
984 The mode line can be changed by setting
985 (@code{gnus-group-mode-line-format}). It doesn't understand that many
990 The native news server.
992 The native select method.
996 @node Group Highlighting
997 @subsection Group Highlighting
999 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1000 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1001 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1002 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1003 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1005 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1009 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1011 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1012 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1013 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1015 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1017 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1019 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1023 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1030 The number of unread articles in the group.
1034 Whether the group is a mail group.
1036 The level of the group.
1038 The score of the group.
1040 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1043 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1044 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1045 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1047 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1048 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1049 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1050 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1051 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1054 @node Group Maneuvering
1055 @section Group Maneuvering
1056 @cindex group movement
1058 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1059 expected, hopefully.
1065 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1066 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1067 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1074 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1075 Go to the previous group group that has unread articles
1076 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1080 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1081 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1085 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1086 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1090 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1091 Go to the next unread group on the same level (or lower)
1092 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1096 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1097 Go to the previous unread group on the same level (or lower)
1098 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1101 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1107 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1108 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1109 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1114 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1115 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1116 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1120 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1121 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1122 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1125 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1126 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1127 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1128 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1132 @node Selecting a Group
1133 @section Selecting a Group
1134 @cindex group selection
1139 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1140 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1141 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1142 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1143 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1144 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1145 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, Gnus
1146 will fetch @var{N} number of articles. If @var{N} is positive, fetch
1147 the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is negative, fetch the
1148 @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1152 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1153 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1154 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1155 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1156 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1160 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1161 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1162 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1163 minimum amount off fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1164 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1165 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1166 enter some humongous groups.
1169 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1170 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1171 This is yet one more command that does the same as the one above, but
1172 this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1173 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1177 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1178 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1179 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1180 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1181 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is when catching up a group from
1186 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1187 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1188 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1191 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1192 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1193 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1194 unread articles than this, Gnus will query the user before entering the
1195 group. The user can then specify how many articles should be fetched
1196 from the server. If the user specifies a negative number (@code{-n}),
1197 the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it is positive, the
1198 @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will be fetched.
1200 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1201 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1202 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1203 automatically when entering a group.
1208 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1209 full summary buffer.
1212 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1215 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1219 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1220 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1221 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1224 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
1225 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
1226 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
1227 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
1228 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
1229 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
1230 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
1231 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
1232 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
1233 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
1234 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
1235 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
1236 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
1237 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
1239 Each function takes two threads and return non-@code{nil} if the first
1240 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
1241 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
1242 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
1243 in the list. You should probably always include
1244 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
1245 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
1246 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
1247 ascending article order.
1249 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
1250 number, you could do something like:
1253 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
1254 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
1255 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
1256 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
1259 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
1260 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
1261 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
1262 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
1263 which the articles arrived.
1265 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
1269 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
1271 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
1272 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
1275 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
1276 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
1277 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
1278 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
1281 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
1282 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
1283 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
1284 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
1285 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
1286 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
1287 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
1288 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
1289 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
1290 is uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
1291 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
1292 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
1293 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
1295 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
1299 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
1300 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
1301 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
1305 @node Subscription Commands
1306 @section Subscription Commands
1315 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1316 Toggle subscription to the current group
1317 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1323 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1324 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1325 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1326 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1332 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1333 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1339 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1340 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1343 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1344 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1345 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1346 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1347 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1353 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1354 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1358 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1359 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1362 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1363 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1364 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1365 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1366 be used with some caution. The only thing where this command comes in
1367 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1368 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level @code{7} will
1369 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1370 @file{.newsrc} file.
1374 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1378 @section Group Levels
1381 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1382 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1383 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1384 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1385 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1391 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1392 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1393 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1394 prompted for a level.
1397 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1398 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1399 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1400 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1401 Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
1402 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1403 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1404 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1405 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1406 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (default 9),
1407 completely dead. Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly
1408 the same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what
1409 articles you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and
1410 living groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely
1411 for reasons of efficiency.
1413 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1414 low levels (eg. 1 or 2).
1416 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1417 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1418 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1420 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1421 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1422 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1423 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1424 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1425 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1426 relevant legal ranges.
1428 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1429 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1430 will only move to groups that are of the same level (or lower). In
1431 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1432 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1433 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1436 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1437 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1438 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1441 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1442 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1443 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1444 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1447 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1448 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1449 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1450 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1452 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1453 Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
1454 @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
1455 unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
1460 @section Group Score
1463 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1464 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1465 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1468 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1469 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1470 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1471 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1472 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1473 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1474 part and the score is the least significant part.)
1476 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1477 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1478 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1479 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1480 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1481 action after each summary exit, you can add
1482 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1483 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1484 slow things down somewhat.
1487 @node Marking Groups
1488 @section Marking Groups
1489 @cindex marking groups
1491 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1492 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1493 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1494 bidding on those groups.
1496 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1497 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1498 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1506 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1507 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1513 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1514 Remove the mark from the current group
1515 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1519 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1520 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1524 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1525 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1529 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1530 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1534 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1535 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1536 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1539 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1541 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1542 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1543 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1544 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1545 the command to be executed.
1548 @node Foreign Groups
1549 @section Foreign Groups
1551 Here are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1552 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1553 special-purpose groups:
1559 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1560 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1561 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1562 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1566 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1567 Rename the current group to something else
1568 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some groups --
1569 mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow on some
1574 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1575 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1576 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1580 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1581 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1582 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1586 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1587 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1588 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1592 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1593 Make a directory group. You will be prompted for a directory name
1594 (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1598 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1599 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1603 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1604 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1605 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1606 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1607 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1608 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1609 group will be created from from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1613 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1614 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1615 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1616 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1620 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1621 Read a random directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
1622 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1626 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1627 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1628 Make a group based on some file or other
1629 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1630 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1631 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1632 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs}, and
1633 @code{forward}. If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will
1634 guess at the file type.
1637 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1638 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1639 This function will delete the current group
1640 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1641 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1642 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1643 aboslutely sure of what you are doing.
1647 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1648 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1649 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}).
1653 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1654 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1655 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1658 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1661 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1662 If the @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1663 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1664 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1665 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1668 @node Group Parameters
1669 @section Group Parameters
1670 @cindex group parameters
1672 Gnus stores all information on a group in a list that is usually known
1673 as the @dfn{group info}. This list has from three to six elements.
1674 Here's an example info.
1677 ("nnml:mail.ding" 3 ((1 . 232) 244 (256 . 270)) ((tick 246 249))
1678 (nnml "private") ((to-address . "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
1681 The first element is the @dfn{group name}, as Gnus knows the group,
1682 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
1683 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
1684 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
1685 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
1686 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
1687 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
1689 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
1690 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
1691 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
1693 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1698 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1699 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1700 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1701 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1702 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1703 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1704 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1705 copies of your followups.
1707 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1708 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1709 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1710 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1711 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1712 list address instead.
1716 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1717 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1718 doing a @kbd{a} in any group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1719 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1720 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1722 @item broken-reply-to
1723 @cindex broken-reply-to
1724 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1725 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1726 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1727 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1728 broken behavior. So there!
1732 If the group parameter list contains an element like @code{(to-group
1733 . "some.group.name")}, all posts will be sent to that group.
1737 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, all articles that
1738 are read will be marked as expirable. For an alternative approach,
1739 @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
1742 @cindex total-expire
1743 If this symbol is present, all read articles will be put through the
1744 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
1749 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
1750 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
1751 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
1752 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
1753 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
1754 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
1757 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
1758 @samp{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
1759 means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
1762 When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
1763 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
1764 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
1765 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
1768 This parameter allows you to enter a random comment on the group.
1770 @item @var{(variable form)}
1771 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
1772 are entering. Say you want to turn threading off in
1773 @samp{news.answers}. You'd then put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in
1774 the group parameters of that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be
1775 made into a local variable in the summary buffer you enter, and the form
1776 @code{nil} will be @code{eval}ed there.
1778 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
1779 If you want to hear a beep when you enter the group
1780 @samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, you could put something like
1781 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
1782 @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the @code{(ding)}
1783 form, but who cares?
1787 If you want to change the group info you can use the @kbd{G E} command
1788 to enter a buffer where you can edit it.
1790 You usually don't want to edit the entire group info, so you'd be better
1791 off using the @kbd{G p} command to just edit the group parameters.
1794 @node Listing Groups
1795 @section Listing Groups
1796 @cindex group listing
1798 These commands all list various slices of the groups that are available.
1806 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
1807 List all groups that have unread articles
1808 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
1809 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
1810 only lists groups of level five or lower (i.e., just subscribed groups).
1816 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
1817 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
1818 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
1819 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
1820 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
1821 unsubscribed groups).
1825 @findex gnus-group-list-level
1826 List all unread groups on a specific level
1827 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
1828 with no unread articles.
1832 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
1833 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
1834 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
1835 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
1840 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
1841 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
1845 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
1846 List all subscribed groups with unread articles that match a regexp
1847 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
1851 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
1852 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
1856 @findex gnus-group-list-active
1857 List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
1858 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
1859 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
1860 to do a @kbd{A m} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
1865 @findex gnus-group-apropos
1866 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
1867 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
1871 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
1872 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
1873 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
1877 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
1878 @cindex visible group parameter
1879 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
1880 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
1881 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
1882 get the same effect.
1884 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
1885 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
1886 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
1887 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
1888 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
1891 @node Sorting Groups
1892 @section Sorting Groups
1893 @cindex sorting groups
1895 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
1896 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
1897 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
1898 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
1899 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
1900 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
1905 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
1906 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
1907 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
1909 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
1910 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
1911 Sort by group level.
1913 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
1914 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
1915 Sort by group score.
1917 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
1918 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
1919 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
1920 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
1922 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
1923 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
1924 Sort by number of unread articles.
1926 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
1927 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
1928 Sort by alphabetically on the select method.
1933 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
1934 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
1938 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
1939 some sorting criteria:
1943 @kindex G S a (Group)
1944 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
1945 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
1946 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
1949 @kindex G S u (Group)
1950 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
1951 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
1952 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
1955 @kindex G S l (Group)
1956 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
1957 Sort the group buffer by group level
1958 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
1961 @kindex G S v (Group)
1962 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
1963 Sort the group buffer by group score
1964 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
1967 @kindex G S r (Group)
1968 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
1969 Sort the group buffer by group level
1970 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
1973 @kindex G S m (Group)
1974 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
1975 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
1976 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
1980 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
1983 @node Group Maintenance
1984 @section Group Maintenance
1985 @cindex bogus groups
1990 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
1991 Find bogus groups and delete them
1992 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
1996 @findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
1997 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}). If
1998 given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server for
2002 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2003 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2004 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2005 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2008 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2009 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2010 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2011 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2016 @node Browse Foreign Server
2017 @section Browse Foreign Server
2018 @cindex foreign servers
2019 @cindex browsing servers
2024 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2025 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2026 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2027 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2030 @findex gnus-browse-server-mode
2031 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2032 will be use the @code{gnus-browse-server-mode}. This buffer looks a bit
2033 (well, a lot) like a normal group buffer, but with one major difference
2034 - you can't enter any of the groups. If you want to read any of the
2035 news available on that server, you have to subscribe to the groups you
2036 think may be interesting, and then you have to exit this buffer. The
2037 new groups will be added to the group buffer, and then you can read them
2038 as you would any other group.
2040 Future versions of Gnus may possibly permit reading groups straight from
2043 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2048 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2049 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2053 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2054 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2057 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2058 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2059 Enter the current group and display the first article
2060 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2063 @kindex RET (Browse)
2064 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2065 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2069 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2070 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2071 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2077 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2078 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2082 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2083 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2084 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2089 @section Exiting Gnus
2090 @cindex exiting Gnus
2092 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2097 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2098 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2099 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2100 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2104 @findex gnus-group-exit
2105 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2109 @findex gnus-group-quit
2110 Quit Gnus without saving any startup files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2113 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2114 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2115 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2116 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2117 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2122 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2123 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2124 trying to customize meta-variables.
2129 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, feels her feet go
2130 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2131 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2137 @section Group Topics
2140 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2141 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2142 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2143 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2144 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2145 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2147 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2149 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2150 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2151 is a toggling command.)
2153 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2154 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2155 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2156 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2159 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2160 the hook for the group mode:
2163 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2167 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2168 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2169 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2173 @node Topic Variables
2174 @subsection Topic Variables
2175 @cindex topic variables
2177 @vindex gnus-topic-unique
2178 If @code{gnus-topic-unique} is non-@code{nil}, each group will be member
2179 of (tops) one topic each. If this is @code{nil}, each group might end
2180 up being a member of several topics.
2182 Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2183 really neat, I think.
2185 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2186 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2187 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
2188 Elements allowed are:
2200 Number of groups in the topic.
2202 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2204 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2207 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2208 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2209 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2210 The default is @code{2}.
2212 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2213 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2216 @node Topic Commands
2217 @subsection Topic Commands
2218 @cindex topic commands
2220 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2221 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2222 definitions slightly.
2228 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2229 Create a new topic (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}). You will be
2230 prompted for a topic name and the name of the parent topic.
2234 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2235 Move the current group to some other topic
2236 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command understands the
2237 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2241 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2242 Copy the current group to some other topic
2243 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command understands the
2244 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2248 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2249 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2250 This command understands the process/prefix convention
2251 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2255 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2256 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2257 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2261 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2262 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2263 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2267 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2269 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2270 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2271 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2272 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2273 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2274 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2278 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2279 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2280 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2281 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2285 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2286 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}).
2290 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2291 Yank the previously killed group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}).
2292 Note that all topics will be yanked before all groups.
2296 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2297 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2300 @kindex T DEL (Group)
2301 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2302 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2306 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2307 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2308 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2313 @node Topic Topology
2314 @subsection Topic Topology
2315 @cindex topic topology
2318 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2324 2: alt.religion.emacs
2327 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2329 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2330 13: comp.sources.unix
2333 So, here we have one top-level topic, two topics under that, and one
2334 sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always just one (1)
2335 top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as follows:
2339 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2340 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2344 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2345 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2346 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2347 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2348 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2349 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2351 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2352 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2353 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2356 @node Misc Group Stuff
2357 @section Misc Group Stuff
2360 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2361 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2362 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2369 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2370 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}). @xref{The
2375 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2376 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). The current
2377 group name will be used as the default.
2381 @findex gnus-group-mail
2382 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2386 Variables for the group buffer:
2390 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2391 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2392 @code{gnus-group-mode-hook} is called after the group buffer has been
2395 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2396 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2397 @code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} is called after the group buffer is
2398 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2404 @node Scanning New Messages
2405 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2406 @cindex new messages
2407 @cindex scanning new news
2413 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2414 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2415 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2416 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2417 command will force a total rereading of the active file(s) from the
2422 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2423 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2424 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2425 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}). The
2426 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} variable controls whether
2427 this command is to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t}
2430 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2431 @cindex activating groups
2433 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2434 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2439 @findex gnus-group-restart
2440 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}).
2444 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2445 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2448 @node Group Information
2449 @subsection Group Information
2450 @cindex group information
2451 @cindex information on groups
2457 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2460 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2461 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2462 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2463 remote machine. @code{ange-ftp} will be used for fetching the file.
2467 @cindex describing groups
2468 @cindex group description
2469 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2470 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2471 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2475 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2476 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2477 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2482 @findex gnus-version
2483 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
2487 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
2488 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
2491 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
2494 @findex gnus-info-find-node
2495 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
2500 @subsection File Commands
2501 @cindex file commands
2507 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
2508 @vindex gnus-init-file
2509 @cindex reading init file
2510 Read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
2511 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
2515 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
2516 @cindex savind .newsrc
2517 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
2518 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
2519 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
2523 @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
2524 Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
2529 @node The Summary Buffer
2530 @chapter The Summary Buffer
2531 @cindex summary buffer
2533 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
2534 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
2537 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
2538 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
2539 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
2540 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
2541 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
2542 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
2543 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
2544 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
2545 * Threading:: How threads are made.
2546 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
2547 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
2548 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
2549 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
2550 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
2551 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
2552 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
2553 * Summary Sorting:: You can sort the summary buffer four ways.
2554 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
2555 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
2556 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
2557 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
2558 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
2559 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
2563 @node Summary Buffer Format
2564 @section Summary Buffer Format
2565 @cindex summary buffer format
2568 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
2569 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
2570 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
2573 @findex mail-extract-address-components
2574 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
2575 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
2576 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
2577 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
2578 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
2579 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
2580 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
2581 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
2584 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
2585 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
2586 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
2587 with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{}.
2590 @node Summary Buffer Lines
2591 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
2593 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
2594 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
2595 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
2596 lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions.
2598 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
2600 The following format specification characters are understood:
2608 Subject if the article is the root, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject}
2611 Full @code{From} line.
2613 The name (from the @code{From} header).
2615 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
2616 spec in that it uses @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is
2617 slower, but may be more thorough.
2619 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
2622 Number of lines in the article.
2624 Number of characters in the article.
2626 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
2628 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
2629 pushes everything after it off the screen).
2631 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{\[}, but can also be @samp{<}
2632 for adopted articles.
2634 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{\]}, but can also be @samp{>}
2635 for adopted articles.
2637 One space for each thread level.
2639 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
2647 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
2648 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
2649 default level. If the difference between
2650 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
2651 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
2663 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
2664 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
2666 A single character will be displayed if the article has any children.
2668 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
2669 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
2670 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
2671 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
2672 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
2673 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
2676 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
2677 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
2678 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
2679 that. This means that it is illegal to have these specs after a
2680 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
2681 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
2683 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
2684 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
2686 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
2689 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
2690 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
2692 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
2693 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
2694 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. Here are the
2695 elements you can play with:
2701 Unprefixed group name.
2703 Current article number.
2707 Number of unread articles in this group.
2709 Number of unselected articles in this group.
2711 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
2712 either as @samp{<%U(+%u) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
2713 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
2714 and no unselected ones.
2716 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
2717 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
2719 Subject of the current article.
2723 Name of the current score file.
2725 Number of dormant articles.
2727 Number of ticked articles.
2729 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
2731 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
2735 @node Summary Highlighting
2736 @subsection Summary Highlighting
2740 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
2741 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
2742 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
2743 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
2744 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
2746 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
2747 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
2748 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
2749 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
2751 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
2752 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
2753 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) that is used to
2754 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
2756 @item gnus-summary-highlight
2757 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
2758 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
2759 list where the elements are on the format @code{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
2760 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
2761 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
2763 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
2764 ((> score default) . bold))
2766 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
2767 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
2771 @node Summary Maneuvering
2772 @section Summary Maneuvering
2773 @cindex summary movement
2775 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
2776 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
2778 None of these commands select articles.
2783 @kindex M-n (Summary)
2784 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
2785 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
2786 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
2787 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
2791 @kindex M-p (Summary)
2792 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
2793 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
2794 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
2795 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
2800 @kindex G g (Summary)
2801 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
2802 Ask for an article number and then go to this summary line
2803 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
2806 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
2807 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
2808 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
2809 to the group buffer.
2811 Variables related to summary movement:
2815 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
2816 @item gnus-auto-select-next
2817 If you are at the end of the group and issue one of the movement
2818 commands, Gnus will offer to go to the next group. If this variable is
2819 @code{t} and the next group is empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and
2820 return to the group buffer. If this variable is neither @code{t} nor
2821 @code{nil}, Gnus will select the next group, no matter whether it has
2822 any unread articles or not. As a special case, if this variable is
2823 @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
2824 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same will
2825 happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
2826 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
2827 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
2828 @pxref{Group Levels}.
2830 @item gnus-auto-select-same
2831 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
2832 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
2833 article with the same subject as the current. This variable is not
2834 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
2836 @item gnus-summary-check-current
2837 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
2838 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
2839 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
2840 Instead, they will choose the current article.
2842 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
2843 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
2844 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
2845 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
2846 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
2847 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
2848 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
2849 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
2855 @node Choosing Articles
2856 @section Choosing Articles
2857 @cindex selecting articles
2859 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
2860 and they all select and display an article.
2864 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
2865 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
2866 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
2867 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
2872 @kindex G n (Summary)
2873 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
2874 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
2879 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
2880 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
2885 @kindex G N (Summary)
2886 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
2887 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
2892 @kindex G P (Summary)
2893 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
2894 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
2897 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
2898 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
2899 Go to the next article with the same subject
2900 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
2903 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
2904 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
2905 Go to the previous article with the same subject
2906 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
2910 @kindex G f (Summary)
2912 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2913 Go to the first unread article
2914 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
2918 @kindex G b (Summary)
2920 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2921 Go to the article with the highest score
2922 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
2927 @kindex G l (Summary)
2928 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
2929 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
2932 @kindex G p (Summary)
2933 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
2934 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
2935 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
2936 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
2937 history as you like.
2940 Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
2943 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
2944 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
2945 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
2946 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
2947 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
2948 the server and display it in the article buffer.
2950 @item gnus-select-article-hook
2951 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
2952 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
2953 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
2955 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
2956 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
2957 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
2958 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
2959 @findex gnus-unread-mark
2960 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
2961 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
2962 @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-and-read-as-read}, and will change the
2963 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
2964 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
2965 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
2966 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
2967 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
2968 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
2973 @node Paging the Article
2974 @section Scrolling the Article
2975 @cindex article scrolling
2980 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
2981 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
2982 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
2983 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
2984 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
2987 @kindex DEL (Summary)
2988 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
2989 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
2992 @kindex RET (Summary)
2993 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
2994 Scroll the current article one line forward
2995 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3000 @kindex A < (Summary)
3001 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3002 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3003 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3008 @kindex A > (Summary)
3009 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3010 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3013 @kindex A s (Summary)
3014 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3015 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3016 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3021 @node Reply Followup and Post
3022 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3025 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3026 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3027 * Summary Mail and Post Commands:: Sending both news and mail.
3031 @node Summary Mail Commands
3032 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3034 @cindex composing mail
3036 Commands for composing a mail message:
3042 @kindex S r (Summary)
3044 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3045 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3046 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3051 @kindex S R (Summary)
3052 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3053 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3054 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3055 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3058 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3059 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3060 Forward the current article to some other person
3061 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}).
3064 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3065 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3066 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3067 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
3072 @kindex S m (Summary)
3073 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3074 Send a mail to some other person
3075 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3078 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3079 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3080 @vindex gnus-bounced-headers-junk
3081 @cindex bouncing mail
3082 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3083 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3084 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3085 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3086 sending the mail off again. The headers that match the regexp
3087 @code{gnus-bounced-headers-junk} (default @samp{^Received:}) are
3088 automatically deleted first. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3089 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3090 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3091 very well fail, though.
3094 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3095 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3096 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3097 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3098 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3099 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3100 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3101 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3102 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3103 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3105 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3106 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3107 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3108 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3109 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
3112 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3113 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3114 Digest the current series and forward the result using mail
3115 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3116 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3119 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3120 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3121 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3122 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
3126 @node Summary Post Commands
3127 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3129 @cindex composing news
3131 Commands for posting an article:
3137 @kindex S p (Summary)
3138 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3139 Post an article to the current group
3140 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3145 @kindex S f (Summary)
3146 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3147 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3151 @kindex S F (Summary)
3153 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3154 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3155 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3156 process/prefix convention.
3159 @kindex S u (Summary)
3160 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3161 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3162 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3166 @node Summary Mail and Post Commands
3167 @subsection Summary Mail and Post Commands
3168 @cindex mail and post
3169 @cindex post and mail
3171 Commands for sending mail and post at the same time:
3175 @kindex S b (Summary)
3176 @findex gnus-summary-followup-and-reply
3177 Post a followup and send a reply to the current article
3178 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-and-reply}).
3181 @kindex S B (Summary)
3182 @findex gnus-summary-followup-and-reply-with-original
3183 Post a followup and send a reply to the current article and include the
3184 original message (@code{gnus-summary-followup-and-reply-with-original}).
3185 This command uses the process/prefix convention.
3189 @node Canceling and Superseding
3190 @section Canceling Articles
3191 @cindex canceling articles
3192 @cindex superseding articles
3194 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3195 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3197 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3199 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3201 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3202 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3203 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3204 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3206 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3207 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3210 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3211 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3212 your original article.
3214 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3216 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3217 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3218 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3221 @vindex gnus-delete-supersedes-headers
3222 You probably want to delete some of the old headers before sending the
3223 superseding article---@code{Path} and @code{Date} are probably
3224 incorrect. Set @code{gnus-delete-supersedes-headers} to a regexp to
3225 match the lines you want removed. The default is
3226 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date}.
3228 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3229 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3230 have posted almost the same article twice.
3232 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3233 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3234 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3235 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*post-buf*}). There you will
3236 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3237 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3238 header by substituting one of those words for @code{Message-ID}. Then
3239 just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as you would do normally.
3240 The previous article will be canceled/superseded.
3242 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3245 @node Marking Articles
3246 @section Marking Articles
3247 @cindex article marking
3248 @cindex article ticking
3251 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3253 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readed-ness} (whoo, neato-keano
3254 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3255 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3257 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3260 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3261 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3262 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3266 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3270 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3271 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3275 @node Unread Articles
3276 @subsection Unread Articles
3278 The following marks mark articles as unread, in one form or other.
3280 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3281 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3284 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3285 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3286 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3287 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3288 article forever, you'll have to save it. Ticked articles have a
3289 @samp{!} (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}) in the first column.
3292 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3293 A @dfn{dormant} article is marked with a @samp{?}
3294 (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}), and will only appear in the summary buffer
3295 if there are followups to it.
3298 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3299 An @dfn{unread} article is marked with a @samp{SPACE}
3300 (@code{gnus-unread-mark}). These are articles that haven't been read at
3306 @subsection Read Articles
3307 @cindex expirable mark
3309 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3314 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3315 Articles that are marked as read. They have a @samp{r}
3316 (@code{gnus-del-mark}) in the first column. These are articles that the
3317 user has marked as read more or less manually.
3320 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3321 Articles that are actually read are marked with @samp{R}
3322 (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3325 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3326 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions are now
3327 @dfn{old} and marked with @samp{O} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3330 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3331 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3334 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3335 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3338 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
3339 Marked as read by having a too low score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
3342 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
3343 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
3346 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
3347 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
3350 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
3351 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}).
3354 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
3355 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}).
3358 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
3359 They are interpreted differently by the adaptive scoring scheme,
3362 One more special mark, though:
3366 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
3367 You can also mark articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as
3368 such automatically). That doesn't make much sense in normal groups,
3369 because a user does not control the expiring of news articles, but in
3370 mail groups, for instance, articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable}
3371 can be deleted by Gnus at any time. Expirable articles are marked with
3372 @samp{E} (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
3377 @subsection Other Marks
3378 @cindex process mark
3381 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
3387 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
3388 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
3389 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
3390 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
3391 encounters the article.
3394 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
3395 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
3396 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
3397 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
3400 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
3401 Articles that are stored in the article cache will be marked with an
3402 @samp{*} in the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}).
3405 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
3406 Articles that are ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
3407 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
3408 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}.
3411 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
3412 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
3413 It the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
3414 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
3415 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
3418 @vindex gnus-process-mark
3419 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}. A
3420 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
3421 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
3422 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
3423 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
3427 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
3428 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
3429 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
3431 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
3432 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
3433 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
3437 @subsection Setting Marks
3438 @cindex setting marks
3440 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
3446 @kindex M t (Summary)
3447 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
3448 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
3453 @kindex M ? (Summary)
3454 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
3455 Mark the current article as dormant
3456 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}).
3460 @kindex M d (Summary)
3462 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
3463 Mark the current article as read
3464 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
3469 @kindex M k (Summary)
3470 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
3471 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
3472 and then select the next unread article
3473 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
3477 @kindex M K (Summary)
3478 @kindex C-k (Summary)
3479 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
3480 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
3481 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
3484 @kindex M C (Summary)
3485 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
3486 Mark all unread articles in the group as read
3487 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
3490 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
3491 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
3492 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
3493 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
3496 @kindex M H (Summary)
3497 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
3498 Catchup the current group to point
3499 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
3502 @kindex C-w (Summary)
3503 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
3504 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
3505 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
3508 @kindex M V k (Summary)
3509 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
3510 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
3511 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
3515 @kindex M c (Summary)
3516 @kindex M-u (Summary)
3517 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
3518 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
3519 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}).
3523 @kindex M e (Summary)
3525 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
3526 Mark the current article as expirable
3527 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
3530 @kindex M b (Summary)
3531 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
3532 Set a bookmark in the current article
3533 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
3536 @kindex M B (Summary)
3537 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
3538 Remove the bookmark from the current article
3539 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
3542 @kindex M V c (Summary)
3543 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
3544 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
3545 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
3548 @kindex M V u (Summary)
3549 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
3550 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
3551 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
3554 @kindex M V m (Summary)
3555 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
3556 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
3557 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
3558 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
3561 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
3562 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
3563 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
3564 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
3565 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
3566 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
3567 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
3568 The default is @code{t}.
3571 @node Setting Process Marks
3572 @subsection Setting Process Marks
3573 @cindex setting process marks
3580 @kindex M P p (Summary)
3581 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
3582 Mark the current article with the process mark
3583 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
3584 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
3588 @kindex M P u (Summary)
3589 @kindex M-# (Summary)
3590 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
3591 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
3594 @kindex M P U (Summary)
3595 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
3596 Remove the process mark from all articles
3597 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
3600 @kindex M P R (Summary)
3601 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
3602 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
3605 @kindex M P r (Summary)
3606 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
3607 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
3610 @kindex M P t (Summary)
3611 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
3612 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
3613 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
3616 @kindex M P T (Summary)
3617 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
3618 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
3619 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
3622 @kindex M P v (Summary)
3623 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
3624 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
3625 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
3628 @kindex M P s (Summary)
3629 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
3630 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
3633 @kindex M P S (Summary)
3634 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
3635 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
3636 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
3639 @kindex M P a (Summary)
3640 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
3641 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
3644 @kindex M P b (Summary)
3645 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
3646 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
3647 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
3655 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
3656 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
3657 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
3664 @kindex / / (Summary)
3665 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
3666 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
3667 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
3670 @kindex / a (Summary)
3671 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
3672 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
3673 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
3677 @kindex / u (Summary)
3679 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
3680 Limit the summary buffer to articles that are not marked as read
3681 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
3682 buffer to articles that are strictly unread. This means that ticked and
3683 dormant articles will also be excluded.
3686 @kindex / m (Summary)
3687 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
3688 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
3689 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
3692 @kindex / n (Summary)
3693 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
3694 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
3695 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
3696 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3699 @kindex / w (Summary)
3700 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
3701 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
3702 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
3706 @kindex / v (Summary)
3707 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
3708 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
3709 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
3713 @kindex M S (Summary)
3714 @kindex / E (Summary)
3715 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
3716 Display all expunged articles
3717 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
3720 @kindex / D (Summary)
3721 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
3722 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
3725 @kindex / d (Summary)
3726 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
3727 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
3730 @kindex / c (Summary)
3731 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
3732 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
3733 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
3736 @kindex / C (Summary)
3737 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
3738 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
3739 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
3740 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
3748 @cindex article threading
3750 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put replies to
3751 articles directly after the articles they reply to---in a hierarchical
3755 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
3756 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
3760 @node Customizing Threading
3761 @subsection Customizing Threading
3762 @cindex customizing threading
3768 @item gnus-show-threads
3769 @vindex gnus-show-threads
3770 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
3771 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
3772 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
3773 slower and more awkward.
3775 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
3776 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
3777 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
3778 more old headers---headers to articles that are marked as read. If you
3779 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
3780 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
3781 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
3782 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
3783 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
3784 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
3785 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
3786 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
3788 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
3789 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
3790 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
3791 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
3792 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
3793 articles that belong in the same thread together. This will leave
3794 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
3795 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
3796 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
3797 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
3798 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
3799 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
3800 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
3801 @code{nil} by default.
3803 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
3804 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
3805 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
3806 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
3807 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
3808 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
3809 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subjects lines. If
3810 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
3811 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
3812 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
3813 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
3815 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
3816 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
3817 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects.
3819 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
3820 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
3821 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
3822 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
3823 simplification is used.
3825 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
3826 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
3827 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
3828 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
3830 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
3832 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
3835 (mapconcat 'identity
3837 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
3838 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
3839 "answer" "reference" "announce"
3840 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
3845 (mapconcat 'identity
3846 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
3848 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
3851 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
3854 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
3855 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
3856 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
3857 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
3858 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
3859 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
3860 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process. The
3861 default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
3863 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
3864 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
3865 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
3866 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
3867 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
3868 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
3869 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever includes unrelated
3870 articles, but it's also means that people who have posted with broken
3871 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
3875 @item gnus-summary-gather-threads-by-subject
3876 @findex gnus-summary-gather-threads-by-subject
3877 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
3878 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
3880 @item gnus-summary-gather-threads-by-references
3881 @findex gnus-summary-gather-threads-by-references
3882 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
3885 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
3889 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
3890 'gnus-summary-gather-threads-by-references)
3893 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
3894 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
3895 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
3896 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
3897 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
3898 read or killed the root in a previous session.
3900 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
3901 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
3902 There are four possible values:
3904 @cindex adopting articles
3909 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
3910 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
3911 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
3912 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
3915 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
3916 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
3917 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
3918 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
3919 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
3920 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
3921 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
3924 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
3925 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
3926 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
3930 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
3931 display them after one another.
3934 Don't gather loose threads.
3937 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
3938 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
3939 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
3942 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
3943 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
3944 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
3947 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
3948 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
3949 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
3950 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
3951 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
3954 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
3955 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
3956 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
3957 The default is @code{4}.
3961 @node Thread Commands
3962 @subsection Thread Commands
3963 @cindex thread commands
3969 @kindex T k (Summary)
3970 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
3971 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
3972 Mark all articles in the current sub-thread as read
3973 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
3974 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
3979 @kindex T l (Summary)
3980 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
3981 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
3982 Lower the score of the current thread
3983 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
3986 @kindex T i (Summary)
3987 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
3988 Increase the score of the current thread
3989 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
3992 @kindex T # (Summary)
3993 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
3994 Set the process mark on the current thread
3995 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
3998 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
3999 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4000 Remove the process mark from the current thread
4001 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4004 @kindex T T (Summary)
4005 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4006 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4009 @kindex T s (Summary)
4010 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4011 Expose the thread hidden under the current article, if any
4012 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4015 @kindex T h (Summary)
4016 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4017 Hide the current (sub)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4020 @kindex T S (Summary)
4021 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4022 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4025 @kindex T H (Summary)
4026 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4027 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4030 @kindex T t (Summary)
4031 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4032 Re-thread the thread the current article is part of
4033 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4034 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4037 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4038 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4039 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4040 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}.
4044 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4045 understand the numeric prefix.
4050 @kindex T n (Summary)
4051 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4052 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4055 @kindex T p (Summary)
4056 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4057 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4060 @kindex T d (Summary)
4061 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4062 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4065 @kindex T u (Summary)
4066 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4067 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4070 @kindex T o (Summary)
4071 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4072 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4075 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4076 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4077 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4078 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4079 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4080 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4081 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If is
4082 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4083 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4084 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4085 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4086 that have subjects that are fuzzily equal will be included.
4089 @node Asynchronous Fetching
4090 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
4091 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
4093 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
4094 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
4095 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
4096 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
4097 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
4099 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
4100 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
4102 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
4103 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
4104 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
4105 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
4106 connection is blocked.
4108 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
4109 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
4110 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
4111 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
4113 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
4114 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
4115 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
4116 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
4119 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
4122 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
4123 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
4124 happen automatically.
4126 @vindex nntp-async-number
4127 You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
4128 @code{nntp-async-number}. This is five by default, which means that when
4129 you read an article in the group, @code{nntp} will pre-fetch the next
4130 five articles. If this variable is @code{t}, @code{nntp} will pre-fetch
4131 all the articles that it can without bound. If it is @code{nil}, no
4132 pre-fetching will be made.
4134 @vindex gnus-asynchronous-article-function
4135 You may wish to create some sort of scheme for choosing which articles
4136 that @code{nntp} should consider as candidates for pre-fetching. For
4137 instance, you may wish to pre-fetch all articles with high scores, and
4138 not pre-fetch low-scored articles. You can do that by setting the
4139 @code{gnus-asynchronous-article-function}, which will be called with an
4140 alist where the keys are the article numbers. Your function should
4141 return an alist where the articles you are not interested in have been
4142 removed. You could also do sorting on article score and the like.
4145 @node Article Caching
4146 @section Article Caching
4147 @cindex article caching
4150 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
4151 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
4152 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
4153 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
4154 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
4156 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
4158 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4159 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
4160 @vindex gnus-use-cache
4161 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
4162 all articles that are ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
4163 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
4164 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
4165 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
4167 When re-select a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
4168 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
4169 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
4170 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
4171 as dormant, and don't worry.
4173 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
4175 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
4176 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
4177 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
4178 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
4179 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
4180 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
4181 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
4182 articles that are marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
4183 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
4184 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
4186 @findex gnus-jog-cache
4187 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
4188 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
4189 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, and store them in
4190 the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if 1)
4191 your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really, really slow
4192 and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk. Seriously.
4194 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
4195 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
4196 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
4197 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
4198 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
4199 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
4200 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
4203 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
4204 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
4205 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
4206 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
4207 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
4208 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
4209 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
4210 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
4211 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
4215 @node Persistent Articles
4216 @section Persistent Articles
4217 @cindex persistent articles
4219 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
4220 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
4221 useful in my opinion.
4223 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
4224 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
4225 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
4226 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
4227 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
4228 the expiry going on at the news server.
4230 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
4231 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
4232 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
4238 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
4239 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
4242 @kindex M-* (Summary)
4243 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
4244 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
4245 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
4249 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
4251 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
4252 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
4253 interested in persistent articles:
4256 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
4260 @node Article Backlog
4261 @section Article Backlog
4263 @cindex article backlog
4265 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
4266 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
4267 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
4268 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
4269 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
4270 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
4271 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
4272 increase memory usage some.
4274 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
4275 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
4276 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
4277 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
4278 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will group without
4279 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
4280 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
4282 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
4285 @node Saving Articles
4286 @section Saving Articles
4287 @cindex saving articles
4289 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
4290 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
4291 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
4292 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
4293 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
4295 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
4296 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
4297 unwanted headers before saving the article.
4299 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
4300 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
4301 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
4302 deleted before saving.
4308 @kindex O o (Summary)
4310 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
4311 Save the current article using the default article saver
4312 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
4315 @kindex O m (Summary)
4316 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
4317 Save the current article in mail format
4318 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
4321 @kindex O r (Summary)
4322 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
4323 Save the current article in rmail format
4324 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
4327 @kindex O f (Summary)
4328 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
4329 Save the current article in plain file format
4330 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
4333 @kindex O b (Summary)
4334 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
4335 Save the current article body in plain file format
4336 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
4339 @kindex O h (Summary)
4340 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
4341 Save the current article in mh folder format
4342 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
4345 @kindex O p (Summary)
4346 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
4347 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
4348 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
4351 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
4352 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
4353 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
4354 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
4355 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
4356 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
4357 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
4358 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
4359 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
4360 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
4361 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
4362 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
4366 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
4367 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
4368 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
4369 functions below, or you can create your own.
4373 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
4374 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
4375 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
4376 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
4377 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
4378 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4379 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
4381 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
4382 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
4383 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
4384 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
4385 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4386 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
4388 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
4389 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
4390 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
4391 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
4392 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
4393 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4394 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
4396 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
4397 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
4398 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
4399 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4400 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
4402 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
4403 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
4404 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
4405 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
4406 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
4409 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
4410 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
4411 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
4412 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
4413 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}. The former creates capitilized names, and
4414 the latter does not.
4416 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
4417 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
4418 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
4419 reader to use this setting.
4422 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
4423 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
4424 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
4425 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
4428 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
4429 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
4430 available functions that generate names:
4434 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
4435 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
4436 Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
4438 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
4439 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
4440 Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
4442 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
4443 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
4444 Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
4446 @item gnus-plain-save-name
4447 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
4448 Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
4451 @vindex gnus-split-methods
4452 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking regexp into
4453 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
4454 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
4455 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
4459 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
4460 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
4461 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
4462 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
4465 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
4466 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
4467 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
4468 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function); or it
4469 can be a list (which will be @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions
4470 have a non-@code{nil} result, the @dfn{file} will be used as a default
4471 prompt. In addition, the result of the operation itself will be used if
4472 the function or form called returns a string or a list of strings.
4474 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
4475 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
4476 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
4477 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
4479 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
4480 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
4481 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
4484 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4485 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
4486 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
4487 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
4488 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
4489 all the files in the toplevel directory
4490 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
4491 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
4492 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
4493 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
4495 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
4496 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
4497 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
4498 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
4499 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
4502 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
4506 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
4507 (setq gnus-default-article-save 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
4510 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
4511 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
4512 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
4513 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
4516 @node Decoding Articles
4517 @section Decoding Articles
4518 @cindex decoding articles
4520 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
4521 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
4524 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
4525 * Shared Articles:: Unshar articles.
4526 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
4527 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
4528 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
4531 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
4532 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
4533 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
4534 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
4535 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
4537 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
4538 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
4539 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
4541 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
4542 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
4543 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
4545 Subjects that are nonstandard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
4546 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
4547 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
4550 @node Uuencoded Articles
4551 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
4553 @cindex uuencoded articles
4558 @kindex X u (Summary)
4559 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
4560 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
4563 @kindex X U (Summary)
4564 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
4565 Uudecodes and saves the current series
4566 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
4569 @kindex X v u (Summary)
4570 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
4571 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
4574 @kindex X v U (Summary)
4575 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
4576 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
4577 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
4580 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
4581 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to uncode and save an
4582 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
4583 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
4584 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
4586 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
4587 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
4588 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
4589 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
4592 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
4593 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
4594 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
4595 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
4596 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
4597 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
4601 @node Shared Articles
4602 @subsection Shared Articles
4604 @cindex shared articles
4609 @kindex X s (Summary)
4610 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
4611 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
4614 @kindex X S (Summary)
4615 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
4616 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
4619 @kindex X v s (Summary)
4620 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
4621 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
4624 @kindex X v S (Summary)
4625 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
4626 Unshars, views and saves the current series
4627 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
4631 @node PostScript Files
4632 @subsection PostScript Files
4638 @kindex X p (Summary)
4639 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
4640 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
4643 @kindex X P (Summary)
4644 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
4645 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
4646 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
4649 @kindex X v p (Summary)
4650 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
4651 View the current PostScript series
4652 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
4655 @kindex X v P (Summary)
4656 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
4657 View and save the current PostScript series
4658 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
4662 @node Decoding Variables
4663 @subsection Decoding Variables
4665 Adjective, not verb.
4668 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
4669 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
4670 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
4674 @node Rule Variables
4675 @subsubsection Rule Variables
4676 @cindex rule variables
4678 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
4679 variables are on the form
4682 (list '(regexp1 command2)
4689 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
4690 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
4692 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
4693 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
4696 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
4697 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
4700 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
4701 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
4702 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
4703 user and default view rules.
4705 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
4706 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
4707 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
4712 @node Other Decode Variables
4713 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
4716 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
4718 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
4719 All functions in this list will be called right each file has been
4720 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
4721 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
4722 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
4726 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
4727 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
4730 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
4731 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
4732 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
4735 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
4736 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
4737 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
4739 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
4740 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
4741 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
4742 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
4743 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
4746 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
4747 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
4748 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
4750 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
4751 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
4752 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
4753 looking for files to display.
4755 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
4756 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
4757 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
4760 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
4761 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
4762 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
4765 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
4766 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
4767 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
4770 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
4771 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
4772 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
4775 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
4776 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
4777 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark articles that were
4778 unsuccessfully decoded as unread.
4780 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
4781 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
4782 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
4783 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
4785 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
4786 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
4788 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
4789 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
4790 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
4791 @code{metamail} for viewing.
4793 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
4794 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
4795 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
4796 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
4797 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
4798 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
4799 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
4800 simply dropped them.
4805 @node Uuencoding and Posting
4806 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
4810 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
4811 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
4812 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
4813 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
4814 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
4815 for you when you post the article.
4817 @item gnus-uu-post-length
4818 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
4819 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
4820 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
4822 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
4823 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
4824 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
4825 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen are able
4826 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
4827 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
4828 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
4830 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
4831 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
4832 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
4833 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
4834 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
4835 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
4836 Default is @code{t}.
4842 @subsection Viewing Files
4843 @cindex viewing files
4844 @cindex pseudo-articles
4846 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
4847 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
4848 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
4849 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
4850 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
4851 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
4852 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
4854 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
4855 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
4856 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
4857 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
4859 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
4860 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
4861 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
4863 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
4864 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
4865 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
4866 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
4867 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
4869 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
4870 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
4871 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
4872 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
4873 a list of parameters to that command.
4875 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
4876 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
4877 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
4879 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
4880 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
4881 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
4884 @node Article Treatment
4885 @section Article Treatment
4887 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
4888 object of newsreaders are to actually, like, read what people have
4889 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
4890 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
4891 these articles easier.
4894 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
4895 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
4896 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
4897 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
4898 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
4902 @node Article Highlighting
4903 @subsection Article Highlighting
4906 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
4907 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
4912 @kindex W H a (Summary)
4913 @findex gnus-article-highlight
4914 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
4917 @kindex W H h (Summary)
4918 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
4919 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
4920 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
4921 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
4922 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
4923 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
4924 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
4925 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
4926 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
4927 prepended---Gnus will add one.
4930 @kindex W H c (Summary)
4931 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
4932 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
4934 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
4937 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
4939 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
4940 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
4941 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
4943 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
4944 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
4945 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
4947 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
4948 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
4949 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
4951 @item gnus-cite-face-list
4952 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
4953 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
4954 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
4955 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
4958 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
4959 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
4960 Regexp matching normal SuperCite attribution lines.
4962 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
4963 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
4964 Regexp matching mangled SuperCite attribution lines.
4966 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
4967 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
4968 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
4969 that it's a citation.
4971 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
4972 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
4973 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
4975 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
4976 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
4977 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
4979 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
4980 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
4981 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
4982 cited text belonging to the attribution.
4988 @kindex W H s (Summary)
4989 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
4990 @vindex gnus-signature-face
4991 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
4992 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
4993 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} in an article will be
4994 considered a signature and will be highlighted with
4995 @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by default.
5000 @node Article Hiding
5001 @subsection Article Hiding
5002 @cindex article hiding
5004 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
5005 too much cruft in most articles.
5010 @kindex W W a (Summary)
5011 @findex gnus-article-hide
5012 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
5015 @kindex W W h (Summary)
5016 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
5017 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
5021 @kindex W W b (Summary)
5022 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
5023 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
5024 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
5027 @kindex W W s (Summary)
5028 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
5029 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}).
5032 @kindex W W p (Summary)
5033 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
5034 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
5037 @kindex W W c (Summary)
5038 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
5039 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
5040 customizing the hiding:
5044 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5045 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5046 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
5047 50), hide the cited text.
5049 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5050 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5051 The cited text must be have at least this length (default 10) before it
5054 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5055 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5056 Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
5057 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
5058 by this format-like variable. These specs are legal:
5062 Start point of the hidden text.
5064 End point of the hidden text.
5066 Length of the hidden text.
5069 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
5070 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
5071 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
5076 @kindex W W C (Summary)
5077 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
5078 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
5079 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
5080 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
5081 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
5085 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
5086 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
5087 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
5089 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
5090 citation customization.
5092 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
5093 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
5094 signature. If it is a number, no signature may not be longer (in
5095 characters) than that number. If it is a function, the function will be
5096 called without any parameters, and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no
5097 signature in the buffer. If it is a string, it will be used as a
5098 regexp. If it matches, the text in question is not a signature.
5101 @node Article Washing
5102 @subsection Article Washing
5104 @cindex article washing
5106 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
5107 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
5109 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
5110 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
5116 @kindex W l (Summary)
5117 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
5118 Remove page breaks from the current article
5119 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
5122 @kindex W r (Summary)
5123 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
5124 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
5125 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
5128 @kindex A g (Summary)
5129 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5130 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5131 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5132 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5133 the way it came from the server.
5136 @kindex W t (Summary)
5137 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
5138 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
5139 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
5142 @kindex W v (Summary)
5143 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
5144 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
5145 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
5148 @kindex W m (Summary)
5149 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
5150 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
5151 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
5154 @kindex W o (Summary)
5155 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
5156 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
5159 @kindex W w (Summary)
5160 @findex gnus-article-word-wrap
5161 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-word-wrap}).
5164 @kindex W c (Summary)
5165 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
5166 Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
5169 @kindex W L (Summary)
5170 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
5171 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
5172 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
5175 @kindex W q (Summary)
5176 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
5177 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
5180 @kindex W f (Summary)
5182 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
5183 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
5184 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
5185 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
5186 Look for and display any X-Face headers
5187 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
5188 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If
5189 this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell.
5190 If it is a function, this function will be called with the face as the
5191 argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp)
5192 matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
5195 @kindex W b (Summary)
5196 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
5197 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
5200 @kindex W B (Summary)
5201 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
5202 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
5203 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
5208 @node Article Buttons
5209 @subsection Article Buttons
5212 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
5213 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
5214 with the minimum of fuzz.
5216 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
5217 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
5218 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
5223 @item gnus-button-alist
5224 @vindex gnus-button-alist
5225 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
5228 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5234 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
5235 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that match embedded URLs:
5236 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
5239 Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
5240 a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
5241 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use @code{0} here.
5244 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
5245 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
5246 avoid false matches.
5249 This function will be called when you click on this button.
5252 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
5253 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
5257 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
5260 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
5263 @item gnus-header-button-alist
5264 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
5265 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
5266 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
5267 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
5270 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5273 @var{header} is a regular expression.
5275 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
5276 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
5277 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
5278 default values of the variables above.
5280 @item gnus-article-button-face
5281 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
5282 Face used on bottons.
5284 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
5285 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
5286 Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
5292 @subsection Article Date
5294 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
5295 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
5296 when the article was sent.
5301 @kindex W T u (Summary)
5302 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
5303 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
5304 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
5307 @kindex W T l (Summary)
5308 @findex gnus-article-date-local
5309 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
5312 @kindex W T e (Summary)
5313 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
5314 Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and now
5315 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
5318 @kindex W T o (Summary)
5319 @findex gnus-article-date-original
5320 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
5321 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
5322 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
5323 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
5324 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
5329 @node Summary Sorting
5330 @section Summary Sorting
5331 @cindex summary sorting
5333 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
5334 can't really see why you'd want that.
5339 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
5340 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
5341 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
5344 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
5345 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
5346 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
5349 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
5350 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
5351 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
5354 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
5355 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
5356 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
5359 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
5360 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
5361 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
5364 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
5365 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
5366 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
5367 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
5368 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
5372 @node Finding the Parent
5373 @section Finding the Parent
5374 @cindex parent articles
5375 @cindex referring articles
5377 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
5379 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
5380 displayed in the article buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
5381 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
5382 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
5383 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
5384 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
5385 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
5386 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
5388 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
5389 @kindex A R (Summary)
5390 You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
5391 header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
5392 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
5394 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
5395 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
5396 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
5397 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
5398 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
5399 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long thingies that look
5400 something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You have to get
5401 it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
5403 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
5404 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
5405 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
5406 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
5407 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the same
5408 as the one that keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's
5409 not really necessary.
5411 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
5412 not do a particularly excellent job of it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
5413 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
5414 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
5415 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
5416 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
5419 @node Alternative Approaches
5420 @section Alternative Approaches
5422 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
5423 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
5426 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
5427 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
5432 @subsection Pick and Read
5433 @cindex pick and read
5435 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{nn}) use a two-phased
5436 reading interface. The user first marks the articles she wants to read
5437 from a summary buffer. Then she starts reading the articles with just
5438 an article buffer displayed.
5440 @findex gnus-pick-mode
5441 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
5442 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
5443 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
5444 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
5445 it makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
5448 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
5452 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
5453 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5454 Pick the article (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5458 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5459 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5463 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5464 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5468 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5469 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5473 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5474 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5478 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5479 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5483 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5484 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5488 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-regexp
5489 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-regexp}).
5493 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-regexp
5494 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-regexp}).
5498 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5499 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5503 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
5504 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
5508 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
5509 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
5510 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
5511 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
5512 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
5513 will still be visible when you are reading.
5517 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
5520 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
5523 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
5524 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
5528 @subsection Binary Groups
5529 @cindex binary groups
5531 @findex gnus-binary-mode
5532 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
5533 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
5534 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
5535 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
5536 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
5537 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
5540 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
5541 In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned this
5542 mode on is the @kbd{g} command (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
5544 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
5545 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
5549 @section Tree Display
5552 @vindex gnus-use-trees
5553 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
5554 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
5555 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
5558 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
5561 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
5562 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
5563 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
5565 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
5566 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
5567 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
5568 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of legal specs, @pxref{Summary
5571 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
5572 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
5573 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
5574 default is @code{modeline}.
5576 @item gnus-tree-line-format
5577 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
5578 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
5579 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
5580 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
5581 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
5582 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
5588 The name of the poster.
5590 The @code{From} header.
5592 The number of the article.
5594 The opening bracket.
5596 The closing bracket.
5601 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5603 Variables related to the display are:
5606 @item gnus-tree-brackets
5607 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
5608 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
5609 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
5610 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
5611 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
5613 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
5614 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
5615 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
5616 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
5620 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
5621 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
5622 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
5623 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
5624 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
5625 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}.
5627 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
5628 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
5629 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
5630 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
5631 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
5632 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
5633 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
5637 Here's and example from a horizontal tree buffer:
5640 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
5650 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
5654 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
5655 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
5657 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
5659 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
5665 @node Mail Group Commands
5666 @section Mail Group Commands
5667 @cindex mail group commands
5669 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
5670 illegal in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
5672 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
5673 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5678 @kindex B e (Summary)
5679 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
5680 Expire all expirable articles in the group
5681 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
5684 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
5685 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
5686 Expunge all the expirable articles in the group
5687 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
5688 articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
5689 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
5692 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
5693 @findex gnus-summary-delete-articles
5694 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
5695 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
5696 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
5699 @kindex B m (Summary)
5701 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
5702 Move the article from one mail group to another
5703 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
5706 @kindex B c (Summary)
5708 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
5709 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
5710 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
5713 @kindex B C (Summary)
5714 @cindex crosspost mail
5715 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
5716 Crosspost the current article to some other group
5717 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
5718 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
5719 be properly updated.
5722 @kindex B i (Summary)
5723 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
5724 Import a random file into the current mail newsgroup
5725 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
5726 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
5728 Something similar can be done by just starting to compose a mail
5729 message. Instead of typing @kbd{C-c C-c} to mail it off, you can type
5730 @kbd{C-c M-C-p} instead. This will put the message you have just created
5731 into the current mail group.
5734 @kindex B r (Summary)
5735 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
5736 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
5740 @kindex B w (Summary)
5742 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
5743 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
5744 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
5745 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
5746 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
5749 @kindex B q (Summary)
5750 @findex gnus-summary-fancy-query
5751 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
5752 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
5753 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-fancy-query}).
5756 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
5757 @cindex moving articles
5758 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
5759 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
5760 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
5761 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
5762 suggestions you find reasonable.
5765 @node Various Summary Stuff
5766 @section Various Summary Stuff
5769 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
5770 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
5771 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
5775 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
5776 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
5777 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
5779 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
5780 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
5781 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
5782 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
5783 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
5784 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
5787 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
5788 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
5789 Is is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
5790 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
5791 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
5796 @node Summary Group Information
5797 @subsection Summary Group Information
5802 @kindex H f (Summary)
5803 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
5804 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
5805 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
5806 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
5807 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
5808 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
5809 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
5810 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} probably will be used for
5814 @kindex H d (Summary)
5815 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
5816 Give a brief description of the current group
5817 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
5818 rereading the description from the server.
5821 @kindex H h (Summary)
5822 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
5823 Give a very brief description of the most important summary keystrokes
5824 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
5827 @kindex H i (Summary)
5828 @findex gnus-info-find-node
5829 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
5833 @node Searching for Articles
5834 @subsection Searching for Articles
5839 @kindex M-s (Summary)
5840 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
5841 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
5842 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
5845 @kindex M-r (Summary)
5846 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
5847 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
5848 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
5852 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
5853 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
5854 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
5855 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}).
5858 @kindex M-& (Summary)
5859 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
5860 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
5861 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
5865 @node Really Various Summary Commands
5866 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
5871 @kindex A D (Summary)
5872 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
5873 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
5874 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
5875 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
5876 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
5877 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
5878 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
5879 some format, you @kbd{A D} and read these messages in a more convenient
5883 @kindex C-t (Summary)
5884 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
5885 Toggle truncation of summary lines (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}).
5889 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
5890 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
5891 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
5895 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
5896 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
5897 @cindex summary exit
5898 @cindex exiting groups
5900 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
5901 group and return you to the group buffer.
5907 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
5909 @findex gnus-summary-exit
5910 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
5911 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
5912 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
5913 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
5914 called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
5915 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
5916 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
5921 @kindex Z E (Summary)
5923 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
5924 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
5925 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
5929 @kindex Z c (Summary)
5931 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
5932 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
5933 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
5936 @kindex Z C (Summary)
5937 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
5938 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
5939 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
5942 @kindex Z n (Summary)
5943 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
5944 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
5945 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
5948 @kindex Z R (Summary)
5949 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
5950 Exit this group, and then enter it again
5951 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
5952 all articles, both read and unread.
5956 @kindex Z G (Summary)
5957 @kindex M-g (Summary)
5958 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
5959 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
5960 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
5961 articles, both read and unread.
5964 @kindex Z N (Summary)
5965 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
5966 Exit the group and go to the next group
5967 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
5970 @kindex Z P (Summary)
5971 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
5972 Exit the group and go to the previous group
5973 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
5976 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
5977 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
5980 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
5981 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
5982 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
5983 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
5984 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
5985 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
5986 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
5987 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
5988 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
5989 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
5990 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
5991 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
5993 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
5995 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
5996 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
5997 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
5998 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
5999 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
6000 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
6001 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
6002 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
6003 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups.
6007 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
6008 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
6009 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
6010 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
6011 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
6014 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
6015 separately to several groups is not.
6017 @cindex cross-posting
6020 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
6021 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
6022 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
6023 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
6024 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
6025 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
6026 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
6027 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
6028 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
6029 the cross reference mechanism.
6031 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
6032 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
6033 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
6039 @node The Article Buffer
6040 @chapter The Article Buffer
6041 @cindex article buffer
6043 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
6044 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
6045 tell Gnus otherwise.
6048 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
6049 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
6050 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
6051 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer
6052 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
6056 @node Hiding Headers
6057 @section Hiding Headers
6058 @cindex hiding headers
6059 @cindex deleting headers
6061 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
6062 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
6064 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
6065 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
6066 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
6067 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
6068 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
6069 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
6070 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
6071 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
6072 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
6074 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
6078 @item gnus-visible-headers
6079 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
6080 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
6081 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
6082 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
6084 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
6085 the article and the subject, you'd say:
6088 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
6091 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6094 @item gnus-ignored-headers
6095 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
6096 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
6097 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
6098 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
6099 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
6101 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
6102 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
6105 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
6108 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6111 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
6112 variable will have no effect.
6116 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
6117 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
6118 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
6119 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
6120 the headers are to be displayed.
6122 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
6123 and then the subject, you might say something like:
6126 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
6129 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
6130 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers that
6131 are listed in this variable.
6133 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6134 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
6135 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
6136 You can hide further boring headers by entering
6137 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
6138 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
6139 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
6140 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
6141 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
6143 These conditions are:
6146 Remove all empty headers.
6148 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
6151 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
6152 @code{Newsgroups} header.
6154 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
6157 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
6161 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
6164 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
6165 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
6168 This is also the default value for this variable.
6172 @section Using @sc{mime}
6175 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
6176 while people stand around yawning.
6178 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
6179 while all newsreaders die of fear.
6181 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
6182 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
6183 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
6185 @vindex gnus-show-mime
6186 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
6187 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
6188 @findex metamail-buffer
6189 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by shoving the articles through
6190 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
6191 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
6192 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
6193 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
6194 @sc{mime} headers in the article.
6196 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
6197 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
6198 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
6199 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
6200 comes streaming out out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
6201 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
6202 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
6203 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
6204 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
6206 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
6209 @node Customizing Articles
6210 @section Customizing Articles
6211 @cindex article customization
6213 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
6214 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
6215 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
6216 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
6218 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6219 By default it contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
6220 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
6221 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
6222 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
6223 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
6224 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
6227 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
6228 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
6229 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
6230 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
6231 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
6234 @node Article Keymap
6235 @section Article Keymap
6237 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
6238 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
6239 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
6240 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
6243 A few additional keystrokes are available:
6248 @kindex SPACE (Article)
6249 @findex gnus-article-next-page
6250 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
6253 @kindex DEL (Article)
6254 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
6255 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
6258 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
6259 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
6260 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
6261 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
6262 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
6265 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
6266 @findex gnus-article-mail
6267 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
6268 given a prefix, include the mail.
6272 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
6273 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
6274 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
6278 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
6279 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
6280 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
6283 @kindex TAB (Article)
6284 @findex gnus-article-next-button
6285 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}. This
6286 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
6289 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
6290 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
6291 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}.
6297 @section Misc Article
6301 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
6302 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
6303 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
6304 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
6307 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
6308 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
6309 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
6310 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
6311 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
6312 the contents of the article buffer.
6314 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
6315 @item gnus-article-display-hook
6316 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
6317 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
6318 hiding headers, and the like.
6320 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
6321 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
6322 Hook called in article mode buffers.
6324 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
6325 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
6326 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
6327 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts exactly the same
6328 format specifications as that variable.
6329 @vindex gnus-break-pages
6331 @item gnus-break-pages
6332 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
6333 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
6334 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
6335 paging will not be done.
6337 @item gnus-page-delimiter
6338 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
6339 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
6344 @node Composing Messages
6345 @chapter Composing Messages
6350 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
6351 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a post or mail
6352 buffer where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
6353 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. If you are in a foreign news group,
6354 and you wish to post the article using the foreign server, you can give
6355 a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c} to make Gnus try to post using the foreign
6359 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
6360 * Post:: Posting and following up.
6361 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
6362 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
6363 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
6364 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
6365 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
6366 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
6369 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
6370 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
6376 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
6379 @item gnus-reply-to-function
6380 @vindex gnus-reply-to-function
6381 Gnus uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go, but
6382 you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with this
6385 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
6386 @code{From} in the group @samp{mail.stupid-list}, you could do something
6390 (setq gnus-reply-to-function
6392 (cond ((string= group "mail.stupid-list")
6393 (mail-fetch-field "sender"))
6398 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
6401 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
6402 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
6403 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
6404 header will be used.
6406 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
6407 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
6408 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
6409 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
6410 the head of the outgoing mail.
6412 @item gnus-mail-send-method
6413 @vindex gnus-mail-send-method
6414 @vindex send-mail-function
6415 @findex sendmail-send-it
6416 This variable says how a mail should be mailed. It uses the function in
6417 the @code{send-mail-function} variable as the default, which usually is
6418 @code{sendmail-send-it}.
6420 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
6421 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
6422 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
6423 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
6425 @item gnus-mail-hook
6426 @vindex gnus-mail-hook
6427 Hook called as the last thing after setting up a mail buffer.
6429 @item gnus-required-mail-headers
6430 @vindex gnus-required-mail-headers
6432 Gnus will generate headers in all outgoing mail instead of letting
6433 @code{sendmail} do it for us. This makes it possible to do more neat
6434 stuff, like putting mail without sending it, do hairy @code{Fcc}
6435 handling, and much more. This variable controls what headers Gnus will
6436 generate, and is of the exact same form as @code{gnus-required-headers},
6437 which does the same for news articles (@pxref{Post}).
6440 The @code{Newsgroups} header is illegal in this list, while @code{To} is
6441 required, and @code{X-Mailer} can be added if you so should want.
6443 @vindex gnus-forward-start-separator
6444 @item gnus-forward-start-separator
6445 Delimiter inserted before forwarded messages.
6447 @vindex gnus-forward-end-separator
6448 @item gnus-forward-end-separator
6449 Delimiter inserted after forwarded messages.
6451 @vindex gnus-signature-before-forwarded-message
6452 @item gnus-signature-before-forwarded-message
6453 If this variable is @code{t}, which it is by default, your personal
6454 signature will be inserted before the forwarded message. If not, the
6455 forwarded message will be inserted first in the new mail.
6457 @item gnus-forward-included-headers
6458 @vindex gnus-forward-included-headers
6459 Regexp matching header lines to be included in forwarded messages. It
6460 uses the same regexp as @code{gnus-visible-headers} by default.
6464 @kindex C-c M-C-c (Mail)
6465 @kindex C-c M-C-p (Mail)
6466 @findex gnus-put-message
6467 You normally send a mail message by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. However,
6468 you may wish to just put the mail message you have just written in your
6469 own local mail group instead of sending it. Sounds quite unlikely, but
6470 I found that useful, so you can now also press @kbd{C-c M-C-p} to
6471 @dfn{put} the article in the current mail group, or, if there is no such
6472 thing, you will be prompted for a mail group, and then the article will
6473 be put there. This means that the article is @dfn{not} mailed.
6475 @findex gnus-kill-message-buffer
6476 @cindex kill mail buffer
6477 @kindex C-x k (Mail)
6478 @kindex C-x k (Post)
6479 If enter a mail (or post) buffer and then decide not to compose a
6480 message after all, you'd normally just kill the buffer with @kbd{C-x k}.
6481 However, since the mail and post buffers are associated with articles in
6482 the draft group, this will leave lots of rubbish articles in the draft
6483 group. To avoid that problem, kill mail and post buffer with @kbd{C-c
6484 C-k} (@code{gnus-kill-message-buffer}) instead. This will make sure
6485 that everything is properly cleaned up before the buffer is killed.
6487 @vindex gnus-mail-method
6488 There are three ``methods'' for handling all mail. The default is
6489 @code{sendmail}. Some people like what @code{mh} does better, and some
6490 people prefer @code{vm}. Set @code{gnus-mail-method} to the one you
6491 think is way koolest.
6493 Three variables for customizing what to use when:
6497 @vindex gnus-mail-reply-method
6498 @item gnus-mail-reply-method
6499 This function is used to compose replies. The three functions available
6502 @findex gnus-mail-reply-using-vm
6503 @findex gnus-mail-reply-using-mhe
6504 @findex gnus-mail-reply-using-mail
6507 @code{gnus-mail-reply-using-mail} (sendmail)
6509 @code{gnus-mail-reply-using-mhe} (mh)
6511 @code{gnus-mail-reply-using-vm} (vm)
6514 @vindex gnus-mail-forward-method
6515 @item gnus-mail-forward-method
6516 This function is used to forward messages. The three functions available
6519 @findex gnus-mail-forward-using-vm
6520 @findex gnus-mail-forward-using-mhe
6521 @findex gnus-mail-forward-using-mail
6524 @code{gnus-mail-forward-using-mail} (sendmail)
6526 @code{gnus-mail-forward-using-mhe} (mh)
6528 @code{gnus-mail-forward-using-vm} (vm)
6531 @vindex gnus-mail-other-window-method
6532 @item gnus-mail-other-window-method
6533 This function is used to send mails. The three functions available are:
6535 @findex gnus-mail-other-window-using-vm
6536 @findex gnus-mail-other-window-using-mhe
6537 @findex gnus-mail-other-window-using-mail
6540 @code{gnus-mail-other-window-using-mail} (sendmail)
6542 @code{gnus-mail-other-window-using-mhe} (mh)
6544 @code{gnus-mail-other-window-using-vm} (vm)
6553 Variables for composing news articles:
6555 @vindex gnus-required-headers
6556 @code{gnus-required-headers} a list of header symbols. These headers
6557 will either be automatically generated, or, if that's impossible, they
6558 will be prompted for. The following symbols are legal:
6564 @findex gnus-inews-user-name
6565 @vindex gnus-user-from-line
6566 @vindex gnus-user-login-name
6567 @vindex gnus-local-domain
6568 @vindex user-mail-address
6569 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
6570 @code{gnus-inews-user-name} function, which depends on the
6571 @code{gnus-user-from-line}, @code{gnus-user-login-name},
6572 @code{gnus-local-domain} and @code{user-mail-address} variables.
6576 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
6580 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
6581 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
6584 @cindex organization
6585 @vindex gnus-local-organization
6586 @vindex gnus-organization-file
6587 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
6588 @code{gnus-local-organization} variable. @code{gnus-organization-file}
6589 will be used if that variable is nil.
6593 This optional header will be computed by Gnus.
6597 This required header will be generated by Gnus. A unique ID will be
6598 created based on date, time, user name and system name.
6601 @cindex X-Newsreader
6602 This optional header will be filled out with the Gnus version numbers.
6605 @vindex gnus-article-expires
6607 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
6608 @code{gnus-article-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and
6609 shouldn't be used unless you know what you're doing.
6612 @cindex Distribution
6613 @findex gnus-distribution-function
6614 This optional header is filled out according to the
6615 @code{gnus-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and much
6616 misunderstood header.
6620 @vindex gnus-use-generic-path
6621 This extremely optional header should probably not ever be used.
6622 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
6623 present. @code{gnus-use-generic-path} further controls how this
6624 @code{Path} header is to look. If is is @code{nil}, the the server name
6625 as the leaf node. If is is a string, use the string. If it is neither
6626 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
6627 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
6631 @cindex Mime-Version
6632 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
6633 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
6634 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
6635 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
6636 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
6637 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
6638 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
6639 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
6640 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
6642 The list contains a cons where the car of the cons is @code{optional},
6643 the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is non-@code{nil}.
6645 Other variables for customizing outgoing articles:
6648 @item nntp-news-default-headers
6649 @vindex nntp-news-default-headers
6650 If non-@code{nil}, this variable will override
6651 @code{mail-default-headers} when posting. This variable should then be
6652 a string. This string will be inserted, as is, in the head of all
6655 @item gnus-use-followup-to
6656 @vindex gnus-use-followup-to
6657 If @code{nil}, always ignore the Followup-To header. If it is @code{t},
6658 use its value, but ignore the special value @samp{poster}, which will
6659 send the followup as a reply mail to the person you are responding to.
6660 If it is the symbol @code{ask}, query the user before posting.
6661 If it is the symbol @code{use}, always use the value.
6663 @item gnus-followup-to-function
6664 @vindex gnus-followup-to-function
6665 This variable is most useful in mail groups, where ``following up''
6666 really means sending a mail to a list address. Gnus uses the normal
6667 methods to determine where follow-ups are to go, but you can change the
6668 behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with this variable.
6670 If you want the followups to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
6671 @code{From} in the group @samp{mail.stupid-list}, you could do something
6675 (setq gnus-followup-to-function
6677 (cond ((string= group "mail.stupid-list")
6678 (mail-fetch-field "sender"))
6683 This function will be called narrowed to header of the article that is
6686 @item gnus-removable-headers
6687 @vindex gnus-removable-headers
6688 @cindex NNTP-Posting-Host
6689 Some headers that are generated are toxic to the @sc{nntp} server.
6690 These include the @code{NNTP-Posting-Host}, @code{Bcc} and @code{Xref},
6691 so these headers are deleted if they are present in this list of
6694 @item gnus-deletable-headers
6695 @vindex gnus-deletable-headers
6696 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Gnus will be
6697 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
6698 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
6699 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
6700 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
6701 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
6702 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
6703 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
6706 @item gnus-signature-function
6707 @vindex gnus-signature-function
6708 If non-@code{nil}, this variable should be a function that returns a
6709 signature file name. The function will be called with the name of the
6710 group being posted to. If the function returns a string that doesn't
6711 correspond to a file, the string itself is inserted. If the function
6712 returns @code{nil}, the @code{gnus-signature-file} variable will be used
6715 @item gnus-post-prepare-function
6716 @vindex gnus-post-prepare-function
6717 This function is called with the name of the current group after the
6718 post buffer has been initialized, and can be used for inserting a
6719 signature. Nice if you use different signatures in different groups.
6721 @item gnus-post-prepare-hook
6722 @vindex gnus-post-prepare-hook
6723 @findex gnus-inews-insert-signature
6724 This hook is called after a post buffer has been prepared. If you want
6725 to insert a signature at this point, you could put
6726 @code{gnus-inews-insert-signature} into this hook.
6728 @item news-reply-header-hook
6729 @vindex news-reply-header-hook
6730 A related variable when following up and replying is this variable,
6731 which inserts the @dfn{quote line}. The default value is:
6734 (defvar news-reply-header-hook
6736 (insert "In article " news-reply-yank-message-id
6737 " " news-reply-yank-from " writes:\n\n")))
6740 This will create lines like:
6743 In article <zngay8jrql@@eyesore.no> Lars Mars <lars@@eyesore.no> writes:
6746 Having the @code{Message-ID} in this line is probably overkill, so I
6747 would suggest this hook instead:
6750 (setq news-reply-header-hook
6751 (lambda () (insert news-reply-yank-from " writes:\n\n")))
6754 @item gnus-prepare-article-hook
6755 @vindex gnus-prepare-article-hook
6756 This hook is called before the headers have been prepared.
6758 @item gnus-inews-article-function
6759 @vindex gnus-inews-article-function
6760 This function is used to do the actual article processing and header
6761 checking/generation.
6763 @item gnus-inews-article-hook
6764 @vindex gnus-inews-article-hook
6765 This hook is called right before the article is posted. By default it
6766 handles FCC processing (i.e., saving the article to a file.) You can
6767 also have this hook add a score to all followups to the article you've
6768 written (@pxref{Followups To Yourself}).
6770 @item gnus-inews-article-header-hook
6771 @vindex gnus-inews-article-header-hook
6773 This hook is called after inserting the required headers in an article
6774 to be posted. The hook is called from the @code{*post-news*} buffer,
6775 narrowed to the head, and is intended for people who would like to
6776 insert additional headers, or just change headers in some way or other.
6778 @item gnus-check-before-posting
6779 @vindex gnus-check-before-posting
6780 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to check the legality of the
6781 headers, as well as some other stuff, before posting. You can control
6782 the granularity of the check by adding or removing elements from this
6783 list. Legal elements are:
6787 Check the subject for commands.
6790 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
6791 @item multiple-headers
6792 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
6795 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
6797 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
6799 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
6802 Check for too long lines.
6804 Check for illegal characters.
6806 Check for excessive size.
6808 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
6810 Check the length of the signature.
6813 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
6814 something only moderators should include.
6816 Check whether the article is empty.
6822 @node Posting Server
6823 @section Posting Server
6825 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
6826 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
6828 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
6830 @vindex gnus-post-method
6832 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
6833 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
6834 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
6835 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
6836 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
6839 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
6842 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
6843 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
6844 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
6845 the ``current'' server for posting.
6847 If you give a zero prefix (i. e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
6848 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
6850 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
6851 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
6856 @section Mail and Post
6858 Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
6862 @item gnus-signature-file
6863 @itemx mail-signature
6864 @vindex mail-signature
6865 @vindex gnus-signature-file
6866 @cindex double signature
6868 If @code{gnus-signature-file} is non-@code{nil}, it should be the name
6869 of a file containing a signature (@file{~/.signature} by default). This
6870 signature will be appended to all outgoing post. Most people find it
6871 more convenient to use @code{mail-signature}, which (sort of) does the
6872 same, but inserts the signature into the buffer before you start editing
6873 the post (or mail). So---if you have both of these variables set, you
6874 will get two signatures. Note that @code{mail-signature} does not work
6875 the same way as @code{gnus-signature-file}, which is a bit confusing.
6876 If @code{mail-signature} is @code{t}, it will insert
6877 @file{~/.signature}. If it is a string, this string will be inserted.
6879 Note that RFC1036 says that a signature should be preceded by the three
6880 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
6881 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
6882 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
6883 that they ruin you beautiful design, like, totally.
6885 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
6886 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
6887 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
6889 @item mail-yank-prefix
6890 @vindex mail-yank-prefix
6893 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
6894 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
6895 @dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
6896 @code{mail-yank-prefix} prepended to it. This is @code{nil} by default,
6897 which isn't very pretty---the prefix will just be some spaces. Most
6898 everybody prefers that lines are prepended with @samp{> }, so
6899 @code{(setq mail-yank-prefix "> ")} in your @file{.emacs} file.
6901 @item mail-yank-ignored-headers
6902 @vindex mail-yank-ignored-headers
6903 When you yank a message, you do not want to quote any headers, so
6904 @code{(setq mail-yank-ignored-headers "^")}.
6906 @item user-mail-address
6907 @vindex user-mail-address
6908 @vindex gnus-user-login-name
6909 @vindex gnus-use-generic-from
6910 @vindex gnus-local-domain
6911 If all of @code{gnus-user-login-name}, @code{gnus-use-generic-from} and
6912 @code{gnus-local-domain} are @code{nil}, Gnus will use
6913 @code{user-mail-address} as the address part of the @code{From} header.
6915 @item gnus-local-domain
6916 @vindex gnus-local-domain
6918 The local domain name excluding the host name. If your host is called
6919 @samp{narfi.ifi.uio.no}, then this variable should be
6922 @item gnus-local-domain
6923 @vindex gnus-local-domain
6925 The local domain name excluding the host name. If your host is called
6926 @samp{narfi.ifi.uio.no}, then this variable should be
6929 @item gnus-user-from-line
6930 @vindex gnus-user-from-line
6931 Your full, complete e-mail address with name. This variable overrides
6932 the other Gnus variables if it is non-@code{nil}.
6934 Here are two example values of this variable: @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no
6935 (Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen)} and @samp{Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
6936 <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>}. The latter version is recommended in news (and is
6937 probably illegal in mail), but the name has to be quoted if it contains
6938 non-alpha-numerical characters---@samp{\"Lars M. Ingebrigtsen\"
6939 <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>}.
6941 @item mail-default-headers
6942 @vindex mail-default-headers
6943 This is a string that will be inserted into the header of all outgoing
6944 mail messages and news articles. Convenient to use to insert standard
6945 headers. If @code{nntp-news-default-headers} is non-@code{nil}, that
6946 variable will override this one when posting articles.
6948 @item gnus-auto-mail-to-author
6949 @vindex gnus-auto-mail-to-author
6950 If @code{ask}, you will be prompted for whether you want to send a mail
6951 copy to the author of the article you are following up. If
6952 non-@code{nil} and not @code{ask}, Gnus will send a mail with a copy of
6953 all follow-ups to the authors of the articles you follow up. It's nice
6954 in one way---you make sure that the person you are responding to gets
6955 your response. Other people loathe this method and will hate you dearly
6956 for it, because it means that they will first get a mail, and then have
6957 to read the same article later when they read the news. It is
6958 @code{nil} by default.
6960 @item gnus-mail-courtesy-message
6961 @vindex gnus-mail-courtesy-message
6962 This is a string that will be prepended to all mails that are the result
6963 of using the variable described above.
6965 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
6966 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
6967 @cindex mailing lists
6969 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists that are
6970 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
6971 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
6972 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
6973 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
6974 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that match the groups that
6975 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
6976 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
6977 still a pain, though.
6979 @item mail-citation-hook
6980 @vindex mail-citation-hook
6981 This hook is run after yankning a message, both in mail and post
6982 buffers. Point will be at the beginning of the yanked message and mark
6983 will be at the end. If this hook is non-@code{nil} the yanked text
6984 won't be indended automatically---you have to do that explicitly.
6986 For instance, if you want to remove signatures automatically, you could
6990 (add-hook 'mail-citation-hook 'gnus-inews-remove-signature)
6993 This function indents the cited message and then removes the
6994 signature. If you decide you want to include the signature after all,
6995 you can just press the @code{undo} key.
6999 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
7000 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
7001 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
7003 @vindex news-inews-hook
7005 @findex ispell-message
7007 (add-hook 'news-inews-hook 'ispell-message) ;For news posts
7008 (add-hook 'mail-send-hook 'ispell-message) ;for mail posts via sendmail
7011 @findex gnus-inews-insert-mime-headers
7012 If you want to insert some @sc{mime} headers into the articles you post,
7013 without doing any actual encoding, you could add
7014 @code{gnus-inews-insert-mime-headers} to @code{gnus-inews-article-hook}.
7017 @node Archived Messages
7018 @section Archived Messages
7019 @cindex archived messages
7020 @cindex sent messages
7022 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail you send.
7023 The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to store
7026 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
7027 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
7028 use to store sent messages. It is @code{(nnfolder "archive"
7029 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))} by default, but you can use any
7030 mail select method (@code{nnml}, @code{nnmbox}, etc.). However,
7031 @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method for doing this sort of
7032 thing. If you don't like the default directory chosen, you could say
7036 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
7037 '((nnfolder "archive"
7038 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
7039 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/sent-mail/active")
7040 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/"))))
7043 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
7045 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
7046 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
7047 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
7049 This variable can be:
7053 Messages will be saved in that group.
7054 @item a list of strings
7055 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
7056 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
7057 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
7062 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
7064 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
7067 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
7069 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
7072 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
7074 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7075 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
7076 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
7077 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
7082 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7083 '((if (eq major-mode news-reply-mode)
7088 This is the default.
7090 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
7091 messages in one file per month:
7094 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7095 '((if (eq major-mode news-reply-mode)
7097 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
7098 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
7101 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
7102 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
7103 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
7104 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
7105 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
7106 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
7107 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
7108 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something nice --
7109 @samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
7110 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
7112 That's the default method of archiving sent mail. Gnus also offers two
7113 other variables for the people who don't like the default method. In
7114 that case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to
7115 @code{nil}; this will disable archiving.
7118 @item gnus-author-copy
7119 @vindex gnus-author-copy
7121 This is a file name, and all outgoing articles will be saved in that
7122 file. Initialized from the @code{AUTHORCOPY} environment variable.
7124 If this variable begins with the character @samp{|}, outgoing articles
7125 will be piped to the named program. It is possible to save an article in
7126 an MH folder as follows:
7129 (setq gnus-author-copy
7130 "|/usr/local/lib/mh/rcvstore +Article")
7133 If the first character is not a pipe, articles are saved using the
7134 function specified by the @code{gnus-author-copy-saver} variable.
7136 @item gnus-author-copy-saver
7137 @vindex gnus-author-copy-saver
7138 @findex rmail-output
7139 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
7140 called with the same of the file to store the article in. The default
7141 function is @code{rmail-output} which saves in the Unix mailbox format.
7143 @item gnus-mail-self-blind
7144 @vindex gnus-mail-self-blind
7145 Non-@code{nil} means insert a BCC header in all outgoing articles
7146 pointing to yourself. This will result you receiving a copy of the
7147 article mailed to yourself. The BCC header is inserted when the post
7148 buffer is initialized, so you can remove or alter the BCC header to
7149 override the default.
7151 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
7152 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
7153 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
7154 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
7155 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
7158 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
7159 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
7160 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
7165 @node Posting Styles
7166 @section Posting Styles
7167 @cindex posting styles
7170 All them variables, they make my head swim.
7172 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
7173 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
7174 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
7177 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
7178 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
7179 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
7180 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
7181 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
7186 (signature . "Peace and happiness")
7187 (organization . "What me?"))
7189 (signature . "Death to everybody"))
7190 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
7191 (organization . "Emacs is it")))
7194 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
7195 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
7196 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
7197 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
7198 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
7199 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
7200 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
7201 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
7203 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
7204 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
7205 If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
7206 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
7207 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
7208 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
7211 Each style may contain a random amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
7212 attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
7213 can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}.
7214 The attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be
7215 used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of
7218 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
7219 return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
7220 list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
7222 So here's a new example:
7225 (setq gnus-posting-styles
7227 (signature . "~/.signature")
7228 (from . "user@@foo (user)")
7229 ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
7230 (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
7232 (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
7233 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
7234 (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
7235 (posting-from-work-p
7236 (signature . "~/.work-signature")
7237 (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
7238 (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
7240 (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
7248 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
7249 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
7250 craazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save the
7251 message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some other
7252 day, and send it when you feel its finished.
7254 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
7255 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
7256 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
7257 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
7258 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
7262 @vindex gnus-draft-group-directory
7263 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
7264 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
7265 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{gnus-draft-group-directory}
7266 controls both the name of the group and the location---the leaf element
7267 in the path will be used as the name of the group. What makes this
7268 group special is that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any
7269 articles as read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
7271 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
7274 @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
7275 @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
7276 @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
7277 @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
7278 @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
7279 @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
7280 If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
7281 encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
7282 (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
7283 interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
7284 and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
7285 (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
7286 If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
7287 @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
7289 @vindex gnus-use-draft
7290 To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
7291 @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
7293 @findex gnus-summary-send-draft
7294 @kindex S D c (Summary)
7295 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
7296 draft group and push @kbd{S D c} (@code{gnus-summary-send-draft}) to do
7297 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
7299 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
7302 @findex gnus-summary-send-all-drafts
7303 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
7304 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{S D a} command
7305 (@code{gnus-summary-send-all-drafts}). This command understands the
7306 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7309 @node Rejected Articles
7310 @section Rejected Articles
7311 @cindex rejected articles
7313 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
7314 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
7315 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
7316 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
7318 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
7319 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
7320 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
7321 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
7322 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
7324 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
7325 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
7326 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
7329 @node Select Methods
7330 @chapter Select Methods
7331 @cindex foreign groups
7332 @cindex select methods
7334 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group that is not read by the usual (or
7335 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
7336 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
7337 personal mail group.
7339 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
7340 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
7341 list where the first element says what backend to use (eg. @code{nntp},
7342 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
7343 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
7344 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
7346 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
7347 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
7349 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
7352 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
7353 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
7354 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group, in
7355 all circumstances, @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the
7356 @code{nntp} backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
7358 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
7361 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
7362 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
7363 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
7364 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
7365 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
7369 @node The Server Buffer
7370 @section The Server Buffer
7372 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
7373 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
7374 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
7375 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
7376 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
7377 backend represents a virtual server.
7379 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
7380 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
7381 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
7382 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
7384 These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
7385 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
7386 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number @code{13}, which
7387 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
7388 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
7389 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
7390 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
7392 To enter the server buffer, user the @kbd{^}
7393 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
7396 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
7397 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
7398 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
7399 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
7400 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
7401 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
7404 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
7405 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
7408 @node Server Buffer Format
7409 @subsection Server Buffer Format
7410 @cindex server buffer format
7412 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
7413 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
7414 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
7415 variable, with some simple extensions:
7420 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
7423 The name of this server.
7426 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
7429 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
7432 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
7433 The mode line can also be customized by using the
7434 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
7445 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
7448 @node Server Commands
7449 @subsection Server Commands
7450 @cindex server commands
7456 @findex gnus-server-add-server
7457 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
7461 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
7462 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
7465 @kindex SPACE (Server)
7466 @findex gnus-server-read-server
7467 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
7471 @findex gnus-server-exit
7472 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
7476 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
7477 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
7481 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
7482 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
7486 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
7487 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
7491 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
7492 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
7497 @node Example Methods
7498 @subsection Example Methods
7500 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
7503 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
7506 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
7512 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
7513 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
7516 After these two elements, there may be a random number of @var{(variable
7519 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
7520 port @code{15} from that machine. This is what the select method should
7524 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
7527 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
7528 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example.
7530 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
7531 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
7532 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
7536 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
7539 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
7542 Here's the method for a public spool:
7546 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
7547 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
7551 @node Creating a Virtual Server
7552 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
7554 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
7555 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
7557 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
7558 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
7559 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
7561 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
7563 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
7564 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
7565 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
7566 will contain the following:
7576 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
7577 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
7578 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
7581 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
7582 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
7583 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
7586 @node Servers and Methods
7587 @subsection Servers and Methods
7589 Wherever you would normally use a select method
7590 (eg. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
7591 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
7592 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
7596 @node Unavailable Servers
7597 @subsection Unavailable Servers
7599 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
7600 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
7601 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
7602 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
7603 actually the case or not.
7605 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
7606 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to the server
7607 @samp{nepholococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
7608 away from you, the machine is quite, so it takes 1 minute just to find
7609 out that it refuses connection from you today. If Gnus were to attempt
7610 to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't attempt to do
7611 that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'', it will
7612 regard that server as ``down''.
7614 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
7615 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
7617 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
7618 with the following commands:
7624 @findex gnus-server-open-server
7625 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
7626 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
7630 @findex gnus-server-close-server
7631 Close the connection (if any) to the server
7632 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
7636 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
7637 Mark the current server as unreachable
7638 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
7642 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
7643 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from all servers
7644 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
7650 @section Getting News
7651 @cindex reading news
7652 @cindex news backends
7654 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
7655 only two methods of getting news -- it can read from an @sc{nntp}
7656 server, or it can read from a local spool.
7659 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
7660 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
7665 @subsection @sc{nntp}
7668 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
7669 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
7670 server as the, uhm, address.
7672 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
7673 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
7674 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
7675 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
7677 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
7678 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
7679 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
7681 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
7686 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
7687 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
7688 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
7690 @cindex authentification
7691 @cindex nntp authentification
7692 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
7693 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
7694 @code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
7695 It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
7696 been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
7697 the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. Another
7698 popular function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which will prompt you for
7699 an @sc{nntp} password and stuff.
7701 @item nntp-server-action-alist
7702 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
7703 This is an list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
7704 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
7705 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
7708 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
7712 You probably don't want to do that, though.
7714 The default value is
7717 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
7718 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook nntp-send-mode-reader)))
7721 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
7722 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
7724 @item nntp-maximum-request
7725 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
7726 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
7727 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
7728 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
7729 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
7730 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
7731 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
7733 @item nntp-connection-timeout
7734 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
7735 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
7736 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
7737 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
7738 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
7739 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
7740 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
7741 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
7742 no timeouts are done.
7744 @item nntp-server-hook
7745 @vindex nntp-server-hook
7746 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
7749 @c @findex nntp-open-rlogin
7750 @c @findex nntp-open-network-stream
7751 @c @item nntp-open-server-function
7752 @c @vindex nntp-open-server-function
7753 @c This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
7754 @c functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
7755 @c simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
7756 @c is @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an rlogin on the remote system,
7757 @c and then does a telnet to the @sc{nntp} server available there.
7759 @c @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
7760 @c @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
7761 @c If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
7762 @c @code{nntp-open-server-function}, this list will be used as the
7763 @c parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
7765 @c @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
7766 @c @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
7767 @c User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
7771 @vindex nntp-address
7772 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
7774 @item nntp-port-number
7775 @vindex nntp-port-number
7776 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
7779 @item nntp-buggy-select
7780 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
7781 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
7783 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
7784 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
7785 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
7786 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks whether @sc{nov}
7787 can be used automatically.
7789 @item nntp-xover-commands
7790 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
7793 List of strings that are used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
7794 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
7798 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
7799 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
7800 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
7801 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
7802 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
7803 lines that you do not want, and will not use. This variable says how
7804 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
7805 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
7806 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
7807 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
7808 @code{nntp} will never split requests.
7810 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
7811 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
7812 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
7814 @item nntp-async-number
7815 @vindex nntp-async-number
7816 How many articles should be pre-fetched when in asynchronous mode. If
7817 this variable is @code{t}, @code{nntp} will pre-fetch all the articles
7818 that it can without bound. If it is @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be
7821 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
7822 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
7823 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
7824 server closes connection.
7830 @subsection News Spool
7834 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
7835 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups like
7836 @samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}.
7838 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
7839 anything else) as the address.
7841 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
7842 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
7843 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
7844 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
7848 @item nnspool-inews-program
7849 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
7850 Program used to post an article.
7852 @item nnspool-inews-switches
7853 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
7854 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
7856 @item nnspool-spool-directory
7857 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
7858 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
7859 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
7861 @item nnspool-nov-directory
7862 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
7863 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
7864 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
7866 @item nnspool-lib-dir
7867 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
7868 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
7870 @item nnspool-active-file
7871 @vindex nnspool-active-file
7872 The path of the active file.
7874 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
7875 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
7876 The path of the group descriptions file.
7878 @item nnspool-history-file
7879 @vindex nnspool-history-file
7880 The path of the news history file.
7882 @item nnspool-active-times-file
7883 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
7884 The path of the active date file.
7886 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
7887 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
7888 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
7891 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
7892 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
7894 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
7895 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
7896 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
7902 @section Getting Mail
7903 @cindex reading mail
7906 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
7910 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
7911 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
7912 * Mail Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
7913 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
7914 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
7915 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
7916 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
7917 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
7918 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
7919 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
7923 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
7924 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
7926 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
7927 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
7928 and things will happen automatically.
7930 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a one file per
7931 mail backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
7934 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
7935 '((nnml "private")))
7938 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
7939 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
7940 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
7941 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
7942 like any other group.
7944 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
7947 (setq nnmail-split-methods
7948 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
7949 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
7953 This will result in three new mail groups being created:
7954 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
7955 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
7958 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
7959 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though,
7960 especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
7963 @node Splitting Mail
7964 @subsection Splitting Mail
7965 @cindex splitting mail
7966 @cindex mail splitting
7968 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
7969 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
7970 to be split into groups.
7973 (setq nnmail-split-methods
7974 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
7975 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
7979 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
7980 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
7981 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
7982 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
7983 determine if it belongs in this mail group.
7985 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
7986 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
7987 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
7988 mail belongs in that group.
7990 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
7991 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any
7992 mails that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps.
7994 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
7995 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
7996 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
7997 message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
7998 thinks should carry this mail message.
8000 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
8001 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
8002 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
8003 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
8005 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
8006 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
8007 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
8008 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
8009 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
8011 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
8014 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
8015 the crossposted articles. However, not all files systems support hard
8016 links. If that's the case for you, set
8017 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
8018 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
8020 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
8021 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
8022 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
8023 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
8024 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
8025 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
8026 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
8027 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
8031 @node Mail Variables
8032 @subsection Mail Variables
8034 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
8038 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8039 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8040 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
8041 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
8043 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
8044 @item nnmail-spool-file
8048 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
8049 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
8050 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
8051 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
8052 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
8053 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
8054 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
8055 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
8056 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
8057 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
8059 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
8060 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
8061 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
8062 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
8063 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
8064 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
8066 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
8067 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8068 @item nnmail-use-procmail
8069 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
8070 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
8071 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
8072 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
8075 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
8076 @item nnmail-crash-box
8077 When the mail backends read a spool file, it is first moved to this
8078 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
8079 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
8082 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8083 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8084 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
8085 used for, well, anything, really.
8087 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8088 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8089 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8090 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8091 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
8092 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
8093 starting to handle the new mail) and
8094 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
8095 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
8096 default file modes the new mail files get:
8099 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8100 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
8102 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
8103 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
8106 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
8107 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
8108 This variable says where to move the incoming mail to while processing
8109 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
8110 inhabits (i.e., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
8111 it will be used instead.
8113 @item nnmail-movemail-program
8114 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
8115 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
8116 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
8118 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
8119 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
8120 @cindex incoming mail files
8121 @cindex deleting incoming files
8122 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
8123 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{nil} by
8124 default for reasons of security.
8126 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
8127 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
8128 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
8129 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories like
8130 @file{mail.misc/}. If it is @code{nil}, the same group will end up in
8133 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
8134 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
8136 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
8141 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
8142 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
8143 @cindex mail splitting
8144 @cindex fancy mail splitting
8146 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
8147 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
8148 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
8149 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
8150 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
8151 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
8153 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
8156 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
8157 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
8158 ;; from real errors.
8159 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
8161 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
8162 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
8163 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
8164 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
8165 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
8166 ;; Other mailing lists...
8167 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
8168 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
8170 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
8171 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
8175 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
8176 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
8177 the four possible split syntaxes:
8182 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
8184 @item (FIELD VALUE SPLIT)
8185 If the split is a list, and the first element is a string, then that
8186 means that if header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp),
8187 then store the message as specified by SPLIT.
8190 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
8191 bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them matches. A SPLIT is
8192 said to match if it will cause the mail message to be stored in one or
8196 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then process
8197 all SPLITs in the list.
8200 In these splits, FIELD must match a complete field name. VALUE must
8201 match a complete word according to the fundamental mode syntax table.
8202 You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial field names or
8205 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
8206 FIELD and VALUE can also be lisp symbols, in that case they are expanded
8207 as specified by the variable @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is
8208 an alist of cons cells, where the car of the cells contains the key, and
8209 the cdr contains a string.
8212 @node Mail and Procmail
8213 @subsection Mail and Procmail
8218 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
8219 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
8220 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
8221 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
8222 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
8224 This also means that you probably don't want to set
8225 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
8228 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
8229 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
8230 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends (except
8231 @code{nnmh}) actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
8232 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
8233 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
8235 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) what groups
8238 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example.
8240 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
8241 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
8243 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
8244 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
8245 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
8246 to include all your mail groups.
8248 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
8249 method will be created automatically.
8251 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8252 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
8253 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
8254 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
8255 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
8256 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
8257 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
8258 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
8260 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
8261 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
8262 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
8263 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
8264 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
8266 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8267 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
8268 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
8269 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
8270 ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
8274 @node Incorporating Old Mail
8275 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
8277 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
8278 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
8279 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
8282 Doing so can be quite easy.
8284 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
8285 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
8286 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
8287 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
8288 your @code{nnml} groups.
8294 Go to the group buffer.
8297 Type `G f' and give the path of the mbox file when prompted to create an
8298 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8301 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
8304 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group (@pxref{Setting
8308 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
8309 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
8312 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
8313 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
8314 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
8315 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
8316 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
8318 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
8319 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
8320 using the new mail backend.
8324 @subsection Expiring Mail
8325 @cindex article expiry
8327 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
8328 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
8329 different approach to mail reading.
8331 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
8332 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
8333 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
8334 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
8335 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
8336 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
8339 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
8340 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
8341 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
8342 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
8343 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
8344 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
8345 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
8346 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
8348 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8349 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
8350 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
8351 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
8352 articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
8353 column in the summary buffer.
8355 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
8356 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
8359 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8360 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
8363 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
8364 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
8366 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
8367 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
8368 expirable article has to live. The default is seven days.
8370 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
8371 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
8372 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
8373 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
8376 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8378 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8380 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
8382 ((string= group "mail.junk")
8384 ((string= group "important")
8390 The group names that this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
8391 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
8393 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
8394 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can be either a number (not
8395 necessarily an integer) or the symbols @code{immediate} or
8398 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
8399 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8401 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8402 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
8403 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
8404 easier for procmail users.
8406 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
8407 By the way, that line up there about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
8408 articles is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
8409 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
8410 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
8411 caution. Even more dangerous is the
8412 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
8413 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
8414 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
8415 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
8416 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
8417 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
8418 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
8423 @subsection Duplicates
8425 @vindex nnmail-delete-duplicates
8426 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
8427 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
8428 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
8429 @cindex duplicate mails
8430 If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
8431 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
8432 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
8433 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s -
8434 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
8435 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
8436 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
8437 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
8438 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
8439 @code{nnmail-delete-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
8440 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
8441 will generate a brand new @code{Message-ID} for the mail and insert a
8442 warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks that this is a
8443 duplicate of a different message.
8445 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
8446 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
8447 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
8448 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
8450 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
8453 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
8454 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
8458 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
8459 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
8460 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
8461 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
8462 (any mail "mail.misc")
8469 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8470 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
8475 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
8476 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
8477 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
8478 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
8479 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
8482 @node Not Reading Mail
8483 @subsection Not Reading Mail
8485 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
8486 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
8487 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
8489 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
8490 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
8492 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8493 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
8494 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
8495 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
8496 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
8497 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
8498 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
8499 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
8500 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
8501 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
8502 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
8504 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
8505 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
8509 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
8510 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
8512 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
8513 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
8514 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
8517 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
8518 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
8519 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
8520 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
8521 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
8526 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
8528 @cindex unix mail box
8530 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
8531 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
8532 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
8533 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
8534 which group it belongs in.
8536 Virtual server settings:
8539 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
8540 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
8541 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
8543 @item nnmbox-active-file
8544 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
8545 The name of the active file for the mail box.
8547 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
8548 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
8549 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
8555 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
8559 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
8560 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
8561 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
8562 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
8563 article to say which group it belongs in.
8565 Virtual server settings:
8568 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
8569 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
8570 The name of the rmail mbox file.
8572 @item nnbabyl-active-file
8573 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
8574 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
8576 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8577 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8578 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
8583 @subsubsection Mail Spool
8585 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
8587 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
8588 format. It should be used with some caution.
8590 @vindex nnml-directory
8591 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files;
8592 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the correct
8593 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
8594 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
8596 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
8599 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
8600 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
8601 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
8602 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
8603 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
8604 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
8605 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
8606 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
8608 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
8609 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
8610 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes is the fastest
8611 backend when it comes to reading mail.
8613 Virtual server settings:
8616 @item nnml-directory
8617 @vindex nnml-directory
8618 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
8620 @item nnml-active-file
8621 @vindex nnml-active-file
8622 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
8624 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
8625 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
8626 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
8629 @item nnml-get-new-mail
8630 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
8631 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
8633 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
8634 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
8635 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
8637 @item nnml-nov-file-name
8638 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
8639 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
8641 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
8642 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
8643 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
8647 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
8648 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
8649 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
8650 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
8651 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
8652 might take a while to complete.
8656 @subsubsection MH Spool
8658 @cindex mh-e mail spool
8660 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
8661 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
8662 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
8663 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
8665 Virtual server settings:
8668 @item nnmh-directory
8669 @vindex nnmh-directory
8670 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
8672 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
8673 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
8674 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
8677 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
8678 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
8679 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
8680 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
8681 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
8682 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
8683 to set this variable to @code{t}.
8688 @subsubsection Mail Folders
8690 @cindex mbox folders
8691 @cindex mail folders
8693 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
8694 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
8695 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
8698 Virtual server settings:
8701 @item nnfolder-directory
8702 @vindex nnfolder-directory
8703 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
8705 @item nnfolder-active-file
8706 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
8707 The name of the active file.
8709 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
8710 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
8711 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
8713 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
8714 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
8715 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
8718 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
8719 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
8720 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
8721 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
8722 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
8723 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
8727 @section Other Sources
8729 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
8730 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
8734 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
8735 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
8736 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
8737 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
8741 @node Directory Groups
8742 @subsection Directory Groups
8744 @cindex directory groups
8746 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
8747 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
8750 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp}, that most
8751 wonderful of all wonderful Emacs packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I
8752 didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
8754 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
8755 enter @file{"/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/"} as the the
8756 directory name, ange-ftp will actually allow you to read this directory
8757 over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
8759 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
8761 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
8762 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
8763 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
8764 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
8767 @node Anything Groups
8768 @subsection Anything Groups
8771 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
8772 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
8773 pretends that any random directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but true.
8775 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
8776 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
8777 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
8778 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
8779 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
8780 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
8781 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
8782 If this is just some random file without a head (eg. a C source file),
8783 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
8784 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
8787 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
8788 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
8789 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
8790 in the article buffer, just as usual.
8792 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
8793 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
8794 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
8795 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
8797 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
8798 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
8799 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
8800 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
8801 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
8802 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
8803 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
8804 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
8809 @item nneething-map-file-directory
8810 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
8811 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
8812 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
8814 @item nneething-exclude-files
8815 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
8816 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
8817 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
8819 @item nneething-map-file
8820 @vindex nneething-map-file
8821 Name of the map files.
8825 @node Document Groups
8826 @subsection Document Groups
8828 @cindex documentation group
8831 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
8832 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
8839 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
8844 The standard Unix mbox file.
8846 @cindex MMDF mail box
8848 The MMDF mail box format.
8851 Several news articles appended into a file.
8854 @cindex rnews batch files
8855 The rnews batch transport format.
8856 @cindex forwarded messages
8865 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
8866 @cindex RFC 341 digest
8867 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
8869 @item standard-digest
8870 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
8873 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
8876 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
8877 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
8878 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
8881 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
8882 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
8883 group. And that's it.
8885 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
8886 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
8887 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
8888 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
8889 @code{nndoc}, set the process mark on all the articles in the buffer
8890 (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r}) using
8891 @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL} file is
8892 now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can delete
8893 that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
8895 Virtual server variables:
8898 @item nndoc-article-type
8899 @vindex nndoc-article-type
8900 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
8901 @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{news}, @code{rnews},
8902 @code{mime-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, or @code{guess}.
8904 @item nndoc-post-type
8905 @vindex nndoc-post-type
8906 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
8907 a mail group. There are two legal values: @code{mail} (the default)
8917 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
8918 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
8919 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
8921 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
8922 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
8923 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
8926 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
8927 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
8928 that interested in doing things properly.
8930 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
8931 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
8937 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
8938 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie, or you can use Gnus to create the
8939 packet with the @kbd{O s} command.
8942 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
8945 You put the packet in your home directory.
8948 You fire up Gnus using the @code{nnsoup} backend as the native server.
8951 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
8955 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
8959 You transfer this packet to the server.
8962 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
8965 You then repeat until you die.
8969 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
8970 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
8973 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
8974 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
8975 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
8980 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
8984 @kindex G s b (Group)
8985 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
8986 Pack all unread articles in the current group
8987 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
8988 process/prefix convention.
8991 @kindex G s w (Group)
8992 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
8993 Save all data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
8996 @kindex G s s (Group)
8997 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
8998 Send all replies from the replies packet
8999 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
9002 @kindex G s p (Group)
9003 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
9004 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
9007 @kindex G s r (Group)
9008 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
9009 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
9012 @kindex O s (Summary)
9013 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
9014 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
9015 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
9021 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
9026 @item gnus-soup-directory
9027 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
9028 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
9029 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
9031 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
9032 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
9033 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
9034 reply packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/}.
9036 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
9037 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
9038 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
9041 @item gnus-soup-packer
9042 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
9043 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9044 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
9046 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
9047 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
9048 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9049 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9051 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
9052 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
9053 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
9055 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9056 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9057 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
9058 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
9064 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
9067 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
9068 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
9069 you can read them at leisure.
9071 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
9075 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
9076 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
9077 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
9078 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
9080 @item nnsoup-directory
9081 @vindex nnsoup-directory
9082 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
9083 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
9085 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
9086 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
9087 All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
9088 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
9090 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
9091 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
9092 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
9093 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
9094 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
9096 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
9097 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
9098 The index type of the replies packet. The is @samp{?n}, which means
9099 ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
9101 @item nnsoup-active-file
9102 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
9103 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
9104 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
9105 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
9106 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
9109 @vindex nnsoup-packer
9110 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
9111 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
9113 @item nnsoup-unpacker
9114 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
9115 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
9116 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9118 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
9119 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
9120 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
9123 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
9124 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
9125 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
9132 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
9134 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
9135 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
9136 more for that to happen.
9138 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
9139 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
9140 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
9143 In specific, this is what it does:
9146 (setq gnus-inews-article-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
9147 (setq send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
9150 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
9151 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
9152 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
9155 @node Combined Groups
9156 @section Combined Groups
9158 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
9162 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
9163 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
9167 @node Virtual Groups
9168 @subsection Virtual Groups
9170 @cindex virtual groups
9172 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
9175 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small group, you can
9176 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
9177 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
9179 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
9180 regexp to match component groups.
9182 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
9183 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
9184 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
9185 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
9188 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
9189 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
9192 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
9195 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
9196 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
9198 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
9199 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
9200 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
9201 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
9204 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
9207 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
9208 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
9209 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
9210 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
9211 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}.
9213 One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
9214 group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
9215 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
9217 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
9218 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
9219 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
9220 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
9221 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
9222 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
9223 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
9224 effect if you have two virtual groups that contain the same component
9225 group. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
9226 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
9227 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
9230 @node Kibozed Groups
9231 @subsection Kibozed Groups
9235 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
9236 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
9237 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
9238 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
9240 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
9241 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
9242 @code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
9243 and @code{nnvirtual} ends.
9245 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
9246 must have a score file to say what articles that are to be included in
9247 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
9249 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
9250 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
9251 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
9252 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
9253 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
9254 all the articles in all the components groups and run them through the
9255 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
9256 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
9258 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
9259 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
9260 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
9261 Stranger things have happened.
9263 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
9264 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
9266 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
9267 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
9268 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
9269 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
9270 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
9271 on what groups that have been searched through to find component
9274 Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
9275 @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
9282 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
9283 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
9284 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
9287 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
9288 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
9289 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
9290 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
9291 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
9293 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
9294 before generating the summary buffer.
9296 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
9297 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
9298 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
9300 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
9301 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
9302 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
9303 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
9306 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
9307 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
9308 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
9309 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
9310 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
9311 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus *knows* what you read.
9312 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
9313 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
9314 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
9315 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
9316 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
9320 @node Summary Score Commands
9321 @section Summary Score Commands
9322 @cindex score commands
9324 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
9325 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
9326 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
9327 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
9328 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
9330 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
9331 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
9332 some other score file (eg. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
9333 score file the current one.
9335 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
9340 @kindex V s (Summary)
9341 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
9342 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
9345 @kindex V S (Summary)
9346 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
9347 Display the score of the current article
9348 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
9351 @kindex V t (Summary)
9352 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
9353 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
9354 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
9357 @cindex V R (Summary)
9358 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
9359 Run the current summary through the scoring process
9360 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
9361 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
9362 effect you're having.
9365 @kindex V a (Summary)
9366 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
9367 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
9368 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
9371 @kindex V c (Summary)
9372 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
9373 Make a different score file the current
9374 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
9377 @kindex V e (Summary)
9378 @findex gnus-score-edit-alist
9379 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-alist}). You will be
9380 popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File
9384 @kindex V f (Summary)
9385 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
9386 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
9387 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
9390 @kindex V C (Summary)
9391 @findex gnus-score-customize
9392 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
9393 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
9396 @kindex I C-i (Summary)
9397 @findex gnus-summary-raise-score
9398 Increase the score of the current article
9399 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-score}).
9402 @kindex L C-l (Summary)
9403 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
9404 Lower the score of the current article
9405 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-score}).
9408 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
9413 @kindex V m (Summary)
9414 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
9415 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
9416 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
9419 @kindex V E (Summary)
9420 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
9421 Expunge all articles with a score below the default score (or the
9422 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
9425 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
9426 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
9431 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
9432 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
9434 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
9439 Score on the author name.
9442 Score on the subject line.
9445 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
9448 Score on thread---the References line.
9454 Score on the number of lines.
9457 Score on the Message-ID.
9470 The third key is the match type. Which match types are legal depends on
9471 what headers you are scoring on.
9515 Greater than number.
9520 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
9521 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
9522 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
9526 Temporary score entry.
9529 Permanent score entry.
9532 Immediately scoring.
9537 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
9538 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
9539 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
9540 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
9542 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
9543 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
9544 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
9545 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
9546 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
9548 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
9549 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
9550 pretend they are keymaps or not.
9553 @node Group Score Commands
9554 @section Group Score Commands
9555 @cindex group score commands
9557 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
9563 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
9564 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
9565 all the time. This command will flush the cache
9566 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
9571 @node Score Variables
9572 @section Score Variables
9573 @cindex score variables
9577 @item gnus-use-scoring
9578 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
9579 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
9580 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
9582 @item gnus-kill-killed
9583 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
9584 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
9585 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
9586 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
9587 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
9588 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
9589 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
9591 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
9592 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
9593 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
9594 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
9595 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
9597 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
9598 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
9599 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
9600 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
9602 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
9603 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
9605 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
9606 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
9607 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files that are
9608 unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
9609 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
9610 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
9611 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
9614 @item gnus-save-score
9615 @vindex gnus-save-score
9616 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
9617 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
9618 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
9620 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
9621 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
9622 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
9623 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
9624 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
9625 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
9626 manually entered data.
9628 @item gnus-summary-default-score
9629 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
9630 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
9632 @item gnus-score-over-mark
9633 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
9634 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
9635 default. Default is @samp{+}.
9637 @item gnus-score-below-mark
9638 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
9639 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
9640 default. Default is @samp{-}.
9642 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
9643 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
9644 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
9645 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
9647 Predefined functions available are:
9650 @item gnus-score-find-single
9651 @findex gnus-score-find-single
9652 Only apply the group's own score file.
9654 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
9655 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
9656 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
9657 default. For instance, if the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus},
9658 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
9659 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
9660 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
9661 then a regexp match is done.
9663 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
9664 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
9666 If @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} is non-@code{nil}, this won't work
9667 very will. It will find stuff like @file{gnu/all/SCORE}, but will not
9668 find files like @file{not/gnu/all/SCORE}.
9670 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
9671 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
9672 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
9673 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE} or @file{all.emacs.SCORE},
9674 but you can have @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and
9675 @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
9678 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
9679 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
9680 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
9681 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
9682 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
9683 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
9686 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
9687 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
9688 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
9689 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
9690 are expired. It's 7 by default.
9692 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
9693 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
9694 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
9695 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
9696 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
9697 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
9698 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
9704 @node Score File Format
9705 @section Score File Format
9706 @cindex score file format
9708 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
9709 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
9710 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
9712 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
9716 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
9718 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
9720 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
9722 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
9727 (mark-and-expunge -10)
9731 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
9732 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
9733 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
9734 (gnus-summary-make-false-root 'empty))
9738 This example demonstrates absolutely everything about a score file.
9740 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
9741 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
9742 has to be legal syntactically, if not semantically.
9744 Six keys are supported by this alist:
9749 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
9750 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
9751 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
9752 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
9753 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
9754 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
9755 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
9756 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
9757 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
9758 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
9759 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
9760 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
9761 to articles that matches these score entries.
9763 Following this key is a random number of score entries, where each score
9764 entry has one to four elements.
9768 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
9769 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
9773 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
9774 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
9775 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
9776 is successful. If this element is not present, the
9777 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
9778 instead. This is 1000 by default.
9781 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
9782 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
9783 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
9784 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
9785 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 ce.
9788 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
9789 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
9790 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
9791 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
9794 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
9795 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp) as
9796 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types and @code{e} and
9797 @code{E} (exact match) types. If this element is not present, Gnus will
9798 assume that substring matching should be used. @code{R} and @code{S}
9799 differ from the other two in that the matches will be done in a
9800 case-sensitive manner. All these one-letter types are really just
9801 abbreviations for the @code{regexp}, @code{string} and @code{exact}
9802 types, which you can use instead, if you feel like.
9805 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
9806 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
9809 For the Date header we have three match types: @code{before}, @code{at}
9810 and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this ever being useful, but,
9811 like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide this function. Just in
9812 case. You never know. Better safe than sorry. Once burnt, twice shy.
9813 Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have sex on a first date.
9815 @item Head, Body, All
9816 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
9820 This match key will add a score entry on all articles that followup to
9821 some author. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header uses.
9824 This match key will add a score entry on all articles that are part of
9825 a thread. Uses the same match types as the @code{References} header
9831 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
9832 lower than this number will be marked as read.
9835 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
9836 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
9838 @item mark-and-expunge
9839 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
9840 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
9843 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
9844 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
9845 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
9846 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
9847 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
9850 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
9851 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
9855 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. This files will
9856 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
9860 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
9861 ignored when handling global score files.
9864 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
9865 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
9868 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
9869 parents will get this number added to their scores.
9872 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
9873 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
9874 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
9875 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
9876 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
9877 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
9878 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
9879 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
9880 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
9881 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
9882 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
9886 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
9887 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
9888 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
9889 file for a number of groups.
9892 @cindex local variables
9893 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
9894 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
9895 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
9896 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
9901 @node Score File Editing
9902 @section Score File Editing
9904 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
9905 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
9906 with a mode for that.
9908 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
9909 additional commands:
9914 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
9915 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
9916 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
9917 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
9920 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
9921 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
9922 Insert the current date in numerical format
9923 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
9927 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
9928 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
9929 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
9930 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
9931 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
9936 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
9937 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
9940 @node Adaptive Scoring
9941 @section Adaptive Scoring
9942 @cindex adaptive scoring
9944 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
9945 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
9946 stupidity, to be precise.
9948 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
9949 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
9950 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
9951 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
9952 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
9955 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
9956 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
9957 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. By default, it
9958 looks something like this:
9961 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
9962 '((gnus-unread-mark)
9963 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
9964 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
9965 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
9966 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
9967 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
9968 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
9969 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
9971 (gnus-low-score-mark)
9972 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
9975 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
9976 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
9977 a random number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
9978 pairs following the key, not adaptive scoring will be done on articles
9979 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
9980 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
9983 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
9984 will be applied to each article.
9986 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
9987 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
9988 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
9989 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
9991 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
9992 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
9993 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
9994 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
9996 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
9997 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
9998 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
9999 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
10000 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
10001 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
10003 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
10004 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
10005 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
10006 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
10007 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
10008 aspirins afterwards.)
10010 If you use this scheme, you should set @code{mark-below} to something
10011 small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random changes result
10012 in articles getting marked as read.
10014 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
10015 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
10016 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
10018 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
10019 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
10020 let you use different rules in different groups.
10022 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
10023 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
10024 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
10027 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
10028 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
10029 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
10030 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
10031 the length of the match is less than
10032 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
10033 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
10037 @node Followups To Yourself
10038 @section Followups To Yourself
10040 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
10041 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
10042 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
10043 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
10044 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
10045 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
10049 @item gnus-score-followup-article
10050 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
10051 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
10054 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
10055 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
10056 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
10060 @vindex gnus-inews-article-hook
10061 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
10062 @code{gnus-inews-article-hook}.
10066 @section Scoring Tips
10067 @cindex scoring tips
10073 @cindex scoring crossposts
10074 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
10075 the @code{Xref} header.
10077 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
10080 @item Multiple crossposts
10081 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
10082 more than, say, 3 groups:
10084 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
10087 @item Matching on the body
10088 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
10089 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
10090 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
10091 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
10092 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
10093 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
10094 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
10097 @item Marking as read
10098 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
10099 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
10100 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
10104 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
10106 @item Negated character classes
10107 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
10108 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
10109 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
10113 @node Reverse Scoring
10114 @section Reverse Scoring
10115 @cindex reverse scoring
10117 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
10118 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
10119 like this in your score file:
10123 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
10128 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
10129 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
10132 @node Global Score Files
10133 @section Global Score Files
10134 @cindex global score files
10136 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
10137 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
10138 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
10140 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
10141 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
10142 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
10144 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
10145 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
10146 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
10147 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
10148 files are applicable to which group.
10150 Say you want to use all score files in the
10151 @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory and the single score
10152 file @file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE}:
10155 (setq gnus-global-score-files
10156 '("/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
10157 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
10160 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
10161 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
10162 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
10163 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
10164 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
10166 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
10167 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
10169 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
10170 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
10171 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
10172 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
10173 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
10174 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
10176 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
10182 Articles that are heavily crossposted are probably junk.
10184 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
10186 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
10188 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
10189 lowered out of existence.
10191 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
10192 articles completely.
10195 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
10196 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
10197 old articles for a long time.
10200 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
10201 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
10202 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
10203 holding our breath yet?
10207 @section Kill Files
10210 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
10211 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
10212 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
10214 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
10215 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
10216 files into score files.
10218 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
10219 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
10220 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
10221 that isn't a very good idea.
10223 XCNormal kill files look like this:
10226 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10227 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
10231 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove them from
10232 the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
10234 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
10235 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
10238 Two functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
10243 @kindex M-k (Summary)
10244 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
10245 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
10248 @kindex M-K (Summary)
10249 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
10250 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
10253 Kill file variables:
10256 @item gnus-kill-file-name
10257 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
10258 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
10259 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
10260 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
10261 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
10262 course) is called just @file{KILL}.
10264 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
10265 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
10266 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
10267 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
10270 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
10271 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
10272 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
10273 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you don't want kill files
10274 to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
10276 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
10277 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
10278 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
10287 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
10288 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
10289 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
10290 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
10291 * Compilation and Init File:: How to speed Gnus up.
10292 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
10293 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
10294 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
10295 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
10296 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
10297 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
10301 @node Process/Prefix
10302 @section Process/Prefix
10303 @cindex process/prefix convention
10305 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
10306 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
10308 This is a method for figuring out what articles that the user wants the
10309 command to be performed on.
10313 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
10314 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
10315 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
10316 with the current one.
10318 @vindex transient-mark-mode
10319 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
10320 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
10322 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
10323 process mark, perform the operation on the articles that are marked with
10326 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
10327 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
10329 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
10332 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
10333 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
10334 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
10335 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
10336 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
10337 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
10338 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
10339 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
10343 @section Interactive
10344 @cindex interaction
10348 @item gnus-novice-user
10349 @vindex gnus-novice-user
10350 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
10351 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
10352 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
10353 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
10356 @item gnus-expert-user
10357 @vindex gnus-expert-user
10358 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
10359 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
10360 matter how strange.
10362 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
10363 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
10364 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
10365 is @code{t} by default.
10367 @item gnus-interactive-post
10368 @vindex gnus-interactive-post
10369 If non-@code{nil}, the user will be prompted for a group name when
10370 posting an article. It is @code{t} by default.
10372 @item gnus-interactive-exit
10373 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
10374 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
10379 @node Formatting Variables
10380 @section Formatting Variables
10381 @cindex formatting variables
10383 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables that
10384 are called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
10385 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
10386 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
10387 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
10390 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
10391 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
10392 lots of percentages everywhere.
10394 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
10395 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
10396 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''. Just like a
10397 normal format spec, almost.
10399 You can also say @samp{%6,4y}, which means that the field will never be
10400 more than 6 characters wide and never less than 4 characters wide.
10402 There are also specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the
10403 format variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers
10404 will get the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it
10405 will be highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse
10408 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
10409 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
10410 default. If you say @samp{%1[} instead, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1}
10411 instead, and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes
10412 for the @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
10413 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
10415 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
10418 ;; Create three face types.
10419 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
10420 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
10422 ;; We want the article count to be in
10423 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
10424 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
10425 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
10427 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
10428 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
10430 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
10431 (setq gnus-group-line-format
10432 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
10435 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
10436 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
10438 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
10439 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
10440 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
10441 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
10442 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
10443 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
10444 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}.
10446 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
10447 mode-line variables.
10449 All these format variables can also be random elisp forms. In that
10450 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
10452 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
10453 @findex gnus-update-format
10454 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
10455 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
10456 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
10457 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
10460 @node Windows Configuration
10461 @section Windows Configuration
10462 @cindex windows configuration
10464 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
10466 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
10467 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
10468 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
10469 @code{t} by default.
10471 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
10472 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
10473 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
10476 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
10477 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
10478 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
10482 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
10483 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
10484 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
10485 possible names is listed below.
10487 The @dfn{value} (i. e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
10488 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
10491 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
10495 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
10496 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
10497 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
10498 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
10499 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
10500 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
10501 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
10502 size spec per split.
10504 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
10507 Here's a more complicated example:
10510 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
10511 (summary 0.25 point)
10512 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
10516 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
10517 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
10518 occupy, not a percentage.
10520 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
10521 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
10522 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
10523 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
10524 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
10527 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
10530 (article (horizontal 1.0
10535 (summary 0.25 point)
10540 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
10541 @code{horizontal} thingie?
10543 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
10544 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
10545 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
10546 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
10547 the screen is to be given to this strip.
10549 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
10550 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
10551 lines from the splits.
10553 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a legal split
10557 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
10558 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
10559 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
10560 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
10561 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
10562 size = number | frame-params
10563 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
10566 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
10567 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
10568 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
10569 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
10571 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
10572 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
10573 @cindex window height
10574 @cindex window width
10575 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
10576 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 2) characters high, and all
10577 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
10578 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
10579 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
10580 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
10582 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
10583 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
10584 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
10585 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
10587 @findex gnus-configure-frame
10588 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
10589 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
10590 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
10591 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
10592 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
10593 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
10594 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
10595 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
10596 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
10597 configuration list.
10600 (gnus-configure-frame
10604 (article 0.3 point))
10612 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
10613 @code{frame} split:
10616 (gnus-configure-frame
10619 (summary 0.25 point)
10621 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
10622 (user-position . t)
10623 (left . -1) (top . 1))
10628 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
10629 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
10630 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
10631 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
10632 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
10633 @xref{(elisp)Frame Parameters}.
10635 Here's a list of all possible keys for
10636 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
10638 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
10639 @code{browse}, @code{group-mail}, @code{summary-mail},
10640 @code{summary-reply}, @code{info}, @code{summary-faq},
10641 @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server}, @code{reply}, @code{reply-yank},
10642 @code{followup}, @code{followup-yank}, @code{edit-score}.
10644 @findex gnus-add-configuration
10645 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
10646 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
10647 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
10648 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
10651 (gnus-add-configuration
10652 '(article (vertical 1.0
10654 (summary .25 point)
10658 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
10659 @file{.gnus} file or in some startup hook -- they should be run after
10660 Gnus has been loaded.
10663 @node Compilation and Init File
10664 @section Compilation and Init File
10665 @cindex compilation
10667 @cindex byte-compilation
10669 @vindex gnus-init-file
10670 @findex gnus-compile
10671 When Gnus starts up, it will read the Gnus init file
10672 @code{gnus-init-file}, which is @file{.gnus} by default. It is
10673 recommended that you keep any Gnus-related functions that you have
10674 written in that file. If you want to byte-compile the file, Gnus offers
10675 the handy @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} function that will do that for you.
10677 That's not really why that function was written, though.
10679 Remember all those line format specification variables?
10680 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
10681 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
10682 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
10683 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
10684 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
10687 To help with this, you can run @code{gnus-compile} after you've fiddled
10688 around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of) satisfied.
10689 This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and you'll get
10692 The result of these byte-compilations will be written to
10693 @file{.gnus.elc} by default.
10695 Note that Gnus will read @file{.gnus.elc} instead of @file{.gnus} if
10696 @file{.gnus.elc} exists, so if you change @file{.gnus}, you should
10697 remove @file{.gnus.elc}.
10701 @section Mode Lines
10704 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
10705 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
10706 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
10707 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
10708 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
10709 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
10710 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
10713 @cindex display-time
10715 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
10716 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
10717 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
10718 to display (eg. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
10719 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
10720 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
10721 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
10722 additional elements on the mode line (eg. a clock), you should modify
10725 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
10727 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
10728 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
10730 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
10731 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
10732 (length display-time-string)))))
10735 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
10736 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either.
10739 @node Highlighting and Menus
10740 @section Highlighting and Menus
10742 @cindex highlighting
10745 @vindex gnus-visual
10746 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the prettyfying Gnus
10747 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
10748 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
10751 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
10752 following elements are legal, and are all included by default:
10755 @item group-highlight
10756 Do highlights in the group buffer.
10757 @item summary-highlight
10758 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
10759 @item article-highlight
10760 Do highlights in the article buffer.
10762 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
10764 Create menus in the group buffer.
10766 Create menus in the summary buffers.
10768 Create menus in the article buffer.
10770 Create menus in the browse buffer.
10772 Create menus in the server buffer.
10774 Create menus in the score buffers.
10776 Create menus in all buffers.
10779 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
10780 buffers, you could say something like:
10783 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
10786 If you want only highlighting and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
10789 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
10792 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
10793 in all Gnus buffers.
10795 Other general variables that incluence the look of all buffers include:
10798 @item gnus-mouse-face
10799 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
10800 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
10801 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
10803 @item gnus-display-type
10804 @vindex gnus-display-type
10805 This variable is symbol indicating the display type Emacs is running
10806 under. The symbol should be one of @code{color}, @code{grayscale} or
10807 @code{mono}. If Gnus guesses this display attribute wrongly, either set
10808 this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or set the resource
10809 @code{Emacs.displayType} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
10811 @item gnus-background-mode
10812 @vindex gnus-background-mode
10813 This is a symbol indicating the Emacs background brightness. The symbol
10814 should be one of @code{light} or @code{dark}. If Gnus guesses this
10815 frame attribute wrongly, either set this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or
10816 set the resource @code{Emacs.backgroundMode} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
10817 `gnus-display-type'.
10820 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
10824 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
10825 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
10826 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
10828 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
10829 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
10830 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
10832 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
10833 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
10834 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
10836 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
10837 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
10838 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
10840 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
10841 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
10842 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
10844 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
10845 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
10846 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
10857 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
10858 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
10859 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
10860 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
10861 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
10865 @vindex gnus-carpal
10866 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
10867 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
10868 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
10873 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
10874 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
10875 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
10877 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
10878 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
10879 Face used on buttons.
10881 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
10882 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
10883 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
10885 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
10886 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
10887 Buttons in the group buffer.
10889 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
10890 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
10891 Buttons in the summary buffer.
10893 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
10894 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
10895 Buttons in the server buffer.
10897 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
10898 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
10899 Buttons in the browse buffer.
10902 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
10903 is either a cons cell where the car contains a text to be displayed and
10904 the cdr contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
10912 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
10913 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
10914 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
10915 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
10916 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
10918 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
10919 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
10920 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
10922 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
10923 been idle for thirty minutes:
10926 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
10929 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
10933 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
10936 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter works together
10937 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
10938 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
10940 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
10941 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
10942 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
10943 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
10945 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
10946 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
10947 @var{idle} minutes.
10949 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
10950 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
10953 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
10954 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
10955 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
10957 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
10958 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
10959 seconds. This is @code{60} by default. If you change that variable,
10960 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
10962 @vindex gnus-use-demon
10963 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
10964 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
10966 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
10967 your @file{.gnus} file:
10969 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
10971 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
10974 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
10975 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
10976 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
10977 Some ready-made functions to do this has been created:
10978 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection}, and
10979 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
10980 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
10982 @findex gnus-demon-init
10983 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
10984 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
10985 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
10986 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
10987 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
10989 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
10990 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
10991 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
11000 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
11001 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
11003 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
11004 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
11005 NoCeM is pronouced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
11006 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
11009 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
11010 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
11011 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
11012 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
11014 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
11015 this will make spam disappear.
11017 There are some variables to customize, of course:
11020 @item gnus-use-nocem
11021 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
11022 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
11025 @item gnus-nocem-groups
11026 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
11027 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
11028 default is @code{("alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
11030 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
11031 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
11032 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
11033 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
11034 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
11035 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
11037 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
11040 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
11041 @cindex Chris Lewis
11042 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
11043 usenet abuse than anybody else.
11046 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
11047 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
11048 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
11050 @item jem@@xpat.com;
11052 Jem---Korean despammer who is getting very busy these days.
11054 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
11055 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
11056 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitaed articles).
11059 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
11060 ones you want to listen to.
11062 @item gnus-nocem-directory
11063 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
11064 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
11065 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
11067 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
11068 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
11069 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
11070 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
11071 might then see old spam.
11076 @node Various Various
11077 @section Various Various
11084 @vindex gnus-verbose
11085 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
11086 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
11087 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
11088 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
11089 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
11091 @item gnus-verbose-backends
11092 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
11093 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
11094 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
11096 @item nnheader-max-head-length
11097 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
11098 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
11099 as little as possible. This variable (default @code{4096}) specifies
11100 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
11101 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
11102 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
11103 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
11104 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
11107 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
11108 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
11110 @cindex illegal characters in file names
11111 @cindex characters in file names
11112 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
11113 For instance, if @samp{:} is illegal as a file character in file names
11114 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
11117 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
11121 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
11122 Windows (phooey) systems.
11124 @item gnus-hidden-properties
11125 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
11126 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
11127 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
11128 makes invisble text invisible and intangible.
11130 @item gnus-parse-header-hook
11131 @vindex gnus-parse-header-hook
11132 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
11133 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
11134 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
11142 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
11143 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
11145 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
11147 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
11152 Not because of victories @*
11155 but for the common sunshine,@*
11157 the largess of the spring.
11160 but for the day's work done@*
11161 as well as I was able;@*
11162 not for a seat upon the dais@*
11163 but at the common table.@*
11168 @chapter Appendices
11171 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
11172 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
11173 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
11174 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
11175 * A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
11176 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
11177 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
11185 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
11186 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
11188 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
11189 can point your (feh!) web browser to
11190 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
11191 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
11192 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
11194 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
11195 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)}, is, of course, short for
11196 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
11197 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
11198 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
11199 appropriate name, don't you think?)
11201 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
11202 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
11203 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
11204 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
11206 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
11207 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution.
11209 Incidentally, the next Gnus generation will be called ``September
11210 Gnus'', and won't be released until April 1996. Confused? You will be.
11213 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
11214 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
11215 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
11216 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
11217 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
11218 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
11219 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
11220 * Censorship:: This manual has been censored.
11227 What's the point of Gnus?
11229 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
11230 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
11231 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
11232 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
11233 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
11234 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
11235 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
11236 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
11237 keep track of millions of people who post?
11239 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
11240 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
11241 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
11242 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
11243 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
11244 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
11245 everywhere I could imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one
11246 of you to explore and invent.
11248 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
11251 @node Compatibility
11252 @subsection Compatibility
11254 @cindex compatibility
11255 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
11256 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
11257 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
11262 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
11266 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
11269 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @pxref{Decoding
11272 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
11273 buffers. All variables that are relevant while reading a group are
11274 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
11275 important variables have their values copied into their global
11276 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
11277 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
11279 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
11280 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
11281 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
11282 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
11283 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
11287 @cindex highlighting
11288 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
11289 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
11290 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
11291 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
11292 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
11293 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
11296 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
11297 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
11298 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
11299 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
11301 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
11302 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
11303 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
11304 to stop doing it the old way.
11306 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
11308 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
11310 @cindex reporting bugs
11312 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
11313 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
11314 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
11318 @subsection Conformity
11320 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
11321 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
11328 There are no known breaches of this standard.
11332 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
11334 @item Usenet Seal of Approval
11335 @cindex Usenet Seal of Approval
11336 Gnus hasn't been formally through the Seal process, but I have read
11337 through the Seal text and I think Gnus would pass.
11339 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
11340 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
11341 We do have some breaches to this one.
11346 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
11347 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
11350 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
11351 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
11352 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
11353 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
11354 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
11357 Gnus does line breaking on this header. I infer from RFC1036 that being
11358 conservative in what you output is not creating 5000-character lines, so
11359 it seems like a good idea to me. However, this standard-to-be says that
11360 whitespace in the @code{References} header is to be preserved, so... It
11361 doesn't matter one way or the other to Gnus, so if somebody tells me
11362 what The Way is, I'll change it. Or not.
11367 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliantly with regards to the texts
11368 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
11373 @subsection Emacsen
11379 Gnus should work on :
11384 Emacs 19.30 and up.
11387 XEmacs 19.13 and up.
11390 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.30 and up.
11394 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
11395 reliably, at least.
11397 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various platforms:
11402 The mouse-face on Gnus lines under Emacs and Mule is delimited to
11403 certain parts of the lines while they cover the entire line under
11407 The same with current-article marking---XEmacs puts an underline under
11408 the entire summary line while Emacs and Mule are nicer and kinder.
11411 XEmacs features more graphics---a logo and a toolbar.
11414 Citation highlighting us better under Emacs and Mule than under XEmacs.
11417 Emacs 19.26-19.28 have tangible hidden headers, which can be a bit
11424 @subsection Contributors
11425 @cindex contributors
11427 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
11428 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
11429 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
11430 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
11431 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
11432 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
11433 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
11434 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
11435 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
11436 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
11438 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
11443 Of course, @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}.
11445 Many excellent functions, especially dealing with scoring and
11446 highlighting (as well as the @sc{soup} support) was written
11449 Design and graphics were done by Luis Fernandes.
11451 Innumerable bug fixes were written by Sudish Joseph.
11453 @code{gnus-topic} was written by Ilja Weis.
11455 Lots and lots of bugs were found and fixed by Steven L. Baur.
11457 The refcard was written by Vladimir Alexiev.
11459 I stole some pieces from the XGnus distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
11461 @code{nnfolder} has been much enhanced by Scott Byer.
11463 The orphan scoring was written by Peter Mutsaers.
11465 GNU XEmacs support has been added by Fabrice Popineau.
11467 POP mail support was written by Ken Raeburn.
11469 Various bits and pieces, especially dealing with .newsrc files, were
11470 suggested and added by Hallvard B Furuseth.
11472 Brian Edmonds has written @code{gnus-bbdb}.
11474 Ricardo Nassif and Mark Borges did the proff-reading (sic).
11476 Kevin Davidson came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
11478 Peter Arius, Stainless Steel Rat, Ulrik Dickow, Jack Vinson, Daniel
11479 Quinlan, Frank D. Cringle, Geoffrey T. Dairiki, and Andrew Eskilsson have
11480 all contributed code and suggestions.
11485 @subsection New Features
11486 @cindex new features
11491 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
11492 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
11495 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
11496 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
11499 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
11502 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
11503 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
11504 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
11507 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
11508 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
11509 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
11510 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
11513 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
11514 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
11517 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
11518 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
11519 (@pxref{The Active File}).
11522 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
11523 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
11526 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
11527 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
11528 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
11531 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
11532 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
11533 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
11536 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
11537 the @file{.emacs} file.
11540 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
11541 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11544 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
11545 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
11548 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
11549 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
11552 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
11553 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
11556 Gnus can fetch articles asynchronously on a second connection to the
11557 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
11560 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
11563 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
11564 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
11567 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
11568 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
11571 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
11572 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
11575 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
11578 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
11579 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
11582 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
11586 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
11590 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
11591 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
11594 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
11598 Gnus can use NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
11602 This is, of course, just a @emph{short} overview of the @emph{most}
11603 important new features. No, really. There are tons more. Yes, we have
11604 feeping creaturism in full effect, but nothing too gratuitous, I would
11608 @node Newest Features
11609 @subsection Newest Features
11612 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
11615 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
11619 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
11621 A better and simpler method for specifying mail composing methods.
11623 Allow posting through mail-to-news gateways.
11625 Really do unbinhexing.
11628 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
11629 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
11631 @code{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/sgnus/todo>} is where the actual
11632 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
11633 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
11637 @subsection Censorship
11640 This version of the Gnus manual (as well as Gnus itself) has been
11641 censored in accord with the Communications Decency Act. This law was
11642 described by its proponents as a ban on pornography---which was a
11643 deception, since it prohibits far more than that. This manual did not
11644 contain pornography, but part of it was prohibited nonetheless.
11646 For information on US government censorship of the Internet, and
11647 what you can do to bring back freedom of the press, see the web
11648 site @samp{http://www.vtw.org/}.
11652 @section Terminology
11654 @cindex terminology
11659 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
11660 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
11661 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
11662 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
11663 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
11667 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
11668 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
11669 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
11670 not posting, and replying is not following up.
11674 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
11678 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
11683 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
11684 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
11685 is all done by the backends.
11689 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
11690 default, way of getting news.
11694 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
11695 These are groups that use different backends for getting news.
11699 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
11700 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
11704 A nessage that has been posted as news.
11707 @cindex mail message
11708 A message that has been mailed.
11712 A mail message or news article
11716 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
11721 The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
11726 A line from the head of an article.
11730 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
11731 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
11735 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
11736 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
11737 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
11738 normal @sc{head} format.
11742 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
11743 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
11744 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
11745 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
11746 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
11747 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
11749 @item killed groups
11750 @cindex killed groups
11751 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
11752 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
11754 @item zombie groups
11755 @cindex zombie groups
11756 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
11759 @cindex active file
11760 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
11761 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
11762 is rather large, as you might surmise.
11765 @cindex bogus groups
11766 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
11767 server (i. e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
11768 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
11772 A machine than one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
11774 @item select method
11775 @cindex select method
11776 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
11779 @item virtual server
11780 @cindex virtual server
11781 A named select method. Since a select methods defines all there is to
11782 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the who things as a
11783 whole is a virtual server.
11788 @node Customization
11789 @section Customization
11790 @cindex general customization
11792 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
11793 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
11794 for some quite common situations.
11797 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
11798 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
11799 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
11800 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
11804 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
11805 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
11807 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
11808 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
11809 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
11813 @item gnus-read-active-file
11814 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
11815 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
11816 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-news} and
11817 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
11818 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
11820 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
11821 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
11822 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
11823 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
11827 @node Slow Terminal Connection
11828 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
11830 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that
11831 runs Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce the
11832 amount of data that is sent over the wires as much as possible.
11836 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
11837 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
11838 buffer all the time.
11840 @item gnus-visible-headers
11841 Cut down on the headers that are included in the articles to the
11842 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
11843 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
11844 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
11846 @item gnus-article-display-hook
11847 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
11849 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
11850 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
11851 gnus-article-hide-citation))
11854 @item gnus-use-full-window
11855 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
11856 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
11857 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
11858 want to read them anyway.
11860 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
11861 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
11864 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
11865 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
11866 lines, which might save some time.
11870 @node Little Disk Space
11871 @subsection Little Disk Space
11874 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
11875 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
11879 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
11880 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
11881 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
11882 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
11885 @item gnus-save-killed-list
11886 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
11887 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
11888 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
11889 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
11895 @subsection Slow Machine
11896 @cindex slow machine
11898 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
11899 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
11901 Set@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
11902 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
11904 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
11905 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
11906 summary buffer faster.
11908 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
11909 processing a bit faster.
11912 @node Troubleshooting
11913 @section Troubleshooting
11914 @cindex troubleshooting
11916 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
11924 Make sure your computer is switched on.
11927 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
11928 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
11932 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
11933 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
11934 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
11935 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
11938 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
11942 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
11945 @cindex reporting bugs
11947 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
11949 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
11950 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
11951 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
11952 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
11954 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
11955 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
11956 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
11957 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
11960 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
11961 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you send back
11962 just ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
11963 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
11964 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
11965 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
11967 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
11968 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
11970 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
11971 @cindex ding mailing list
11972 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@ifi.uio.no}.
11973 Write to @samp{ding-request@@ifi.uio.no} to subscribe.
11976 @node A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
11977 @section A Programmer's Guide to Gnus
11979 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
11980 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
11981 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
11982 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
11985 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
11986 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
11987 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
11988 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
11989 and general method of operations.
11992 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
11993 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
11994 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
11995 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
11996 * Group Info:: The group info format.
11997 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
12001 @node Backend Interface
12002 @subsection Backend Interface
12004 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
12005 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
12006 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
12007 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
12008 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
12009 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
12011 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
12012 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
12013 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
12014 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
12015 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
12016 been opened, the function should fail.
12018 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
12019 name. Take this example:
12023 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
12024 (nntp-port-number 4324))
12027 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
12028 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
12030 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
12031 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
12032 server environments that it pulls down/pushes up when needed.
12034 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
12035 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
12036 always check whether are present before attempting to call.
12038 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
12039 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
12040 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
12041 ``resulting data'', I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
12042 talk about ``return value'', I talk about the function value returned by
12045 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
12046 some might be said to not be. The latter are backends that generally
12047 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
12048 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
12051 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
12054 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
12057 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
12058 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
12062 @node Required Backend Functions
12063 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
12067 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
12069 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
12070 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
12071 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
12072 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
12074 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
12075 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
12076 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
12077 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
12079 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try to fetch "extra
12080 headers, in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
12081 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
12082 article number in @code{articles}, and fill in the gaps as well. The
12083 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
12084 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
12085 number, do maximum fetches.
12087 Here's an example HEAD:
12090 221 1056 Article retrieved.
12091 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
12092 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
12093 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
12094 Subject: Re: Something very droll
12095 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
12096 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
12098 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
12099 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
12100 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
12104 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
12105 these in the data buffer.
12107 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
12111 head = error / valid-head
12112 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
12113 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
12114 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
12115 header = <text> eol
12118 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
12119 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
12123 nov-buffer = *nov-line
12124 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
12125 field = <text except TAB>
12128 For a closer explanation what should be in those fields,
12132 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
12134 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
12135 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that defines this virtual server.
12137 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
12138 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
12139 server. In fact, it should do so.
12141 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
12142 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
12145 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
12147 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
12150 There should be no data returned.
12153 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
12155 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
12156 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
12157 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.)
12159 There should be no data returned.
12162 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
12164 This function should return whether @var{server} is opened, and that the
12165 connection to it is still alive. This function should under no
12166 circumstances attempt to reconnect to a server that is has lost
12169 There should be no data returned.
12172 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
12174 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
12176 There should be no data returned.
12179 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
12181 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
12182 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
12183 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
12184 it would be nice if that were possible.
12186 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
12187 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
12188 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
12189 another, and Gnus mainly request articles to be inserted directly into
12190 its article buffer.
12193 @item (nnchoke-open-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
12195 Make @var{group} the current group.
12197 There should be no data returned by this function.
12200 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
12202 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
12203 making @var{group} the current group.
12205 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
12208 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
12211 The first number is the status, which should be @code{211}. Next is the
12212 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
12213 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
12214 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
12215 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
12216 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
12217 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
12218 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
12221 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
12222 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
12223 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
12227 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
12229 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
12230 a no-op on most backends.
12232 There should be no data returned.
12235 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
12237 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
12240 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
12243 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
12244 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
12247 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
12248 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
12251 active-file = *active-line
12252 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
12254 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
12257 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
12258 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
12259 (@samp{=other-group} or none of the above (@samp{y}).
12262 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
12264 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
12265 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
12266 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
12267 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
12268 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
12269 clear if the posting could not be completed.
12271 There should be no result data from this function.
12274 @item (nnchoke-request-post-buffer POST GROUP SUBJECT HEADER ARTICLE-BUFFER INFO FOLLOW-TO RESPECT-POSTER)
12276 This function should return a buffer suitable for composing an article
12277 to be posted by @code{nnchoke-request-post}. If @var{post} is
12278 non-@code{nil}, this is not a followup, but a totally new article.
12279 @var{group} is the name of the group to be posted to. @var{subject} is
12280 the subject of the message. @var{article-buffer} is the buffer being
12281 followed up, if that is the case. @var{info} is the group info.
12282 @var{follow-to} is the group that one is supposed to re-direct the
12283 article ot. If @var{respect-poster} is non-@code{nil}, the special
12284 @samp{poster} value of a @code{Followup-To} header is to be respected.
12286 There should be no result data returned.
12291 @node Optional Backend Functions
12292 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
12296 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
12298 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
12299 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
12300 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
12302 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
12303 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
12304 former is in the same format as the data from
12305 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
12306 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
12309 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
12313 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
12315 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
12316 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
12317 information (as is the case with virtual an imap groups). This function
12318 may alter the info in any manner it sees fit, and should return the
12319 (altered) group info. This function may alter the group info
12320 destructively, so no copying is needed before boogeying.
12322 There should be no result data from this function.
12325 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
12327 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
12328 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
12329 user is following up is news or mail. This function should return
12330 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
12331 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
12332 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
12333 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.)
12335 There should be no result data from this function.
12338 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
12340 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
12341 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
12342 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
12343 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
12344 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
12346 The only use for this that I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
12347 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
12348 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
12351 There should be no result data from this function.
12354 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
12356 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
12357 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
12358 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
12359 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
12360 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
12361 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
12362 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
12364 There should be no result data from this function.
12367 @item (nnchoke-request-asynchronous GROUP &optional SERVER ARTICLES)
12369 This is a request to fetch articles asynchronously later.
12370 @var{articles} is an alist of @var{(article-number line-number)}. One
12371 would generally expect that if one later fetches article number 4, for
12372 instance, some sort of asynchronous fetching of the articles after 4
12373 (which might be 5, 6, 7 or 11, 3, 909 depending on the order in that
12374 alist) would be fetched asynchronously, but that is left up to the
12375 backend. Gnus doesn't care.
12377 There should be no result data from this function.
12380 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
12382 The result data from this function should be a description of
12386 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
12388 description = <text>
12391 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
12393 The result data from this function should be the description of all
12394 groups available on the server.
12397 description-buffer = *description-line
12401 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
12403 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
12404 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
12405 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
12408 @item (nnchoke-request-create-groups GROUP &optional SERVER)
12410 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
12412 There should be no return data.
12415 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
12417 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
12418 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
12419 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
12420 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
12421 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
12424 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
12427 There should be no result data returned.
12430 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
12433 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
12434 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
12436 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
12437 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
12438 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
12439 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
12440 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
12441 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
12443 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
12444 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
12447 There should be no data returned.
12450 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional LAST)
12452 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
12453 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
12454 this function in short order.
12456 There should be no data returned.
12459 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
12461 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
12462 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
12464 There should be no data returned.
12467 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
12469 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
12470 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
12471 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
12473 There should be no data returned.
12476 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
12478 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
12479 articles that are in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
12481 There should be no data returned.
12486 @node Score File Syntax
12487 @subsection Score File Syntax
12489 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
12490 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
12491 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
12493 Here's a typical score file:
12497 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
12504 BNF definition of a score file:
12507 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
12508 element = rule / atom
12509 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
12510 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
12511 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
12512 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
12514 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
12515 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
12516 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
12517 date-header = "date"
12518 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
12519 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
12520 score = "nil" / <integer>
12521 date = "nil" / <natural number>
12522 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
12523 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
12524 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
12525 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
12526 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
12527 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
12528 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
12529 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
12530 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
12531 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
12532 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
12533 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
12534 exclude-files / read-only / touched
12535 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
12536 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
12537 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
12538 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
12539 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
12540 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
12541 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
12542 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
12543 adapt = "adapt" [ space "nil" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
12544 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
12545 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
12546 eval = "eval" space <form>
12547 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
12550 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
12553 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
12554 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
12555 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
12556 one looong line, then that's ok.
12558 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
12563 @subsection Headers
12565 Gnus uses internally a format for storing article headers that
12566 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
12567 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
12568 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
12570 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
12571 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (eg.,
12572 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
12573 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
12574 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
12575 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
12576 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
12578 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
12579 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
12580 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these slots --
12581 they all have predictable names beginning with @code{mail-header-} and
12582 @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
12584 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
12591 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
12592 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
12594 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
12595 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
12596 that you want to callify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
12597 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
12599 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
12603 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
12606 is transformed into
12609 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
12612 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
12613 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
12616 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
12619 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
12620 is slightly tricky:
12623 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
12629 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
12632 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
12638 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
12645 and is equal to the previous range.
12647 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
12648 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
12649 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
12653 range = simple-range / normal-range
12654 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
12655 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
12656 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
12657 number *[ " " contents ]
12660 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
12661 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
12662 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
12663 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
12664 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
12669 @subsection Group Info
12671 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
12672 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
12673 describes the group.
12675 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
12676 second is a more complex one:
12679 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
12681 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
12682 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
12684 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
12687 The first element is the group name as Gnus knows the group; the second
12688 is the group level; the third is the read articles in range format; the
12689 fourth is a list of article marks lists; the fifth is the select method;
12690 and the sixth contains the group parameters.
12692 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
12695 info = "(" group space level space read
12696 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
12697 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
12698 group = quote <string> quote
12699 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
12701 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
12702 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
12703 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
12704 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
12707 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
12708 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
12712 @node Various File Formats
12713 @subsection Various File Formats
12716 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
12717 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
12721 @node Active File Format
12722 @subsubsection Active File Format
12724 The active file lists all groups that are available on the server in
12725 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
12728 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
12731 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
12732 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
12733 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
12734 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
12735 no.general 1000 900 y
12738 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
12741 active = *group-line
12742 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
12743 group = <non-white-space string>
12745 high-number = <non-negative integer>
12746 low-number = <positive integer>
12747 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
12751 @node Newsgroups File Format
12752 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
12754 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
12755 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
12756 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
12759 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
12760 Here's the definition:
12764 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
12765 group = <non-white-space string>
12767 description = <string>
12771 @node Emacs for Heathens
12772 @section Emacs for Heathens
12774 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
12775 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
12776 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
12777 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
12778 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
12779 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
12780 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
12784 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
12785 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
12790 @subsection Keystrokes
12794 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
12797 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
12800 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
12801 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
12802 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
12803 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
12804 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
12805 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
12807 The shift key is normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
12808 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
12809 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
12810 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
12811 keyboards. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
12812 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
12813 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
12815 Now, us Emacs people doesn't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
12816 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
12817 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
12818 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
12819 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
12820 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
12821 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
12823 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
12824 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
12825 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
12826 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
12827 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
12833 @subsection Emacs Lisp
12835 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
12836 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
12837 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
12838 any key to run any random code. You just, like, do it.
12840 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
12841 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
12842 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
12843 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
12844 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
12845 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
12846 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
12849 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
12850 write the following:
12853 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
12856 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
12857 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
12858 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
12861 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
12862 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
12863 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
12864 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
12865 previous ``form'', which here is a simple @code{setq} statement.
12867 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
12868 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
12869 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
12873 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
12877 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
12880 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
12881 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
12884 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
12887 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
12888 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
12891 @include gnus-faq.texi