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4 @settitle Gnus 5.6.33 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The news reader Gnus.
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264 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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273 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
275 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
276 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
277 are preserved on all copies.
279 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
280 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
281 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
282 permission notice identical to this one.
284 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
285 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
294 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
296 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
303 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
304 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
305 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
306 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
309 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
310 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
311 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
312 permission notice identical to this one.
314 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
315 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
321 @title Gnus 5.6.33 Manual
323 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
326 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
327 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
329 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
330 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
331 are preserved on all copies.
333 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
334 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
335 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
336 permission notice identical to this one.
338 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
339 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
348 @top The Gnus Newsreader
352 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
353 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
354 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
357 This manual corresponds to Gnus 5.6.33.
368 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
369 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
371 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
372 being accused of plagiarism:
374 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
375 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
376 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
377 even read news with it!
379 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
380 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
381 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
382 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
383 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
390 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
391 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
392 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
393 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
394 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
395 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
396 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
397 * Various:: General purpose settings.
398 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
399 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
400 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
401 * Key Index:: Key Index.
405 @chapter Starting Gnus
410 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
411 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
414 @findex gnus-other-frame
415 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
416 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
417 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
419 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
420 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
421 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
423 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
424 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
427 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
428 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
429 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
430 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
431 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
432 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
433 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
434 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
435 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
436 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
437 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
441 @node Finding the News
442 @section Finding the News
445 @vindex gnus-select-method
447 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
448 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
449 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
450 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
453 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
454 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
457 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
460 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
463 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
466 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
467 certainly be much faster.
469 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
471 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
472 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
473 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
474 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
475 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
476 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
478 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
479 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
480 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
481 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
483 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
484 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
485 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
486 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
487 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
488 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
490 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
492 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
493 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
494 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
495 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
496 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
497 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
499 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
501 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
502 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
503 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
504 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
505 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
506 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
509 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
510 would typically set this variable to
513 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
518 @section The First Time
519 @cindex first time usage
521 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
522 be subscribed by default.
524 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
525 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
526 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
527 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
530 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
531 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
532 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
534 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
535 help you with most common problems.
537 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
538 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
542 @node The Server is Down
543 @section The Server is Down
544 @cindex server errors
546 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
547 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
548 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
550 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
551 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
552 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
553 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
554 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
555 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
556 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
558 @findex gnus-no-server
559 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
561 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
562 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
563 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
564 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
565 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
566 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
571 @section Slave Gnusae
574 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
575 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
576 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
577 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
579 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
582 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
583 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
584 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
585 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
586 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
587 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
588 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
590 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
591 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
592 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
593 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
594 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
595 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
596 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
597 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
599 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
600 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
603 @node Fetching a Group
604 @section Fetching a Group
605 @cindex fetching a group
607 @findex gnus-fetch-group
608 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
609 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
610 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
611 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
612 It takes the group name as a parameter.
620 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
621 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
622 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
623 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
624 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
625 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
626 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
627 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
628 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
631 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
632 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
633 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
637 @node Checking New Groups
638 @subsection Checking New Groups
640 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
641 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
642 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
643 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
644 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
645 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
646 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
647 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
648 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
649 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
651 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
652 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
653 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
654 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
655 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
656 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
657 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
658 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
659 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
660 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
661 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
663 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
664 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
665 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
666 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
667 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
668 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
671 @node Subscription Methods
672 @subsection Subscription Methods
674 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
675 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
676 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
678 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
679 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
681 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
685 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
686 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
687 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
688 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
689 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
691 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
692 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
693 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
694 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
696 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
697 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
698 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
700 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
701 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
702 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
703 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
704 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
705 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
706 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
707 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
708 up. Or something like that.
710 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
711 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
712 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
713 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
714 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
716 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
717 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
722 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
723 A closely related variable is
724 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
725 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
726 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
727 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
730 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
731 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
732 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
733 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
736 @node Filtering New Groups
737 @subsection Filtering New Groups
739 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
740 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
741 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
744 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
747 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
748 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
749 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
750 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
751 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
752 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
753 subscribing these groups.
754 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
755 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
757 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
758 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
759 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
760 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
761 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
762 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
763 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
764 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
766 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
767 Yet another variable that meddles here is
768 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
769 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
770 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
771 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
772 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
773 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
774 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
775 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
777 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
778 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
781 @node Changing Servers
782 @section Changing Servers
783 @cindex changing servers
785 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
786 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
787 very flaky and you want to use another.
789 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
790 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
794 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
795 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
796 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
797 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
800 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
801 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
802 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
803 functions more than absolutely necessary.
805 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
806 @findex gnus-change-server
807 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
808 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
809 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
810 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
811 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
813 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
814 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
815 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
816 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
817 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
819 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
820 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
821 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
822 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
823 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
824 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
828 @section Startup Files
829 @cindex startup files
834 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
835 information is traditionally stored in this file.
837 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
838 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
839 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
840 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
841 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
842 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
843 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
845 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
846 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
847 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
848 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
849 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
850 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
852 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
853 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
854 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
855 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
856 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
857 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
859 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
860 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
861 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
862 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
863 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
864 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
865 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
866 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
867 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
868 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
869 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
870 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
872 @vindex gnus-startup-file
873 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
874 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
875 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
877 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
878 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
879 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
880 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
881 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
882 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
883 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
884 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
885 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
886 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
889 (defun turn-off-backup ()
890 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
892 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
893 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
896 @vindex gnus-init-file
897 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
898 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
899 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
900 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
901 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
902 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
903 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
904 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
905 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
914 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
915 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
916 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
917 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
918 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
921 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
922 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
925 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
926 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
927 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
929 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
930 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
931 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
932 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
933 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
934 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
936 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
937 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
938 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
941 @node The Active File
942 @section The Active File
944 @cindex ignored groups
946 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
947 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
948 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
950 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
951 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
952 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
953 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
954 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
955 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
956 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
959 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
960 @c if you set it to anything else.
962 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
964 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
965 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
966 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
968 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
969 you actually subscribe to.
971 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
972 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
973 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
974 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
976 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
977 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
978 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
979 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
980 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
981 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
983 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
984 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
985 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
986 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
987 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
988 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
990 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
991 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
993 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
994 secondary select methods.
997 @node Startup Variables
998 @section Startup Variables
1002 @item gnus-load-hook
1003 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1004 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1005 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1006 times you start Gnus.
1008 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1009 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1010 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1012 @item gnus-startup-hook
1013 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1014 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1016 @item gnus-started-hook
1017 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1018 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1021 @item gnus-started-hook
1022 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1023 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1024 generating the group buffer.
1026 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1027 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1028 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1029 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1030 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1031 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1032 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1033 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1035 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1036 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1037 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1038 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1039 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1040 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1042 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1043 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1044 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1046 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1047 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1048 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1050 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1051 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1052 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1053 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1058 @node The Group Buffer
1059 @chapter The Group Buffer
1060 @cindex group buffer
1062 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1063 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1064 long as Gnus is active.
1068 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1069 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1070 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1071 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1072 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1073 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1074 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1075 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1081 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1082 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1083 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1084 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1085 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1086 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1087 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1088 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1089 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1090 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1091 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1092 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1093 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1094 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1095 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1096 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1097 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1101 @node Group Buffer Format
1102 @section Group Buffer Format
1105 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1106 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1107 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1111 @node Group Line Specification
1112 @subsection Group Line Specification
1113 @cindex group buffer format
1115 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1116 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1118 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1121 25: news.announce.newusers
1122 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1127 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1128 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1129 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1130 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1132 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1133 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1134 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1135 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1136 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1137 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1139 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1141 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1142 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1143 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1144 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1147 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1148 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1149 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1151 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1156 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1159 Whether the group is subscribed.
1162 Level of subscribedness.
1165 Number of unread articles.
1168 Number of dormant articles.
1171 Number of ticked articles.
1174 Number of read articles.
1177 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1178 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1181 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1184 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1193 Newsgroup description.
1196 @samp{m} if moderated.
1199 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1208 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1212 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1215 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1216 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1217 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1218 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1219 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1222 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1224 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1228 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1232 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1233 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1234 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1235 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1236 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1237 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1242 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1243 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1244 group, or a bogus native group.
1247 @node Group Modeline Specification
1248 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1249 @cindex group modeline
1251 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1252 The mode line can be changed by setting
1253 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1254 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1258 The native news server.
1260 The native select method.
1264 @node Group Highlighting
1265 @subsection Group Highlighting
1266 @cindex highlighting
1267 @cindex group highlighting
1269 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1270 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1271 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1272 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1273 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1275 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1279 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1
1280 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1281 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2
1282 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1283 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3
1284 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1285 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4
1286 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1287 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5
1288 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1290 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1291 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1292 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1293 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1294 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1295 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1298 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1300 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1307 The number of unread articles in the group.
1311 Whether the group is a mail group.
1313 The level of the group.
1315 The score of the group.
1317 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1319 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1320 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1322 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1323 topic being inserted.
1326 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1327 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1328 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1330 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1331 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1332 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1333 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1334 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1337 @node Group Maneuvering
1338 @section Group Maneuvering
1339 @cindex group movement
1341 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1342 expected, hopefully.
1348 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1349 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1350 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1356 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1357 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1358 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1362 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1363 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1367 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1368 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1372 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1373 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1374 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1378 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1379 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1380 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1383 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1389 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1390 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1391 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1396 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1397 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1398 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1402 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1403 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1404 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1407 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1408 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1409 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1410 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1414 @node Selecting a Group
1415 @section Selecting a Group
1416 @cindex group selection
1421 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1422 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1423 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1424 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1425 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1426 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1427 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1428 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1429 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1430 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1434 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1435 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1436 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1437 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1438 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1442 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1443 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1444 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1445 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1446 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1447 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1448 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1449 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1450 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1451 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1454 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1455 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1456 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1457 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1458 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1461 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1462 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1463 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1464 doing any processing of its contents
1465 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1466 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1467 manner will have no permanent effects.
1471 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1472 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1473 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1474 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1475 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1476 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1477 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1478 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1481 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1482 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1483 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1484 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1489 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1490 full summary buffer.
1493 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1496 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1500 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1501 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1502 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1506 @node Subscription Commands
1507 @section Subscription Commands
1508 @cindex subscription
1516 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1517 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1518 Toggle subscription to the current group
1519 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1525 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1526 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1527 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1528 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1534 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1535 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1536 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1542 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1543 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1546 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1547 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1548 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1549 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1550 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1556 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1557 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1561 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1562 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1565 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1566 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1567 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1568 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1569 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1570 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1571 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1572 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1573 @file{.newsrc} file.
1577 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1587 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1588 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1589 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1590 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1591 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1592 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1597 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1598 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1599 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1603 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1604 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1605 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1607 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1608 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1609 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1610 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1611 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1612 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1619 @section Group Levels
1623 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1624 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1625 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1626 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1627 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1629 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1635 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1636 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1637 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1638 prompted for a level.
1641 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1642 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1643 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1644 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1645 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1646 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1647 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1648 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1649 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1650 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1651 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1652 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1653 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1654 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1655 reasons of efficiency.
1657 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1658 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1660 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1661 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1662 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1664 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1665 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1666 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1667 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1668 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1669 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1670 relevant valid ranges.
1672 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1673 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1674 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1675 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1676 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1677 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1680 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1681 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1682 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1685 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1686 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1687 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1688 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1691 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1692 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1693 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1694 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1696 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1697 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1698 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1699 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1700 to 5. The default is 6.
1704 @section Group Score
1709 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1710 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1711 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1714 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1715 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1716 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1717 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1718 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1719 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1720 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1722 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1723 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1724 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1725 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1726 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1727 action after each summary exit, you can add
1728 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1729 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1730 slow things down somewhat.
1733 @node Marking Groups
1734 @section Marking Groups
1735 @cindex marking groups
1737 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1738 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1739 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1740 bidding on those groups.
1742 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1743 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1744 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1752 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1753 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1759 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1760 Remove the mark from the current group
1761 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1765 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1766 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1770 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1771 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1775 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1776 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1780 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1781 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1782 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1785 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1787 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1788 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1789 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1790 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1791 the command to be executed.
1794 @node Foreign Groups
1795 @section Foreign Groups
1796 @cindex foreign groups
1798 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1799 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1800 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1801 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1808 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1809 @cindex making groups
1810 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1811 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1812 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1816 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1817 @cindex renaming groups
1818 Rename the current group to something else
1819 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1820 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1826 @findex gnus-group-customize
1827 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1831 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1832 @cindex renaming groups
1833 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1834 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1838 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1839 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1840 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1844 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1845 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1846 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1850 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1852 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1853 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1858 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1859 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1863 @cindex (ding) archive
1864 @cindex archive group
1865 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1866 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1867 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1868 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1869 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1870 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1871 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1875 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1877 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1878 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1879 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1880 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1884 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1886 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1887 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1888 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1892 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1893 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1895 Make a group based on some file or other
1896 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1897 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1898 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1899 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1900 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1901 this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
1902 @xref{Document Groups}.
1906 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1911 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1912 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1913 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1914 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1915 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1916 @xref{Web Searches}.
1918 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1919 to a particular group by using a match string like
1920 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1923 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1924 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1925 This function will delete the current group
1926 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1927 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1928 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1929 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1930 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1934 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1935 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1936 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1940 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1941 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1942 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1945 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1948 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1949 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1950 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1951 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1952 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
1953 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
1957 @node Group Parameters
1958 @section Group Parameters
1959 @cindex group parameters
1961 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
1962 Here's an example group parameter list:
1965 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
1969 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
1970 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
1971 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
1972 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
1974 The following group parameters can be used:
1979 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
1982 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
1985 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
1986 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
1987 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
1988 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
1989 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
1991 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1992 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1993 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1994 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1995 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1996 list address instead.
2000 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2003 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2006 It is totally ignored
2007 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2008 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2010 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2011 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2012 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2013 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2014 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2016 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2017 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2018 sending the message.
2022 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2023 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2024 of whether it has any unread articles.
2026 @item broken-reply-to
2027 @cindex broken-reply-to
2028 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2029 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2030 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2031 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2032 broken behavior. So there!
2036 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2037 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2041 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2042 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2043 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2048 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2049 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2050 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2051 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2052 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2053 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2054 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2058 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2059 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2060 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2063 @cindex total-expire
2064 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2065 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2066 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2067 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2072 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2073 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2074 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2075 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2076 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2077 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2080 @cindex score file group parameter
2081 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2082 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2083 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2086 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2087 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2088 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2089 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2092 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2093 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2094 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2095 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2098 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2099 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2103 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2106 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2111 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2112 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2113 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2116 @item @var{(variable form)}
2117 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2118 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2119 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2120 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2121 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2122 @code{eval}ed there.
2124 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2125 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2126 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2127 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2128 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2132 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2133 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2137 @node Listing Groups
2138 @section Listing Groups
2139 @cindex group listing
2141 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2149 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2150 List all groups that have unread articles
2151 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2152 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2153 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2154 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2161 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2162 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2163 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2164 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2165 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2166 unsubscribed groups).
2170 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2171 List all unread groups on a specific level
2172 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2173 with no unread articles.
2177 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2178 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2179 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2180 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2185 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2186 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2190 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2191 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2192 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2196 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2197 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2201 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2202 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2203 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2204 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2205 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2206 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2207 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2208 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2212 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2213 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2214 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2218 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2219 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2220 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2224 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2225 @cindex visible group parameter
2226 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2227 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2228 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2229 get the same effect.
2231 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2232 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2233 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2234 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2235 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2238 @node Sorting Groups
2239 @section Sorting Groups
2240 @cindex sorting groups
2242 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2243 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2244 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2245 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2246 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2247 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2252 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2253 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2254 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2256 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2257 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2258 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2260 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2261 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2262 Sort by group level.
2264 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2265 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2266 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2268 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2269 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2270 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2271 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2273 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2274 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2275 Sort by number of unread articles.
2277 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2278 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2279 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2284 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2285 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2289 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2290 some sorting criteria:
2294 @kindex G S a (Group)
2295 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2296 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2297 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2300 @kindex G S u (Group)
2301 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2302 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2303 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2306 @kindex G S l (Group)
2307 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2308 Sort the group buffer by group level
2309 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2312 @kindex G S v (Group)
2313 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2314 Sort the group buffer by group score
2315 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2318 @kindex G S r (Group)
2319 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2320 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2321 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2324 @kindex G S m (Group)
2325 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2326 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2327 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2331 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2333 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2337 @kindex G P a (Group)
2338 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2339 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2340 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2343 @kindex G P u (Group)
2344 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2345 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2346 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2349 @kindex G P l (Group)
2350 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2351 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2352 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2355 @kindex G P v (Group)
2356 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2357 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2358 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2361 @kindex G P r (Group)
2362 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2363 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2364 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2367 @kindex G P m (Group)
2368 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2369 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2370 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2376 @node Group Maintenance
2377 @section Group Maintenance
2378 @cindex bogus groups
2383 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2384 Find bogus groups and delete them
2385 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2389 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2390 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2391 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2392 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2393 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2397 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2398 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2399 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2400 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2403 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2404 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2405 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2406 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2411 @node Browse Foreign Server
2412 @section Browse Foreign Server
2413 @cindex foreign servers
2414 @cindex browsing servers
2419 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2420 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2421 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2422 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2425 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2426 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2427 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2428 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2430 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2435 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2436 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2440 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2441 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2444 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2445 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2446 Enter the current group and display the first article
2447 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2450 @kindex RET (Browse)
2451 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2452 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2456 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2457 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2458 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2464 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2465 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2469 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2470 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2471 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2476 @section Exiting Gnus
2477 @cindex exiting Gnus
2479 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2484 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2485 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2486 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2487 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2491 @findex gnus-group-exit
2492 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2493 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2497 @findex gnus-group-quit
2498 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2499 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2502 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2503 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2504 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2505 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2506 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2511 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2512 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2513 trying to customize meta-variables.
2518 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2519 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2520 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2526 @section Group Topics
2529 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2530 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2531 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2532 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2533 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2534 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2538 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2539 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2550 2: alt.religion.emacs
2553 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2555 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2556 13: comp.sources.unix
2559 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2561 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2562 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2563 is a toggling command.)
2565 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2566 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2567 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2568 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2571 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2572 the hook for the group mode:
2575 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2579 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2580 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2581 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2582 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2583 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2587 @node Topic Variables
2588 @subsection Topic Variables
2589 @cindex topic variables
2591 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2592 really neat, I think.
2594 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2595 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2596 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2609 Number of groups in the topic.
2611 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2613 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2616 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2617 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2618 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2621 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2622 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2624 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2625 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2626 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2629 @node Topic Commands
2630 @subsection Topic Commands
2631 @cindex topic commands
2633 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2634 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2635 definitions slightly.
2641 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2642 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2643 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2647 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2648 Move the current group to some other topic
2649 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2650 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2654 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2655 Copy the current group to some other topic
2656 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2657 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2661 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2662 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2663 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
2664 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
2665 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
2666 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
2667 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
2670 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2671 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2675 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2676 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2677 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2681 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2682 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2683 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2687 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2688 Toggle hiding empty topics
2689 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2693 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2694 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2695 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2698 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2699 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2700 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2701 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2705 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2707 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2708 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2709 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2710 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2711 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2712 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2716 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2718 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2719 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2720 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2721 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2724 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
2725 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
2726 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2727 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
2731 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2732 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2733 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2737 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2738 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2739 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2744 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2745 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2748 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2749 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2750 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2754 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2755 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2756 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2760 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2761 @cindex group parameters
2762 @cindex topic parameters
2764 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2765 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2771 @subsection Topic Sorting
2772 @cindex topic sorting
2774 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2780 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2781 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2782 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2783 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2786 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2787 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2788 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2789 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2792 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2793 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2794 Sort the current topic by group level
2795 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2798 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2799 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2800 Sort the current topic by group score
2801 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2804 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2805 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2806 Sort the current topic by group rank
2807 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2810 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2811 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2812 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2813 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2817 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2820 @node Topic Topology
2821 @subsection Topic Topology
2822 @cindex topic topology
2825 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2831 2: alt.religion.emacs
2834 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2836 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2837 13: comp.sources.unix
2840 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2841 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2842 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2847 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2848 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2852 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2853 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2854 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2855 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2856 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2857 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2859 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2860 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2861 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2864 @node Topic Parameters
2865 @subsection Topic Parameters
2866 @cindex topic parameters
2868 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2869 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2870 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2872 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2873 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2874 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2875 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2881 2: alt.religion.emacs
2885 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2887 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2888 13: comp.sources.unix
2892 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2893 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2894 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2895 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2896 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2897 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2899 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2900 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2901 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2902 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2903 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2905 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2906 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2907 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2908 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2909 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2910 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2911 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2912 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2915 @node Misc Group Stuff
2916 @section Misc Group Stuff
2919 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2920 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2921 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2922 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2929 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2930 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2931 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2935 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2936 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2937 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2941 @findex gnus-group-mail
2942 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2946 Variables for the group buffer:
2950 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2951 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2952 is called after the group buffer has been
2955 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2956 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2957 is called after the group buffer is
2958 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2961 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
2962 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2963 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
2964 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
2966 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2967 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2968 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2969 whether they are empty or not.
2974 @node Scanning New Messages
2975 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2976 @cindex new messages
2977 @cindex scanning new news
2983 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2984 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
2985 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2986 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2987 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2988 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
2993 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2994 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2995 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
2996 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2997 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2998 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2999 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3001 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3002 @cindex activating groups
3004 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3005 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3010 @findex gnus-group-restart
3011 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3012 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3013 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3017 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3018 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3020 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3021 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3025 @node Group Information
3026 @subsection Group Information
3027 @cindex group information
3028 @cindex information on groups
3035 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3036 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3039 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3040 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3041 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3042 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3043 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3044 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3045 for fetching the file.
3047 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3048 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3052 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3054 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3055 @cindex describing groups
3056 @cindex group description
3057 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3058 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3059 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3063 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3064 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3065 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3072 @findex gnus-version
3073 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3077 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3078 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3081 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3084 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3085 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3089 @node Group Timestamp
3090 @subsection Group Timestamp
3092 @cindex group timestamps
3094 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3095 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3096 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3099 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3102 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3104 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3105 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3108 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3109 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3112 This will result in lines looking like:
3115 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3116 0: custom 19961002T012713
3119 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3120 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3124 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3125 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3130 @subsection File Commands
3131 @cindex file commands
3137 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3138 @vindex gnus-init-file
3139 @cindex reading init file
3140 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3141 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3145 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3146 @cindex saving .newsrc
3147 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3148 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3149 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3152 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3153 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3154 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3159 @node The Summary Buffer
3160 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3161 @cindex summary buffer
3163 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3164 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3166 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3167 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3169 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3172 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3173 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3174 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3175 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3176 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3177 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3178 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3179 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3180 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3181 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3182 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3183 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3184 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3185 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3186 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3187 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3188 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3189 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3190 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3191 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3192 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3193 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3194 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3195 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3196 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3197 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3198 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3202 @node Summary Buffer Format
3203 @section Summary Buffer Format
3204 @cindex summary buffer format
3208 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3209 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3210 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3216 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3217 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3218 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3221 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3222 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3223 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3224 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3225 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3226 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3227 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3228 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3229 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3230 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3231 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3233 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3234 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3235 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3236 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3239 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3240 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3242 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3243 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3244 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3245 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3246 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3248 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3250 The following format specification characters are understood:
3258 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3259 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3260 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3262 Full @code{From} header.
3264 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3266 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3267 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3268 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3269 may be more thorough.
3271 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3274 Number of lines in the article.
3276 Number of characters in the article.
3278 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3280 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3281 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3283 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3284 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3286 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3287 for adopted articles.
3289 One space for each thread level.
3291 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3296 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3297 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3301 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3303 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3304 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3305 default level. If the difference between
3306 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3307 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3315 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3317 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3323 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3324 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3326 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3327 article has any children.
3333 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3334 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3335 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3336 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3337 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3338 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3341 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3342 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3343 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3344 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3345 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3346 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3348 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3349 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3351 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3354 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3355 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3357 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3358 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
3359 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
3360 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3362 Here are the elements you can play with:
3368 Unprefixed group name.
3370 Current article number.
3372 Current article score.
3376 Number of unread articles in this group.
3378 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3381 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3382 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3383 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3384 and no unselected ones.
3386 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3387 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3389 Subject of the current article.
3391 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3393 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3395 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3397 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3399 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3401 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3405 @node Summary Highlighting
3406 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3410 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3411 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3412 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3413 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3414 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3416 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3417 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3418 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3419 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3421 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3422 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3423 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3424 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3426 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3427 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3428 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3429 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3430 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3431 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3433 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3434 ((> score default) . bold))
3436 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3437 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3441 @node Summary Maneuvering
3442 @section Summary Maneuvering
3443 @cindex summary movement
3445 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3446 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3448 None of these commands select articles.
3453 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3454 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3455 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3456 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3457 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3461 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3462 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3463 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3464 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3465 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3470 @kindex G j (Summary)
3471 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3472 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3473 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3476 @kindex G g (Summary)
3477 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3478 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3479 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3482 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3483 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3484 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3485 to the group buffer.
3487 Variables related to summary movement:
3491 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3492 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3493 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3494 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3495 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3496 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3497 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3498 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3499 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3500 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3501 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3502 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3503 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3504 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3506 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3507 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3508 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3509 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3510 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3511 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
3512 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
3514 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3516 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3517 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3518 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3519 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3520 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3522 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3523 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3524 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3525 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3526 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3527 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3528 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3529 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3535 @node Choosing Articles
3536 @section Choosing Articles
3537 @cindex selecting articles
3540 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3541 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3545 @node Choosing Commands
3546 @subsection Choosing Commands
3548 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3549 and they all select and display an article.
3553 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3554 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3555 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3556 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3561 @kindex G n (Summary)
3562 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3563 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3564 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3569 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3570 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3571 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3576 @kindex G N (Summary)
3577 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3578 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3583 @kindex G P (Summary)
3584 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3585 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3588 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3589 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3590 Go to the next article with the same subject
3591 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3594 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3595 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3596 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3597 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3601 @kindex G f (Summary)
3603 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3604 Go to the first unread article
3605 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3609 @kindex G b (Summary)
3611 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3612 Go to the article with the highest score
3613 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3618 @kindex G l (Summary)
3619 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3620 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3623 @kindex G o (Summary)
3624 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3626 @cindex article history
3627 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3628 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3629 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3630 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3631 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3632 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3636 @node Choosing Variables
3637 @subsection Choosing Variables
3639 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3642 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3643 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3644 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3645 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3646 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3647 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3649 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3650 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3651 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3652 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3654 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3655 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3656 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3657 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3658 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3659 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3660 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3661 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3662 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3663 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3664 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3665 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3666 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3667 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3672 @node Paging the Article
3673 @section Scrolling the Article
3674 @cindex article scrolling
3679 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3680 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3681 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3682 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3683 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3686 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3687 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3688 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3691 @kindex RET (Summary)
3692 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3693 Scroll the current article one line forward
3694 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3697 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
3698 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
3699 Scroll the current article one line backward
3700 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
3704 @kindex A g (Summary)
3706 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3707 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3708 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3709 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3710 the way it came from the server.
3715 @kindex A < (Summary)
3716 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3717 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3718 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3723 @kindex A > (Summary)
3724 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3725 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3729 @kindex A s (Summary)
3731 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3732 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3733 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3737 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3738 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3743 @node Reply Followup and Post
3744 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3747 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3748 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3752 @node Summary Mail Commands
3753 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3755 @cindex composing mail
3757 Commands for composing a mail message:
3763 @kindex S r (Summary)
3765 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3766 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3767 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3768 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3769 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3774 @kindex S R (Summary)
3775 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3776 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3777 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3778 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3779 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3782 @kindex S w (Summary)
3783 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3784 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3785 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3786 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3787 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3790 @kindex S W (Summary)
3791 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3792 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3793 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3794 the process/prefix convention.
3797 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3798 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3799 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3800 Forward the current article to some other person
3801 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3802 headers of the forwarded article.
3807 @kindex S m (Summary)
3808 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3809 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3810 Send a mail to some other person
3811 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3814 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3815 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3816 @cindex bouncing mail
3817 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3818 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3819 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3820 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3821 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3822 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3823 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3824 very well fail, though.
3827 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3828 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3829 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3830 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3831 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3832 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3833 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3834 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3835 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3836 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3838 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3839 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3840 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3841 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3842 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3844 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3845 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3848 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3849 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3850 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3851 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3852 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3855 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3856 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3857 @cindex crossposting
3858 @cindex excessive crossposting
3859 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3860 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3862 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3863 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
3864 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3865 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3866 command understands the process/prefix convention
3867 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3871 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3874 @node Summary Post Commands
3875 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3877 @cindex composing news
3879 Commands for posting a news article:
3885 @kindex S p (Summary)
3886 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3887 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3888 Post an article to the current group
3889 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3894 @kindex S f (Summary)
3895 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3896 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3897 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3901 @kindex S F (Summary)
3903 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3904 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3905 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3906 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3907 process/prefix convention.
3910 @kindex S n (Summary)
3911 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3912 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3913 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3916 @kindex S N (Summary)
3917 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
3918 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3919 message through mail and include the original message
3920 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3921 the process/prefix convention.
3924 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3925 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3926 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3927 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3928 headers of the forwarded article.
3931 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3932 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3934 @cindex making digests
3935 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3936 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3937 process/prefix convention.
3940 @kindex S u (Summary)
3941 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3942 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3943 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3944 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3947 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3950 @node Canceling and Superseding
3951 @section Canceling Articles
3952 @cindex canceling articles
3953 @cindex superseding articles
3955 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3956 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3958 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3960 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3962 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
3963 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3964 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3965 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3966 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3967 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3969 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3970 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3973 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
3974 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
3975 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
3977 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3978 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3979 your original article.
3981 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3983 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3984 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3985 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3988 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3989 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3990 have posted almost the same article twice.
3992 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3993 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3994 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3995 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
3996 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3997 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3998 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3999 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4000 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4001 canceled/superseded.
4003 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4006 @node Marking Articles
4007 @section Marking Articles
4008 @cindex article marking
4009 @cindex article ticking
4012 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4014 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4015 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4016 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4018 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4021 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4022 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4023 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4027 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4031 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4032 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4036 @node Unread Articles
4037 @subsection Unread Articles
4039 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4044 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4045 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4047 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4048 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4049 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4050 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4051 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4055 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4056 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4058 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4059 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4060 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4063 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4064 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4066 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4071 @subsection Read Articles
4072 @cindex expirable mark
4074 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4079 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4080 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4081 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4084 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4085 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4088 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4089 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4090 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4093 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4094 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4097 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4098 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4101 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4102 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4105 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4106 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4109 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4110 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4113 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4114 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4117 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4118 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4122 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4123 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4124 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4128 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4129 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4131 One more special mark, though:
4135 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4136 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4138 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4139 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4140 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4141 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4147 @subsection Other Marks
4148 @cindex process mark
4151 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4157 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4158 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4159 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4160 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4161 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4164 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4165 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4166 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4167 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4170 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4171 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4172 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}
4175 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4176 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4177 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4178 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4181 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4182 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4183 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4184 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4185 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4188 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4189 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4190 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4191 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4192 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4193 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4197 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4198 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4199 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4201 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4202 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4203 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4207 @subsection Setting Marks
4208 @cindex setting marks
4210 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4215 @kindex M c (Summary)
4216 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4217 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4218 @cindex mark as unread
4219 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4220 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4226 @kindex M t (Summary)
4227 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4228 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4229 @xref{Article Caching}
4234 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4235 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4236 Mark the current article as dormant
4237 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}
4241 @kindex M d (Summary)
4243 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4244 Mark the current article as read
4245 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4249 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4250 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4251 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4256 @kindex M k (Summary)
4257 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4258 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4259 and then select the next unread article
4260 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4264 @kindex M K (Summary)
4265 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4266 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4267 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4268 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4271 @kindex M C (Summary)
4272 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4273 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4274 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4277 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4278 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4279 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4280 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4283 @kindex M H (Summary)
4284 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4285 Catchup the current group to point
4286 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4289 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4290 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4291 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4292 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4295 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4296 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4297 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4298 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4302 @kindex M e (Summary)
4304 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4305 Mark the current article as expirable
4306 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4309 @kindex M b (Summary)
4310 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4311 Set a bookmark in the current article
4312 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4315 @kindex M B (Summary)
4316 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4317 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4318 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4321 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4322 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4323 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4324 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4327 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4328 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4329 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4330 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4333 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4334 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4335 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4336 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4337 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4340 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4341 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4342 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4343 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4344 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4345 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4346 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4347 The default is @code{t}.
4350 @node Setting Process Marks
4351 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4352 @cindex setting process marks
4359 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4360 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4361 Mark the current article with the process mark
4362 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4363 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4367 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4368 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4369 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4370 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4373 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4374 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4375 Remove the process mark from all articles
4376 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4379 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4380 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4381 Invert the list of process marked articles
4382 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4385 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4386 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4387 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4388 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4391 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4392 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4393 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4396 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4397 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4398 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4399 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4402 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4403 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4404 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4405 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4408 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4409 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4410 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4411 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4414 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4415 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4416 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4419 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4420 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4421 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4422 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4425 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4426 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4427 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4430 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4431 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4432 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4433 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4436 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4437 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4438 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4439 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4442 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4443 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4444 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4445 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4448 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4449 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4450 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4451 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4460 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4461 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4462 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4465 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4466 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4467 additional articles.
4473 @kindex / / (Summary)
4474 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4475 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4476 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4479 @kindex / a (Summary)
4480 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4481 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4482 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4486 @kindex / u (Summary)
4488 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4489 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4490 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4491 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4492 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4495 @kindex / m (Summary)
4496 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4497 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
4498 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4501 @kindex / t (Summary)
4502 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4503 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4504 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4505 articles younger than that number of days.
4508 @kindex / n (Summary)
4509 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4510 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4511 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4512 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4515 @kindex / w (Summary)
4516 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4517 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4518 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4522 @kindex / v (Summary)
4523 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4524 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4525 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4529 @kindex M S (Summary)
4530 @kindex / E (Summary)
4531 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4532 Include all expunged articles in the limit
4533 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4536 @kindex / D (Summary)
4537 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4538 Include all dormant articles in the limit
4539 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4542 @kindex / * (Summary)
4543 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4544 Include all cached articles in the limit
4545 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4548 @kindex / d (Summary)
4549 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4550 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
4551 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4554 @kindex / T (Summary)
4555 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4556 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
4559 @kindex / c (Summary)
4560 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4561 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
4562 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4565 @kindex / C (Summary)
4566 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4567 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4568 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4569 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4577 @cindex article threading
4579 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4580 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4581 hierarchical fashion.
4583 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4584 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4585 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4586 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
4587 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4588 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4589 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4591 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4595 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4598 A tree-like article structure.
4601 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4604 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4605 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4606 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
4607 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4608 called loose threads.
4610 @item thread gathering
4611 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4613 @item sparse threads
4614 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4615 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4621 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4622 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4626 @node Customizing Threading
4627 @subsection Customizing Threading
4628 @cindex customizing threading
4631 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4632 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4633 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4634 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4639 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4642 @cindex loose threads
4645 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4646 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4647 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4648 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4649 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4650 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4652 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4653 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4654 There are four possible values:
4658 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4659 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4660 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4661 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4662 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4667 @cindex adopting articles
4672 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4673 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4674 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4675 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4678 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4679 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4680 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4681 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4682 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4683 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4684 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4687 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4688 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4689 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4693 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4694 display them after one another.
4697 Don't gather loose threads.
4700 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4701 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4702 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4703 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4704 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4705 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4706 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4707 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4708 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4709 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4710 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4712 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4713 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4714 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4717 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4718 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4719 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4720 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4721 simplification is used.
4723 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4724 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4725 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4726 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4728 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4730 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4736 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4737 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4738 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4739 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4744 (mapconcat 'identity
4745 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4747 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4750 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4753 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4754 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4755 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4756 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4757 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4758 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4760 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4763 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4764 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4765 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4767 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4768 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4771 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4772 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4773 Remove excessive whitespace.
4776 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4779 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4780 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4781 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4782 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4783 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4784 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4785 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4786 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4788 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4789 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4790 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4791 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4792 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4793 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4794 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4795 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4796 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4800 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4801 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4802 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4803 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4805 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4806 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4807 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4810 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4814 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4815 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4821 @node Filling In Threads
4822 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4825 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4826 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4827 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4828 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
4829 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4830 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4831 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4832 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4833 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4834 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4835 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4836 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4838 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4839 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4840 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4842 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4843 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4844 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4845 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4846 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4847 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4848 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4849 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4850 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4851 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4852 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4853 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4854 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4855 @code{nil} by default.
4860 @node More Threading
4861 @subsubsection More Threading
4864 @item gnus-show-threads
4865 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4866 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4867 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4868 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4869 slower and more awkward.
4871 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4872 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4873 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4876 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4877 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4878 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4879 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4880 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4881 threads are expunged.
4883 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4884 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4885 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4888 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4889 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4890 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4891 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4892 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4895 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4896 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4897 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4903 @node Low-Level Threading
4904 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4908 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4909 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4910 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4911 @code{(gnus-decode-rfc1522)}, which means that QPized headers will be
4912 slightly decoded in a hackish way. This is likely to change in the
4913 future when Gnus becomes @sc{MIME}ified.
4915 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4916 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4917 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4918 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4919 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4920 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4921 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4922 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4923 meaningful. Here's one example:
4926 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4928 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4929 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4931 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4933 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4940 @node Thread Commands
4941 @subsection Thread Commands
4942 @cindex thread commands
4948 @kindex T k (Summary)
4949 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4950 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4951 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4952 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4953 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4958 @kindex T l (Summary)
4959 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4960 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4961 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4962 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4965 @kindex T i (Summary)
4966 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4967 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4968 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4971 @kindex T # (Summary)
4972 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4973 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4974 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4977 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4978 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4979 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4980 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4983 @kindex T T (Summary)
4984 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4985 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4988 @kindex T s (Summary)
4989 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4990 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4991 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4994 @kindex T h (Summary)
4995 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4996 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4999 @kindex T S (Summary)
5000 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5001 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5004 @kindex T H (Summary)
5005 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5006 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5009 @kindex T t (Summary)
5010 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5011 Re-thread the current article's thread
5012 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5013 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5016 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5017 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5018 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5019 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5023 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5024 understand the numeric prefix.
5029 @kindex T n (Summary)
5030 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5031 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5034 @kindex T p (Summary)
5035 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5036 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5039 @kindex T d (Summary)
5040 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5041 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5044 @kindex T u (Summary)
5045 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5046 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5049 @kindex T o (Summary)
5050 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5051 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5054 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5055 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5056 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5057 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5058 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5059 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5060 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5061 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5062 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5063 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5064 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5065 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5072 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5073 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5074 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5075 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5076 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5077 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5078 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5079 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5080 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
5081 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5082 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5083 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5084 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5085 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5087 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5088 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5089 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
5090 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
5091 in the list. You should probably always include
5092 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5093 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5094 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5095 ascending article order.
5097 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
5098 number, you could do something like:
5101 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5102 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5103 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5104 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
5107 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5108 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5109 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5110 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5111 which the articles arrived.
5113 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5117 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5119 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5120 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5123 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5124 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5125 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5126 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5129 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5130 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5131 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5132 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5133 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5134 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5135 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5136 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5137 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5138 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5139 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5140 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5141 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5143 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5147 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5148 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5149 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5154 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5155 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5156 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5157 @cindex article pre-fetch
5160 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5161 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5162 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5163 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5164 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5166 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5167 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5169 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5170 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5171 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5172 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5173 connection is blocked.
5175 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5176 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5177 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5178 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
5180 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5181 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5182 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5183 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5186 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5189 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5190 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5191 happen automatically.
5193 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5194 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5195 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5196 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5197 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5198 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5199 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5201 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5202 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5203 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5204 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5205 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5206 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5207 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5208 data structure as the only parameter.
5210 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5213 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5214 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5215 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5216 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5219 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5222 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5223 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
5224 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5226 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5227 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5228 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5229 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5233 Remove articles when they are read.
5236 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5239 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5241 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5242 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5243 from the next group.
5246 @node Article Caching
5247 @section Article Caching
5248 @cindex article caching
5251 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5252 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5253 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5254 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5255 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5257 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5259 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5260 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5261 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5262 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5263 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5264 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5265 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5266 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5268 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5269 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5270 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5271 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5272 as dormant, and don't worry.
5274 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5276 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5277 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5278 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5279 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5280 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5281 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5282 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5283 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5284 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5285 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5287 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5288 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5289 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5290 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5291 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5292 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5293 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5294 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5295 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5296 not then be downloaded by this command.
5298 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5299 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
5300 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
5301 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5302 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5303 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
5305 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
5306 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
5307 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
5308 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
5309 variables, the group is not cached.
5311 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5312 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5313 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5314 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5315 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5316 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
5317 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5318 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5319 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5323 @node Persistent Articles
5324 @section Persistent Articles
5325 @cindex persistent articles
5327 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5328 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5329 useful in my opinion.
5331 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5332 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5333 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5334 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5335 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5336 the expiry going on at the news server.
5338 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5339 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5340 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5346 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5347 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5350 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5351 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5352 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5353 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5357 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5359 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5360 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5361 interested in persistent articles:
5364 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5368 @node Article Backlog
5369 @section Article Backlog
5371 @cindex article backlog
5373 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5374 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5375 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
5376 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5377 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5378 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5379 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5380 increase memory usage some.
5382 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5383 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5384 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5385 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5386 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5387 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5388 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5390 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5393 @node Saving Articles
5394 @section Saving Articles
5395 @cindex saving articles
5397 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5398 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5399 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5400 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5401 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5403 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5404 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5405 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5407 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5408 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5409 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5410 deleted before saving.
5416 @kindex O o (Summary)
5418 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5419 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5420 Save the current article using the default article saver
5421 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5424 @kindex O m (Summary)
5425 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5426 Save the current article in mail format
5427 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5430 @kindex O r (Summary)
5431 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5432 Save the current article in rmail format
5433 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5436 @kindex O f (Summary)
5437 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5438 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5439 Save the current article in plain file format
5440 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5443 @kindex O F (Summary)
5444 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5445 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5446 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5449 @kindex O b (Summary)
5450 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5451 Save the current article body in plain file format
5452 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5455 @kindex O h (Summary)
5456 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5457 Save the current article in mh folder format
5458 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5461 @kindex O v (Summary)
5462 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5463 Save the current article in a VM folder
5464 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5467 @kindex O p (Summary)
5468 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5469 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5470 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5473 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5474 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5475 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5476 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5477 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5478 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5479 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5480 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5481 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5482 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5483 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5484 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5488 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5489 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5490 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5491 functions below, or you can create your own.
5495 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5496 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5497 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5498 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5499 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5500 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5501 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5503 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5504 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5505 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5506 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5507 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5508 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5510 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5511 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5512 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5513 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5514 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5515 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5516 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5518 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5519 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5520 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5521 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5522 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5524 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5525 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5526 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5527 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5528 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5531 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5532 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5533 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5534 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5535 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5537 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5538 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5539 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5540 reader to use this setting.
5543 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5544 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5545 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5546 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5549 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5550 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5551 available functions that generate names:
5555 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5556 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5557 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5559 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5560 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5561 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5563 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5564 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5565 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5567 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5568 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5569 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5572 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5573 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5574 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5575 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5576 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5580 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5581 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5582 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5583 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5586 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5587 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5588 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5589 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5590 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5591 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5592 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5593 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5594 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5596 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5597 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5598 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5599 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5601 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5602 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5603 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5606 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5607 lots of mail groups called things like
5608 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5609 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5610 following will do just that:
5613 (defun my-save-name (group)
5614 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5615 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5617 (setq gnus-split-methods
5618 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5623 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5624 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5625 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5626 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5627 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5628 all the files in the top level directory
5629 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5630 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5631 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5632 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5634 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5635 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5636 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5637 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5638 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5641 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5645 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5646 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5649 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5650 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5651 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5652 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5655 @node Decoding Articles
5656 @section Decoding Articles
5657 @cindex decoding articles
5659 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5660 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5663 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5664 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5665 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5666 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5667 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5668 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5672 @cindex article series
5673 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5674 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5675 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5676 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5677 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5679 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5680 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5681 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5683 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5684 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5685 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5687 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5688 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5689 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5692 @node Uuencoded Articles
5693 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5695 @cindex uuencoded articles
5700 @kindex X u (Summary)
5701 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5702 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5703 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5706 @kindex X U (Summary)
5707 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5708 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5709 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5712 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5713 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5714 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5717 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5718 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5719 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5720 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5724 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5725 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5726 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5727 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5728 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5730 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5731 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5732 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5733 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5736 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5737 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5738 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5739 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5740 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5741 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5745 @node Shell Archives
5746 @subsection Shell Archives
5748 @cindex shell archives
5749 @cindex shared articles
5751 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5752 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5753 some commands to deal with these:
5758 @kindex X s (Summary)
5759 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5760 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5763 @kindex X S (Summary)
5764 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5765 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5768 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5769 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5770 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5773 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5774 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5775 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5776 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5780 @node PostScript Files
5781 @subsection PostScript Files
5787 @kindex X p (Summary)
5788 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5789 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5792 @kindex X P (Summary)
5793 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5794 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5795 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5798 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5799 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5800 View the current PostScript series
5801 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5804 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5805 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5806 View and save the current PostScript series
5807 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5812 @subsection Other Files
5816 @kindex X o (Summary)
5817 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5818 Save the current series
5819 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5822 @kindex X b (Summary)
5823 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5824 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5825 doesn't really work yet.
5829 @node Decoding Variables
5830 @subsection Decoding Variables
5832 Adjective, not verb.
5835 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5836 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5837 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5841 @node Rule Variables
5842 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5843 @cindex rule variables
5845 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5846 variables are of the form
5849 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5856 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5857 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5859 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5860 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5863 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5864 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5867 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5868 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5869 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5870 user and default view rules.
5872 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5873 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5874 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5879 @node Other Decode Variables
5880 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5883 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5885 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5886 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5887 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5888 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5889 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5893 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5894 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5897 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5898 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5899 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5902 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5903 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5904 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5905 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5906 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5909 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5910 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5911 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5913 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5914 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5915 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5916 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5917 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5920 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5921 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5922 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5924 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5925 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5926 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5927 looking for files to display.
5929 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5930 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5931 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5934 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5935 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5936 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5939 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5940 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5941 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5944 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5945 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5946 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5949 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5950 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5951 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
5952 decoded articles as unread.
5954 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5955 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5956 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5957 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5959 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5960 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5961 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
5963 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5964 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5966 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5967 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5968 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5969 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5971 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5972 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5973 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5974 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5975 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5976 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5977 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5978 simply dropped them.
5983 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5984 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5988 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5989 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5990 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5991 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5992 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5993 for you when you post the article.
5995 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5996 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5997 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5998 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6000 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6001 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6002 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6003 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6004 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6005 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6006 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6008 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6009 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6010 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6011 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6012 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6013 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6014 Default is @code{t}.
6020 @subsection Viewing Files
6021 @cindex viewing files
6022 @cindex pseudo-articles
6024 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
6025 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6026 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6027 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
6028 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6029 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6030 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6032 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6033 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6034 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6035 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6037 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6038 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6039 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6041 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6042 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6043 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6044 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6045 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6047 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6048 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6049 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6050 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6051 a list of parameters to that command.
6053 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6054 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6055 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6057 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6058 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6059 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6062 @node Article Treatment
6063 @section Article Treatment
6065 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6066 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6067 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6068 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6069 these articles easier.
6072 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6073 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6074 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6075 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6076 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6077 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6078 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6082 @node Article Highlighting
6083 @subsection Article Highlighting
6084 @cindex highlighting
6086 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6087 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6092 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6093 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6094 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6095 Do much highlighting of the current article
6096 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6097 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6099 Most users would prefer using @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} in
6100 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}) instead.
6101 This is a bit less agressive---it highlights only the headers, the
6102 signature and adds buttons.
6105 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6106 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6107 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6108 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6109 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6110 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6111 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6112 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6113 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6114 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6115 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6118 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6119 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6120 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6122 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6125 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6127 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6128 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6129 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6131 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6132 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6133 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6135 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6136 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6137 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6139 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6140 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6141 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6142 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6143 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6144 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6146 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6147 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6148 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6150 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6151 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6152 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6154 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6155 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6156 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6157 that it's a citation.
6159 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6160 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6161 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6163 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6164 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6165 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6167 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6168 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6169 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6170 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6176 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6177 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6178 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6179 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6180 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6181 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6182 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6183 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6188 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to highlight articles automatically.
6191 @node Article Fontisizing
6192 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6194 @cindex article emphasis
6196 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6197 @kindex W e (Summary)
6198 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6199 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6200 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6201 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6203 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
6204 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6205 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
6206 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6207 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6208 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6209 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6210 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6214 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6215 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6216 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6219 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6220 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6221 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6222 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6223 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6224 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6225 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6226 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6227 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6228 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6229 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6230 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6231 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6233 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6234 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6235 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6239 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6242 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to fontize articles automatically.
6245 @node Article Hiding
6246 @subsection Article Hiding
6247 @cindex article hiding
6249 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6250 too much cruft in most articles.
6255 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6256 @findex gnus-article-hide
6257 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
6258 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
6259 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
6262 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6263 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6264 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6268 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6269 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6270 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6271 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6274 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6275 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6276 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6280 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6281 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6282 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6283 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6284 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6285 signature has been hidden.
6288 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6289 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6290 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6291 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6294 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6295 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6296 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6297 customizing the hiding:
6301 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6302 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6303 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6304 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6305 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6306 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6307 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6312 Start point of the hidden text.
6314 End point of the hidden text.
6316 Length of the hidden text.
6319 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6320 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6321 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6326 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
6327 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
6329 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
6330 following two variables:
6333 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6334 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6335 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6336 50), hide the cited text.
6338 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6339 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6340 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6345 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6346 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6347 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6348 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6349 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6350 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6354 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6355 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6356 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6358 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6359 citation customization.
6361 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to hide article elements
6365 @node Article Washing
6366 @subsection Article Washing
6368 @cindex article washing
6370 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6371 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6373 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6374 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6380 @kindex W l (Summary)
6381 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6382 Remove page breaks from the current article
6383 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article} for page
6387 @kindex W r (Summary)
6388 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6389 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6390 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6391 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6392 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6393 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6395 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6396 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6397 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6398 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6401 @kindex W t (Summary)
6402 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6403 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6404 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6407 @kindex W v (Summary)
6408 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6409 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6410 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6413 @kindex W m (Summary)
6414 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6415 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
6416 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6419 @kindex W o (Summary)
6420 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6421 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6424 @kindex W d (Summary)
6425 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6426 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6429 @kindex W w (Summary)
6430 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6431 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6432 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6433 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6435 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6439 @kindex W c (Summary)
6440 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6441 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6442 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6445 @kindex W q (Summary)
6446 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
6447 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
6448 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
6449 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
6450 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
6454 @kindex W f (Summary)
6456 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6457 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6458 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6459 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6465 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6466 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6467 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6468 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6469 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6470 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6471 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6472 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6473 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6474 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6475 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6476 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6477 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6478 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6482 @kindex W b (Summary)
6483 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6484 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6485 @xref{Article Buttons}
6488 @kindex W B (Summary)
6489 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6490 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6491 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6494 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6495 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6496 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6497 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6500 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6501 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6502 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6503 lines with a single empty line.
6504 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6507 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6508 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6509 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6510 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6513 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6514 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6515 Do all the three commands above
6516 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6519 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6520 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6521 Remove all blank lines
6522 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6525 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6526 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6527 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6528 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6532 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to wash articles automatically.
6535 @node Article Buttons
6536 @subsection Article Buttons
6539 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6540 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6541 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6542 button on these references.
6544 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6545 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6546 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6551 @item gnus-button-alist
6552 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6553 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6556 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6562 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6563 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6564 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6567 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6568 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6569 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6572 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6573 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6574 avoid false matches.
6577 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6580 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6581 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6585 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6588 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6591 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6592 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6593 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6594 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6595 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6598 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6601 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6603 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6604 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6605 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6606 default values of the variables above.
6608 @item gnus-article-button-face
6609 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6610 Face used on buttons.
6612 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6613 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6614 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6618 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to buttonize articles automatically.
6622 @subsection Article Date
6624 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6625 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6626 when the article was sent.
6631 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6632 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6633 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6634 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6637 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6638 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6640 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6641 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6644 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6645 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6646 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6649 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6650 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6651 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6652 @findex format-time-string
6653 Display the date using a user-defined format
6654 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6655 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6656 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6657 for a list of possible format specs.
6660 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6661 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6662 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6663 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6664 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6665 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6666 updated continually, you can put
6669 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6672 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6673 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6677 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6678 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6679 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6680 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6681 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6682 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6683 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6687 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to display the date in your
6688 preferred format automatically.
6691 @node Article Signature
6692 @subsection Article Signature
6694 @cindex article signature
6696 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6697 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6698 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6699 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6700 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6701 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6702 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6703 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6704 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6707 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6708 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6709 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6710 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6711 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6712 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6713 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6714 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6717 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6720 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6721 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6726 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6729 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6732 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6733 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6735 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6736 in question is not a signature.
6739 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6740 listed above. Here's an example:
6743 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6744 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6747 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6748 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6749 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6750 signature after all.
6753 @node Article Commands
6754 @section Article Commands
6761 @kindex A P (Summary)
6762 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6763 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6764 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6765 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6766 run just before printing the buffer.
6771 @node Summary Sorting
6772 @section Summary Sorting
6773 @cindex summary sorting
6775 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6776 can't really see why you'd want that.
6781 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6782 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6783 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6786 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6787 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6788 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6791 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6792 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6793 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6796 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6797 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6798 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6801 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6802 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6803 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6806 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6807 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6808 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6811 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6812 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6813 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6814 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6815 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6819 @node Finding the Parent
6820 @section Finding the Parent
6821 @cindex parent articles
6822 @cindex referring articles
6827 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6828 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6829 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6830 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6831 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6832 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6833 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6834 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6835 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6837 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6838 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6839 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6840 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6841 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6845 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6846 @kindex A R (Summary)
6847 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
6848 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6851 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
6852 @kindex A T (Summary)
6853 Display the full thread where the current article appears
6854 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
6855 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
6856 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
6857 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
6858 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
6859 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
6861 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
6862 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
6863 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
6864 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
6865 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
6866 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
6869 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6870 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6872 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6873 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6874 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6875 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6876 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6877 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6878 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6881 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6882 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6883 by giving this command a prefix.
6885 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6886 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6887 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6888 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6889 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6890 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6893 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6894 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6895 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6896 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6897 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6898 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6901 @node Alternative Approaches
6902 @section Alternative Approaches
6904 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6905 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6908 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6909 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6914 @subsection Pick and Read
6915 @cindex pick and read
6917 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
6918 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
6919 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
6920 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
6922 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6923 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6924 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6925 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6926 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6927 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
6929 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6934 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
6935 Pick the article or thread on the current line
6936 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
6937 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
6938 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
6939 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
6940 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
6941 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6944 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6945 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6946 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6947 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6951 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
6952 Unpick the thread or article
6953 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
6954 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
6955 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
6956 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
6957 the thread or article at that line.
6961 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6962 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6963 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6964 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6965 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6966 will still be visible when you are reading.
6970 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
6971 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
6972 which is mapped to the same function
6973 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
6975 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6978 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6981 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6982 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6984 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6985 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6986 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6988 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6989 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
6990 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6991 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6992 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6993 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6994 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6998 @subsection Binary Groups
6999 @cindex binary groups
7001 @findex gnus-binary-mode
7002 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
7003 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
7004 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
7005 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
7006 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
7007 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
7010 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
7011 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
7012 command, when you have turned on this mode
7013 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
7015 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
7016 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
7020 @section Tree Display
7023 @vindex gnus-use-trees
7024 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
7025 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
7026 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
7029 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
7032 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
7033 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
7034 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
7036 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7037 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7038 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
7039 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
7040 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
7042 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7043 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7044 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7045 default is @code{modeline}.
7047 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7048 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7049 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7050 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7051 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7052 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7053 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7059 The name of the poster.
7061 The @code{From} header.
7063 The number of the article.
7065 The opening bracket.
7067 The closing bracket.
7072 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7074 Variables related to the display are:
7077 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7078 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7079 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7080 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7081 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7082 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7084 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7085 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7086 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7087 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7091 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7092 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7093 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
7094 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
7095 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7096 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7097 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7098 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7099 other windows displayed next to it.
7101 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7102 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7103 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7104 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7105 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7106 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7107 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7111 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7114 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7124 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7128 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7129 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7131 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7133 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7138 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7139 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7140 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7143 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7144 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7145 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7146 (gnus-add-configuration
7150 (summary 0.75 point)
7155 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7158 @node Mail Group Commands
7159 @section Mail Group Commands
7160 @cindex mail group commands
7162 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7163 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7165 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7166 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7171 @kindex B e (Summary)
7172 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7173 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7174 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7177 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7178 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7179 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7180 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7181 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7182 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7185 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7186 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7187 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7188 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7189 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7190 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7193 @kindex B m (Summary)
7195 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7196 Move the article from one mail group to another
7197 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7200 @kindex B c (Summary)
7202 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7203 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7204 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7205 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7208 @kindex B B (Summary)
7209 @cindex crosspost mail
7210 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7211 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7212 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7213 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7214 be properly updated.
7217 @kindex B i (Summary)
7218 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7219 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7220 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7221 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7224 @kindex B r (Summary)
7225 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7226 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
7227 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7228 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7229 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7233 @kindex B w (Summary)
7235 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7236 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7237 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7238 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7239 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7240 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7243 @kindex B q (Summary)
7244 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7245 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7246 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7247 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7250 @kindex B t (Summary)
7251 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
7252 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
7253 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
7256 @kindex B p (Summary)
7257 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7258 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7259 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7260 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7261 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7262 article from your news server (or rather, from
7263 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7264 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7265 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7266 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7267 just not have arrived yet.
7271 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7272 @cindex moving articles
7273 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
7274 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7275 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7276 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7277 suggestions you find reasonable.
7280 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7281 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7282 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7283 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7287 @node Various Summary Stuff
7288 @section Various Summary Stuff
7291 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7292 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7293 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7294 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7298 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7299 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7300 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7302 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7303 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7304 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7305 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7306 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7307 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7310 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7311 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7312 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7313 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7314 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7316 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7317 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7318 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7319 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7320 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7321 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7322 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
7323 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7324 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7325 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7330 @node Summary Group Information
7331 @subsection Summary Group Information
7336 @kindex H f (Summary)
7337 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7338 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7339 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7340 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7341 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7342 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7343 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7344 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7345 be used for fetching the file.
7348 @kindex H d (Summary)
7349 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7350 Give a brief description of the current group
7351 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7352 rereading the description from the server.
7355 @kindex H h (Summary)
7356 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7357 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7358 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7361 @kindex H i (Summary)
7362 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7363 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7367 @node Searching for Articles
7368 @subsection Searching for Articles
7373 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7374 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7375 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7376 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7379 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7380 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7381 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7382 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7386 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7387 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7388 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7389 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7393 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7394 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7395 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7396 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7399 @node Summary Generation Commands
7400 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7405 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7406 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7407 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7410 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7411 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7412 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7413 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7418 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7419 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7424 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7425 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7426 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7427 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7428 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7429 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7430 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7431 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7432 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7436 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7437 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7438 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7439 several documents into one biiig group
7440 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7441 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7442 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7443 command understands the process/prefix convention
7444 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7447 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7448 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7449 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7450 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7451 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7452 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7456 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7457 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7458 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7461 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
7462 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
7463 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7464 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
7469 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7470 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7471 @cindex summary exit
7472 @cindex exiting groups
7474 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7475 group and return you to the group buffer.
7481 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7483 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7484 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7485 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7486 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7487 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7488 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7489 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7490 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7491 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7492 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7493 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7497 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7499 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7500 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7501 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7505 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7507 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7508 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7509 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7510 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7513 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7514 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7515 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7516 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7519 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7520 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7521 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7522 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7525 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7526 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7527 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7528 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7529 all articles, both read and unread.
7533 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7534 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7535 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7536 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7537 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7538 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7539 articles, both read and unread.
7542 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7543 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7544 Exit the group and go to the next group
7545 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7548 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7549 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7550 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7551 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7554 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7555 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7556 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7557 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7558 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7559 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7562 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7563 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7566 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7567 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7568 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7569 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7570 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7571 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7572 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7573 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7574 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7575 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7576 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7577 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7579 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7581 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7582 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7583 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7584 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7585 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7586 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7587 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7588 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7589 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7592 @node Crosspost Handling
7593 @section Crosspost Handling
7597 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7598 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7599 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7600 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7601 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7602 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7605 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7606 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7607 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7608 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7609 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7611 @cindex cross-posting
7614 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7615 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7616 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7617 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7618 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7619 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7620 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7621 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7622 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7623 the cross reference mechanism.
7625 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7626 @cindex overview.fmt
7627 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7628 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7629 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7630 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7631 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7632 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7635 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7636 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7637 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7642 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7645 @node Duplicate Suppression
7646 @section Duplicate Suppression
7648 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7649 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7650 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7651 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
7656 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7657 is evil and not very common.
7660 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7661 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7664 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7665 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7668 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7671 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7672 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7674 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7675 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7676 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7677 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7678 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7679 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7680 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7683 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7684 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7685 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7686 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7687 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7691 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7692 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7693 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7695 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7696 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7697 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7698 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7699 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
7700 session are suppressed.
7702 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7703 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7704 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7705 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7707 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7708 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7709 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7710 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7713 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7714 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7715 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7716 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7717 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7718 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7719 to you to figure out, I think.
7722 @node The Article Buffer
7723 @chapter The Article Buffer
7724 @cindex article buffer
7726 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7727 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7728 tell Gnus otherwise.
7731 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7732 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7733 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7734 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7735 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7739 @node Hiding Headers
7740 @section Hiding Headers
7741 @cindex hiding headers
7742 @cindex deleting headers
7744 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7745 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7747 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7748 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7749 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7750 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7751 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7752 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7753 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7754 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7755 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7757 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7761 @item gnus-visible-headers
7762 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7763 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7764 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7765 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7767 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7768 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7771 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7774 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7777 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7778 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7779 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7780 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7781 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7782 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7784 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7785 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7788 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7791 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7794 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7795 variable will have no effect.
7799 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7800 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7801 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7802 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7803 the headers are to be displayed.
7805 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7806 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7809 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7812 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7813 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
7815 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7816 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7817 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7818 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7819 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7820 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7821 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7822 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7823 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7825 These conditions are:
7828 Remove all empty headers.
7830 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7831 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7833 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7836 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7839 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7842 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
7844 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
7847 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
7850 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7851 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
7854 This is also the default value for this variable.
7858 @section Using @sc{mime}
7861 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7862 while people stand around yawning.
7864 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7865 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7867 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7868 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7869 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7871 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7872 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7873 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7874 @findex metamail-buffer
7875 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7876 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7877 default. This function calls the external @code{metamail} program to
7878 actually do the work. One common problem with this program is that is
7879 thinks that it can't display 8-bit things in the Emacs buffer. To tell
7880 it the truth, put something like the following in your
7881 @file{.bash_profile} file. (You do use @code{bash}, don't you?)
7884 export MM_CHARSET="iso-8859-1"
7887 For more information on @code{metamail}, see its manual page.
7889 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7890 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7891 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7892 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7893 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7894 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7896 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7897 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7898 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7899 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7900 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7901 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7902 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7903 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7904 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7906 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7909 @node Customizing Articles
7910 @section Customizing Articles
7911 @cindex article customization
7913 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7914 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7915 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7916 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7918 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7919 @findex gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers
7920 By default this hook just contains
7921 @code{gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers},
7922 @code{gnus-hide-boring-headers}, @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike},
7923 and @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} (and under XEmacs,
7924 @code{gnus-article-display-x-face}), but there are thousands, nay
7925 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7926 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7927 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7928 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7929 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7931 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7932 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7933 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7934 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7935 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7938 @node Article Keymap
7939 @section Article Keymap
7941 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7942 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7943 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7944 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7947 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7952 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7953 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7954 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7957 @kindex DEL (Article)
7958 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7959 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7962 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7963 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7964 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7965 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7966 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7969 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7970 @findex gnus-article-mail
7971 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7972 given a prefix, include the mail.
7976 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7977 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7978 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7982 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7983 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7984 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7987 @kindex TAB (Article)
7988 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7989 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
7990 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7993 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7994 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7995 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
8001 @section Misc Article
8005 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
8006 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
8007 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
8008 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
8011 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
8012 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
8013 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
8014 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
8015 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
8016 the contents of the article buffer.
8018 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8019 @item gnus-article-display-hook
8020 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
8021 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
8022 hiding headers, and the like.
8024 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
8025 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
8026 Hook called in article mode buffers.
8028 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8029 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8030 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
8031 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
8033 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
8034 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
8035 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
8036 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
8037 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with one
8042 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
8043 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
8047 @vindex gnus-break-pages
8049 @item gnus-break-pages
8050 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
8051 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
8052 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8053 paging will not be done.
8055 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8056 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8057 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8062 @node Composing Messages
8063 @chapter Composing Messages
8064 @cindex composing messages
8067 @cindex sending mail
8072 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8073 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8074 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
8075 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
8076 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
8077 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
8078 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
8081 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8082 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8083 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8084 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8085 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8086 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
8087 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8088 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8091 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8092 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8098 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8101 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8102 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8103 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8104 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8106 @item gnus-add-to-list
8107 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8108 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8109 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8117 Variables for composing news articles:
8120 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8121 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8122 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8123 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8124 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8125 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8126 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8127 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8128 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
8131 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8132 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8133 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8134 file. It is 1000 by default.
8139 @node Posting Server
8140 @section Posting Server
8142 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8143 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8145 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8147 @vindex gnus-post-method
8149 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
8150 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8151 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8152 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8153 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8156 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8159 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8160 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8161 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8162 the ``current'' server for posting.
8164 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8165 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8167 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8168 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8171 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8172 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8173 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8178 @section Mail and Post
8180 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8184 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8185 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8186 @cindex mailing lists
8188 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8189 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8190 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8191 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8192 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8193 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8194 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8195 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8196 still a pain, though.
8200 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8201 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8202 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8205 @findex ispell-message
8207 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8211 @node Archived Messages
8212 @section Archived Messages
8213 @cindex archived messages
8214 @cindex sent messages
8216 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8217 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8218 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8219 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8222 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8223 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
8224 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8228 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8229 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8230 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8231 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8234 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8235 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8236 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8237 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8240 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8241 '(nnfolder "archive"
8242 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8243 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8244 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8247 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8249 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8250 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8251 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8253 This variable can be used to do the following:
8257 Messages will be saved in that group.
8258 @item a list of strings
8259 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8260 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8261 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8263 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8268 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8270 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8273 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8275 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8278 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8280 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8281 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8282 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8283 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8288 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8289 '((if (message-news-p)
8294 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8295 messages in one file per month:
8298 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8299 '((if (message-news-p)
8301 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8302 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8305 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8306 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8308 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8309 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8310 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8311 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8312 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8313 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8314 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8315 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8316 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8317 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8319 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8320 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8321 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8322 this will disable archiving.
8325 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8326 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8327 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8328 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8329 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8332 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8333 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8334 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8337 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8338 but the latter is the preferred method.
8342 @node Posting Styles
8343 @section Posting Styles
8344 @cindex posting styles
8347 All them variables, they make my head swim.
8349 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8350 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8351 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8354 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8355 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8356 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8357 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8358 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8363 (signature "Peace and happiness")
8364 (organization "What me?"))
8366 (signature "Death to everybody"))
8367 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8368 (organization "Emacs is it")))
8371 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8372 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8373 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8374 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8375 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8376 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8377 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8378 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8380 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8381 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8382 If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8383 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8384 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8385 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8388 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8389 attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8390 can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
8391 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
8392 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8393 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8396 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8397 return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8398 list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8400 So here's a new example:
8403 (setq gnus-posting-styles
8405 (signature-file "~/.signature")
8407 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8408 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
8410 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8411 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8412 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
8413 (posting-from-work-p
8414 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
8415 (address "user@@bar.foo")
8416 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
8417 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
8419 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
8427 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8428 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8429 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8430 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8431 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8433 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8434 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8435 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8436 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8437 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8441 @vindex nndraft-directory
8442 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8443 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8444 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8445 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8446 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8447 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8449 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8450 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8453 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8454 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8455 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8456 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8457 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8458 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8459 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8460 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8461 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8462 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8463 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8464 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8465 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8466 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8468 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8469 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8470 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8472 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8474 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8475 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8476 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8478 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8481 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8482 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8483 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8484 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8485 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8486 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8487 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8490 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8491 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8492 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8495 @node Rejected Articles
8496 @section Rejected Articles
8497 @cindex rejected articles
8499 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8500 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8501 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8502 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8504 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
8505 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8506 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8507 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
8508 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8510 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8511 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8512 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8515 @node Select Methods
8516 @chapter Select Methods
8517 @cindex foreign groups
8518 @cindex select methods
8520 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8521 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8522 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8523 personal mail group.
8525 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8526 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8527 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8528 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8529 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8530 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8532 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8533 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8535 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8538 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8539 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8540 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8541 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8542 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8544 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8547 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8548 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8549 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8550 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8551 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8552 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8556 @node The Server Buffer
8557 @section The Server Buffer
8559 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8560 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8561 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8562 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8563 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8564 backend represents a virtual server.
8566 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8567 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8568 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8569 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8571 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8572 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8573 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8574 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8575 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8576 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8577 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8579 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8580 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8583 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8584 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8585 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8586 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8587 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8588 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8589 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8592 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8593 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8596 @node Server Buffer Format
8597 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8598 @cindex server buffer format
8600 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8601 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8602 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8603 variable, with some simple extensions:
8608 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8611 The name of this server.
8614 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8617 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8620 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8621 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8622 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
8623 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
8633 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8636 @node Server Commands
8637 @subsection Server Commands
8638 @cindex server commands
8644 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8645 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8649 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8650 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8653 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8654 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8655 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8659 @findex gnus-server-exit
8660 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8664 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8665 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8669 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8670 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8674 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8675 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8679 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8680 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8684 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8685 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8686 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8691 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8692 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8693 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8694 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8699 @node Example Methods
8700 @subsection Example Methods
8702 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8705 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8708 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8714 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8715 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8718 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8719 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8721 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8722 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8726 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8729 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8730 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8732 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8733 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8734 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8738 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8741 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8744 Here's the method for a public spool:
8748 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8749 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8752 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8753 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8754 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8755 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8756 should probably look something like this:
8760 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8761 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8762 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8763 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8764 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8767 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
8768 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
8769 server that would look something like this:
8773 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
8774 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
8775 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8776 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8777 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8778 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
8781 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
8782 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
8783 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
8784 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
8787 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8788 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8790 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8791 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8793 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8794 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8795 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8797 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8799 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8800 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8801 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8802 will contain the following:
8812 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8813 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8814 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8817 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8818 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8819 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8822 @node Server Variables
8823 @subsection Server Variables
8825 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8826 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8827 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8828 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8829 won't change the "derived" variables.
8831 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8832 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8833 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8834 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8835 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8836 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8837 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8838 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8839 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8843 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8844 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8845 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8849 @node Servers and Methods
8850 @subsection Servers and Methods
8852 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8853 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8854 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8855 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8859 @node Unavailable Servers
8860 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8862 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8863 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8864 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8865 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8866 actually the case or not.
8868 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8869 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
8870 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8871 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
8872 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
8873 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
8874 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
8875 it will regard that server as ``down''.
8877 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8878 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8880 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8881 with the following commands:
8887 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8888 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8889 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8893 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8894 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8895 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8899 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8900 Mark the current server as unreachable
8901 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8904 @kindex M-o (Server)
8905 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8906 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8907 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8910 @kindex M-c (Server)
8911 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8912 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8913 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8917 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8918 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
8919 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8925 @section Getting News
8926 @cindex reading news
8927 @cindex news backends
8929 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8930 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8931 or it can read from a local spool.
8934 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8935 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8940 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8943 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8944 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8945 server as the, uhm, address.
8947 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8948 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8949 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8950 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8952 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8953 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8954 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8956 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8961 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8962 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8963 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8965 @cindex authentification
8966 @cindex nntp authentification
8967 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8968 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8969 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
8970 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
8971 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
8972 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
8973 present in this hook.
8975 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8976 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8977 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8978 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
8979 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8980 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
8981 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
8982 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
8983 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
8984 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
8985 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
8986 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
8990 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
8993 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
8994 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
8995 @samp{default} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid
8996 @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is the only way the
8997 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
9002 Here's an example file:
9005 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
9006 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
9009 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
9010 have to be first, for instance.
9012 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
9013 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
9014 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
9015 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
9016 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
9017 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
9018 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
9020 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
9021 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
9027 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
9028 previously mentioned.
9030 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
9032 @item nntp-server-action-alist
9033 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
9034 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
9035 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
9036 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
9039 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
9043 You probably don't want to do that, though.
9045 The default value is
9048 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
9049 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
9052 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
9053 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
9055 @item nntp-maximum-request
9056 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
9057 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
9058 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
9059 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
9060 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
9061 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
9062 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
9064 @c @item nntp-connection-timeout
9065 @c @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
9066 @c If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
9067 @c regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9068 @c responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9069 @c time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9070 @c somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9071 @c that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9072 @c connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9073 @c no timeouts are done.
9075 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9076 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9077 @c @cindex PPP connections
9078 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9079 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9080 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9081 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9082 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9083 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9084 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9085 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9086 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9087 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9089 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9090 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9091 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9092 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9095 @item nntp-server-hook
9096 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9097 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9100 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9101 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9102 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9103 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9104 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9105 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
9106 functions are supplied:
9109 @item nntp-open-network-stream
9110 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
9113 @item nntp-open-rlogin
9114 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9115 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9118 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9122 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9123 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9124 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9125 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9127 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9128 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9129 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9131 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9132 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9133 User name on the remote system.
9137 @item nntp-open-telnet
9138 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
9139 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
9141 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9144 @item nntp-telnet-command
9145 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9146 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9148 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9149 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9150 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9152 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9153 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9154 User name for log in on the remote system.
9156 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9157 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9158 Password to use when logging in.
9160 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9161 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9162 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9165 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9166 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9167 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9168 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9170 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9171 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9172 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9173 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9174 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9178 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
9179 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
9180 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
9181 you must have SSLay installed
9182 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
9183 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
9184 define a server as follows:
9187 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
9189 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
9191 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
9192 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
9193 (nntp-port-number "snews")
9194 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
9199 @item nntp-end-of-line
9200 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9201 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9202 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9203 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9205 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9206 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9207 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9211 @vindex nntp-address
9212 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9214 @item nntp-port-number
9215 @vindex nntp-port-number
9216 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9219 @item nntp-buggy-select
9220 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9221 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9223 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9224 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9225 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9226 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9229 @item nntp-xover-commands
9230 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9233 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9234 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9238 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9239 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9240 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9241 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9242 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9243 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9244 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9245 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9246 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9247 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9248 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9250 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9251 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9252 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9254 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9255 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9256 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9257 server closes connection.
9259 @item nntp-record-commands
9260 @vindex nntp-record-commands
9261 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
9262 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
9263 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
9264 that doesn't seem to work.
9270 @subsection News Spool
9274 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9275 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9276 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9279 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9280 anything else) as the address.
9282 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9283 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9284 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9285 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9289 @item nnspool-inews-program
9290 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9291 Program used to post an article.
9293 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9294 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9295 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9297 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9298 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9299 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9300 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9302 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9303 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9304 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9305 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9307 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9308 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9309 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9311 @item nnspool-active-file
9312 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9313 The path to the active file.
9315 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9316 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9317 The path to the group descriptions file.
9319 @item nnspool-history-file
9320 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9321 The path to the news history file.
9323 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9324 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9325 The path to the active date file.
9327 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9328 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9329 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9332 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9333 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9335 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9336 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9337 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9343 @section Getting Mail
9344 @cindex reading mail
9347 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9351 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9352 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9353 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9354 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9355 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9356 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9357 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9358 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9359 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9360 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9361 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9365 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9366 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9368 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9369 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9370 and things will happen automatically.
9372 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9373 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9376 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9377 '((nnml "private")))
9380 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9381 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9382 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9383 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9384 like any other group.
9386 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9389 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9390 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9391 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9395 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9396 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9397 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9400 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9401 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9402 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9405 @node Splitting Mail
9406 @subsection Splitting Mail
9407 @cindex splitting mail
9408 @cindex mail splitting
9410 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9411 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9412 to be split into groups.
9415 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9416 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9417 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9421 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9422 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9423 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9424 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9425 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9426 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9427 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9430 ("list.\\1" "From:.*\\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9433 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9434 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9435 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9436 mail belongs in that group.
9438 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9439 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9440 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9441 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9442 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9443 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9445 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9446 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9447 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9448 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9449 thinks should carry this mail message.
9451 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9452 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9453 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9454 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9456 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9457 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9458 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9459 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9460 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9462 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9465 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9466 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9467 links. If that's the case for you, set
9468 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9469 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9471 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9472 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9473 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9474 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9476 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9477 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9478 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9479 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9480 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9481 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9482 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9483 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9487 @node Mail Backend Variables
9488 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9490 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9494 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9495 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9496 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9497 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9499 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9500 @item nnmail-spool-file
9504 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9505 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9506 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9507 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9508 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9509 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9510 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9511 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9512 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9513 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9514 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9515 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9516 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9517 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9518 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9520 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9522 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9523 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9526 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9527 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9528 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9529 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9530 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9531 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9533 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9534 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9535 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9536 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9537 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9538 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9539 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9542 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9543 @item nnmail-crash-box
9544 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9545 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9546 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9549 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9550 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9551 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
9552 used for, well, anything, really.
9554 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9555 @item nnmail-split-hook
9556 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
9557 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9558 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9559 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9560 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9561 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9562 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
9563 is one likely function to add to this hook.
9565 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9566 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9567 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9568 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9569 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9570 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9571 starting to handle the new mail) and
9572 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9573 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9574 default file modes the new mail files get:
9577 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9578 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9580 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9581 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9584 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9585 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9586 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9587 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9588 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9589 it will be used instead.
9591 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9592 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9593 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9594 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9596 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9597 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9600 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9601 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9602 @cindex incoming mail files
9603 @cindex deleting incoming files
9604 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9605 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9608 @c This is @code{nil} by
9609 @c default for reasons of security.
9611 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9612 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9613 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9614 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9615 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9618 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9620 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9621 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9622 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9623 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9624 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9625 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9626 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9628 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9629 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9631 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9633 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9634 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9635 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9636 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9637 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9642 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9643 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9644 @cindex mail splitting
9645 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9647 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9648 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9649 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9650 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9651 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9652 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9654 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9657 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9658 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9659 ;; from real errors.
9660 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9662 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9663 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9664 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9665 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9666 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9667 ;; Other mailing lists...
9668 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9669 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9671 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9672 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9676 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9677 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9678 the five possible split syntaxes:
9683 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
9684 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
9688 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9689 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9690 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9693 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9694 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9695 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9696 be stored in one or more groups.
9699 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9700 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9703 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9704 this message. Use with extreme caution.
9707 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9708 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9709 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9713 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
9717 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9718 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9719 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9720 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9721 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9723 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9724 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9725 are expanded as specified by the variable
9726 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9727 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9730 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9731 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9732 when all this splitting is performed.
9734 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9735 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9736 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
9739 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9742 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
9743 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
9744 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
9745 groupings 1 through 9.
9748 @node Mail and Procmail
9749 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9754 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9755 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9756 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9757 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9758 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9760 If you have a combined @code{procmail}/POP/mailbox setup, you can do
9761 something like the following:
9763 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9765 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
9766 (setq nnmail-spool-file
9767 '("/usr/spool/mail/my-name" "po:my-name"))
9770 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9771 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9774 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9775 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9776 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9777 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9778 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9779 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9781 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9784 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9786 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9787 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9789 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9790 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9791 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9792 to include all your mail groups.
9794 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9795 method will be created automatically.
9797 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9798 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9799 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9800 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9801 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9802 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9803 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9804 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9806 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9807 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9808 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9809 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9810 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9812 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9813 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9814 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9815 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9816 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9817 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9819 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9820 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9821 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9822 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9823 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9826 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9827 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9828 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9829 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9830 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9834 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9835 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9837 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9838 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9839 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9842 Doing so can be quite easy.
9844 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9845 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9846 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9847 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9848 your @code{nnml} groups.
9854 Go to the group buffer.
9857 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9858 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9861 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9864 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9865 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9868 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9869 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9872 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9873 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9874 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9875 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9876 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9878 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9879 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9880 using the new mail backend.
9884 @subsection Expiring Mail
9885 @cindex article expiry
9887 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9888 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9889 different approach to mail reading.
9891 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9892 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9893 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9894 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9895 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9896 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9899 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9900 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9901 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9902 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9903 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9904 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9905 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9906 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9908 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9909 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9910 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9911 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9912 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9913 column in the summary buffer.
9915 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
9916 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
9917 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
9918 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
9921 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
9923 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
9924 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
9925 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
9928 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
9929 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
9930 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
9931 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
9932 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
9934 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
9935 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
9938 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9939 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
9942 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
9943 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
9945 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
9946 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
9947 don't really mix very well.
9949 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
9950 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
9951 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
9952 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
9955 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
9956 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
9957 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
9958 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
9961 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9963 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9965 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
9967 ((string= group "mail.junk")
9969 ((string= group "important")
9975 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
9976 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
9978 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
9979 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
9980 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
9983 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
9984 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9986 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9987 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
9988 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
9989 easier for procmail users.
9991 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
9992 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
9993 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
9994 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
9995 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
9996 caution. Even more dangerous is the
9997 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
9998 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
9999 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
10000 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
10001 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
10002 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
10003 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
10006 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
10010 @subsection Washing Mail
10011 @cindex mail washing
10012 @cindex list server brain damage
10013 @cindex incoming mail treatment
10015 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
10016 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
10017 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
10018 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
10019 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
10020 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
10022 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
10023 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
10024 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
10027 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
10028 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
10029 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
10030 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
10033 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10034 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10035 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
10036 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
10039 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10040 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10041 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
10042 Emacs running on MS machines.
10046 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10047 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10048 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
10049 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
10052 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10053 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10054 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
10055 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
10057 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10058 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10059 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
10060 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
10061 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
10062 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
10063 also be a list of regexp.
10065 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
10066 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
10069 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
10070 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
10073 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
10074 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
10075 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
10079 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10080 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10081 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
10085 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
10086 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
10087 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
10094 @subsection Duplicates
10096 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
10097 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
10098 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
10099 @cindex duplicate mails
10100 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
10101 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
10102 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
10103 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
10104 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
10105 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
10106 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
10107 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
10108 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
10109 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
10110 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
10111 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
10112 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
10114 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
10115 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
10116 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
10117 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
10119 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
10122 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
10123 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
10127 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
10128 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
10129 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
10130 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
10131 (any mail "mail.misc")
10138 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10139 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
10144 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
10145 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
10146 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
10147 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
10148 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
10151 @node Not Reading Mail
10152 @subsection Not Reading Mail
10154 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
10155 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
10156 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
10158 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
10159 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
10161 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10162 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10163 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10164 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10165 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10166 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
10167 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
10168 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
10169 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
10170 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
10171 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
10173 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
10174 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
10178 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
10179 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
10181 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
10182 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
10183 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
10186 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
10187 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
10188 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
10189 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
10190 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
10194 @node Unix Mail Box
10195 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
10197 @cindex unix mail box
10199 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10200 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10201 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
10202 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
10203 which group it belongs in.
10205 Virtual server settings:
10208 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
10209 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10210 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
10212 @item nnmbox-active-file
10213 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10214 The name of the active file for the mail box.
10216 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
10217 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10218 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
10224 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
10228 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10229 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10230 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10231 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10232 article to say which group it belongs in.
10234 Virtual server settings:
10237 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10238 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10239 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10241 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10242 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10243 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10245 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10246 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10247 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10252 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10254 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10256 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10257 format. It should be used with some caution.
10259 @vindex nnml-directory
10260 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10261 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10262 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10263 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10265 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10268 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10269 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10270 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10271 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10272 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10273 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10274 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10275 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10277 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10278 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10279 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10280 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10282 Virtual server settings:
10285 @item nnml-directory
10286 @vindex nnml-directory
10287 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10289 @item nnml-active-file
10290 @vindex nnml-active-file
10291 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10293 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10294 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10295 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10298 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10299 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10300 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10302 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10303 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10304 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10306 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10307 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10308 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10310 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10311 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10312 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10316 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10317 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10318 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10319 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10320 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10321 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10322 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10327 @subsubsection MH Spool
10329 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10331 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10332 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10333 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10334 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10336 Virtual server settings:
10339 @item nnmh-directory
10340 @vindex nnmh-directory
10341 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10343 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10344 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10345 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10348 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10349 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10350 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10351 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10352 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10353 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10354 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10359 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10361 @cindex mbox folders
10362 @cindex mail folders
10364 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10365 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10366 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10369 Virtual server settings:
10372 @item nnfolder-directory
10373 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10374 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10376 @item nnfolder-active-file
10377 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10378 The name of the active file.
10380 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10381 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10382 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10384 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10385 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10386 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10389 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10390 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10391 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10392 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10393 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10394 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10397 @node Other Sources
10398 @section Other Sources
10400 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10401 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10405 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10406 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10407 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10408 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10409 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10410 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10414 @node Directory Groups
10415 @subsection Directory Groups
10417 @cindex directory groups
10419 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10420 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10423 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10424 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10425 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10426 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10428 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10429 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10430 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10431 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10432 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10434 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10436 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10437 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10438 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10439 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10442 @node Anything Groups
10443 @subsection Anything Groups
10446 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10447 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10448 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10451 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10452 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10453 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10454 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10455 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10456 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10457 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10458 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10459 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10460 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10463 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10464 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10465 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10466 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10468 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10469 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10470 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10471 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10473 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10474 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10475 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10476 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10477 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10478 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10479 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10480 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10485 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10486 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10487 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10488 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10490 @item nneething-exclude-files
10491 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10492 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10493 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10495 @item nneething-map-file
10496 @vindex nneething-map-file
10497 Name of the map files.
10501 @node Document Groups
10502 @subsection Document Groups
10504 @cindex documentation group
10507 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10508 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10515 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10520 The standard Unix mbox file.
10522 @cindex MMDF mail box
10524 The MMDF mail box format.
10527 Several news articles appended into a file.
10530 @cindex rnews batch files
10531 The rnews batch transport format.
10532 @cindex forwarded messages
10535 Forwarded articles.
10538 MIME multipart messages, besides digests.
10542 @cindex MIME digest
10543 @cindex 1153 digest
10544 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10545 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10546 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10548 @item standard-digest
10549 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10552 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10555 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10556 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10557 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10560 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10561 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10562 group. And that's it.
10564 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10565 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10566 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10567 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10568 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10569 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10570 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10571 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10572 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10573 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10575 Virtual server variables:
10578 @item nndoc-article-type
10579 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10580 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10581 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10582 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{mime-digest},
10583 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or
10586 @item nndoc-post-type
10587 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10588 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10589 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10594 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10598 @node Document Server Internals
10599 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10601 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10602 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10603 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10604 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10606 First, here's an example document type definition:
10610 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10611 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10614 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10615 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10616 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10617 types can be defined with very few settings:
10620 @item first-article
10621 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10622 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10625 @item article-begin
10626 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10627 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10629 @item head-begin-function
10630 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10633 @item nndoc-head-begin
10634 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10637 @item nndoc-head-end
10638 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10639 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10641 @item body-begin-function
10642 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10646 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10649 @item body-end-function
10650 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10654 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10657 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10658 regexp will be totally ignored.
10662 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10663 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10664 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10665 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10666 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10669 @item prepare-body-function
10670 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10671 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10672 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10674 @item article-transform-function
10675 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10676 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10677 body of the article.
10679 @item generate-head-function
10680 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10681 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10682 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10683 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10687 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10692 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10693 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10694 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10695 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10696 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10697 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10698 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10699 (subtype digest guess))
10702 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10703 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10704 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10705 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10706 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10708 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10709 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10710 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10711 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10712 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
10713 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10714 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10715 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10716 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10717 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10725 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10726 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10727 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10729 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10730 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10731 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10734 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10735 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10736 that interested in doing things properly.
10738 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10739 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10742 First some terminology:
10747 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10748 get news and/or mail from.
10751 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10752 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10755 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10759 @item message packets
10760 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10761 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10762 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10764 @item response packets
10765 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10766 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10767 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10777 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10778 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10779 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10780 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10783 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10786 You put the packet in your home directory.
10789 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10790 the native or secondary server.
10793 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10794 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10797 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10801 You transfer this packet to the server.
10804 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10807 You then repeat until you die.
10811 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10812 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10815 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10816 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10817 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10821 @node SOUP Commands
10822 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10824 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10828 @kindex G s b (Group)
10829 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10830 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10831 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10832 process/prefix convention.
10835 @kindex G s w (Group)
10836 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10837 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10840 @kindex G s s (Group)
10841 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10842 Send all replies from the replies packet
10843 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10846 @kindex G s p (Group)
10847 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10848 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10851 @kindex G s r (Group)
10852 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10853 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10856 @kindex O s (Summary)
10857 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10858 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10859 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10860 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10865 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10870 @item gnus-soup-directory
10871 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10872 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10873 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10875 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10876 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10877 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10878 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10880 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10881 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10882 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10883 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10885 @item gnus-soup-packer
10886 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10887 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10888 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10890 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10891 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10892 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10893 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10895 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10896 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10897 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10899 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10900 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10901 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
10902 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
10908 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
10911 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
10912 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
10913 you can read them at leisure.
10915 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
10919 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
10920 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
10921 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
10922 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
10924 @item nnsoup-directory
10925 @vindex nnsoup-directory
10926 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
10927 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
10929 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
10930 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
10931 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
10932 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
10934 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
10935 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
10936 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
10937 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
10938 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
10940 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
10941 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
10942 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
10943 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
10945 @item nnsoup-active-file
10946 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
10947 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
10948 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
10949 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
10950 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
10952 @item nnsoup-packer
10953 @vindex nnsoup-packer
10954 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
10955 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
10957 @item nnsoup-unpacker
10958 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
10959 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
10960 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10962 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
10963 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
10964 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
10967 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
10968 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
10969 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
10972 @item nnsoup-always-save
10973 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
10974 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
10980 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
10982 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
10983 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
10984 more for that to happen.
10986 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
10987 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
10988 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
10991 In specific, this is what it does:
10994 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
10995 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
10998 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
10999 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
11000 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
11004 @subsection Web Searches
11008 @cindex InReference
11009 @cindex Usenet searches
11010 @cindex searching the Usenet
11012 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
11013 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
11014 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
11015 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
11016 searches without having to use a browser.
11018 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
11019 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
11020 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
11021 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
11022 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
11024 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
11025 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
11026 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
11027 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
11028 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
11029 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
11030 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
11031 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
11032 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
11033 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
11036 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
11037 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
11038 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
11039 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
11040 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
11041 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
11043 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
11044 to use @code{nnweb}.
11046 Virtual server variables:
11051 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
11052 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
11056 @vindex nnweb-search
11057 The search string to feed to the search engine.
11059 @item nnweb-max-hits
11060 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
11061 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
11064 @item nnweb-type-definition
11065 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
11066 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
11067 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
11072 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
11076 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
11079 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
11082 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
11086 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
11093 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
11094 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
11095 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
11098 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
11099 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
11100 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
11102 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
11108 @item nngateway-address
11109 @vindex nngateway-address
11110 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
11112 @item nngateway-header-transformation
11113 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
11114 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
11115 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
11116 transformation should be called, and defaults to
11117 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
11118 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
11121 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
11122 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
11123 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
11126 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
11129 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
11132 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
11135 The following pre-defined functions exist:
11137 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11140 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11141 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11142 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
11144 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11146 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11147 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11148 @code{nngateway-address}.
11153 (setq gnus-post-method
11154 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
11155 (nngateway-header-transformation
11156 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
11164 So, to use this, simply say something like:
11167 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
11171 @node Combined Groups
11172 @section Combined Groups
11174 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
11178 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
11179 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
11183 @node Virtual Groups
11184 @subsection Virtual Groups
11186 @cindex virtual groups
11187 @cindex merging groups
11189 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
11192 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
11193 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
11194 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
11196 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
11197 regexp to match component groups.
11199 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
11200 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
11201 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
11202 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
11203 the virtual group.)
11205 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
11206 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
11209 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
11212 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
11213 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
11215 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
11216 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
11217 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
11218 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
11221 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
11224 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
11225 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
11226 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
11228 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
11229 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
11230 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
11231 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
11232 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
11234 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
11235 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
11236 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
11238 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
11239 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
11240 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
11241 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
11242 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
11243 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
11244 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
11245 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
11246 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
11247 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
11248 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
11251 @node Kibozed Groups
11252 @subsection Kibozed Groups
11256 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
11257 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
11258 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
11259 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
11261 @kindex G k (Group)
11262 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
11265 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
11266 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11267 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11268 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11270 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11271 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11272 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11274 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11275 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11276 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11277 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11278 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11279 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11280 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11281 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11283 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11284 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11285 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11286 Stranger things have happened.
11288 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11289 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11291 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11292 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11293 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11294 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11295 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11296 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11298 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11299 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11302 @node Gnus Unplugged
11303 @section Gnus Unplugged
11308 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11310 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11311 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11312 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11313 read news. Believe it or not.
11315 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11316 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11317 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11318 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11319 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11321 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11322 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11323 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11324 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11325 reading news on a machine.
11327 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11331 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11332 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11336 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11337 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11344 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11346 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11349 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11350 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11351 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11352 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
11353 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11354 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11355 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11356 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11361 @subsection Agent Basics
11363 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11365 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11366 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11367 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11368 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11370 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11371 connected to the net continuously.
11373 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11374 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11376 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11381 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11382 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11383 already fetched while in this mode.
11386 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11387 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11388 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11391 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11392 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11393 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11394 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11397 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11398 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11399 then you read the news offline.
11402 And then you go to step 2.
11405 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11411 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11412 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11413 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11414 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11415 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11416 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11419 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}
11426 @node Agent Categories
11427 @subsection Agent Categories
11429 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11430 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11431 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11432 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11433 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11434 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11435 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11437 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11438 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11439 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11442 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11443 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11444 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11448 @node Category Syntax
11449 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11451 A category consists of two things.
11455 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11456 are eligible for downloading; and
11459 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11460 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11461 score} is wholly unrelated to normal scores.)
11464 A predicate consists of predicates with logical operators sprinkled in
11467 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11469 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11470 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11476 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11477 short (for some value of ``short'').
11479 Here's a more complex predicate:
11488 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11489 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11492 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11493 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11494 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11496 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11497 you want to do, you can write your own.
11501 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11502 lines; default 100.
11505 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11506 lines; default 200.
11509 True iff the article has a download score less than
11510 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11513 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11514 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11517 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11518 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11519 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11528 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11529 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11530 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11533 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11534 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11535 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11536 following headers can be scored on: @code{From}, @code{Subject},
11537 @code{Date}, @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars}, @code{Message-ID},
11538 and @code{References}.
11541 @node The Category Buffer
11542 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11544 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11545 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11546 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11548 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11552 @kindex q (Category)
11553 @findex gnus-category-exit
11554 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11557 @kindex k (Category)
11558 @findex gnus-category-kill
11559 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11562 @kindex c (Category)
11563 @findex gnus-category-copy
11564 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11567 @kindex a (Category)
11568 @findex gnus-category-add
11569 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11572 @kindex p (Category)
11573 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11574 Edit the predicate of the current category
11575 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11578 @kindex g (Category)
11579 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11580 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11581 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11584 @kindex s (Category)
11585 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11586 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11587 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11590 @kindex l (Category)
11591 @findex gnus-category-list
11592 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11596 @node Category Variables
11597 @subsubsection Category Variables
11600 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11601 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11602 Hook run in category buffers.
11604 @item gnus-category-line-format
11605 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11606 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11607 Variables}). Valid elements are:
11611 The name of the category.
11614 The number of groups in the category.
11617 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11618 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11619 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
11621 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11622 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11623 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11625 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11626 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11627 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11629 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11630 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11631 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11634 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11635 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11636 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11642 @node Agent Commands
11643 @subsection Agent Commands
11645 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11646 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11647 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11651 * Group Agent Commands::
11652 * Summary Agent Commands::
11653 * Server Agent Commands::
11656 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
11657 following incantation:
11659 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11661 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11666 @node Group Agent Commands
11667 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
11671 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
11672 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
11673 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
11674 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
11677 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
11678 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
11679 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
11682 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
11683 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
11684 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
11685 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
11688 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
11689 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
11690 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
11691 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}
11694 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
11695 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
11696 Add the current group to an Agent category
11697 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
11702 @node Summary Agent Commands
11703 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
11707 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
11708 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
11709 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
11712 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
11713 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
11714 Remove the downloading mark from the article
11715 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
11718 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
11719 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
11720 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
11723 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
11724 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
11725 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
11730 @node Server Agent Commands
11731 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
11735 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
11736 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
11737 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
11738 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
11741 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
11742 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
11743 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
11744 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
11750 @subsection Agent Expiry
11752 @vindex gnus-agent-expiry-days
11753 @findex gnus-agent-expiry
11754 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expiry
11755 @cindex Agent expiry
11756 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
11759 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
11760 @code{gnus-agent-expiry} command that will expire all read articles that
11761 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expiry-days} days. It can be run
11762 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
11763 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
11764 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
11766 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
11767 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
11768 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
11769 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
11770 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
11773 @node Outgoing Messages
11774 @subsection Outgoing Messages
11776 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
11777 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
11778 after posting, and edit them at will.
11780 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
11781 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
11782 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
11783 messages in the draft group.
11787 @node Agent Variables
11788 @subsection Agent Variables
11791 @item gnus-agent-directory
11792 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
11793 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
11794 @file{~/News/agent/}.
11796 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
11797 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
11798 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
11799 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
11800 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
11803 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11804 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11805 Hook run when connecting to the network.
11807 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11808 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11809 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
11814 @node Example Setup
11815 @subsection Example Setup
11817 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
11818 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
11819 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
11822 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
11823 ;;; from your ISP's server.
11824 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
11826 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
11827 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
11828 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
11829 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
11831 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
11832 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11834 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
11838 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
11839 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
11842 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
11843 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
11844 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
11845 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
11846 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
11849 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
11850 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
11851 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
11852 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
11853 back all the killed groups.)
11855 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
11856 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
11857 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
11860 @node Batching Agents
11861 @subsection Batching Agents
11863 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
11864 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
11865 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
11869 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
11878 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
11879 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
11880 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
11883 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
11884 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
11885 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
11886 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
11887 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
11889 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
11890 before generating the summary buffer.
11892 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
11893 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
11894 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
11896 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
11897 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
11898 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
11899 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
11902 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
11903 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
11904 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
11905 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
11906 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
11907 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
11908 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
11909 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
11910 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
11911 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
11912 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
11913 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
11914 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
11915 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
11916 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
11917 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
11921 @node Summary Score Commands
11922 @section Summary Score Commands
11923 @cindex score commands
11925 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
11926 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
11927 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
11928 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
11929 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
11931 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
11932 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
11933 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
11934 score file the current one.
11936 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
11941 @kindex V s (Summary)
11942 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
11943 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
11946 @kindex V S (Summary)
11947 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
11948 Display the score of the current article
11949 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
11952 @kindex V t (Summary)
11953 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
11954 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
11955 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
11958 @kindex V R (Summary)
11959 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
11960 Run the current summary through the scoring process
11961 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
11962 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
11963 effect you're having.
11966 @kindex V c (Summary)
11967 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
11968 Make a different score file the current
11969 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
11972 @kindex V e (Summary)
11973 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
11974 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
11975 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
11979 @kindex V f (Summary)
11980 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
11981 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
11982 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
11985 @kindex V F (Summary)
11986 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11987 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
11988 after editing score files.
11991 @kindex V C (Summary)
11992 @findex gnus-score-customize
11993 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
11994 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
11998 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
12003 @kindex V m (Summary)
12004 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
12005 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
12006 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
12009 @kindex V x (Summary)
12010 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
12011 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
12012 expunge all articles below this score
12013 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
12016 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
12017 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
12020 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
12021 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
12025 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
12026 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
12028 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
12029 keys are available:
12033 Score on the author name.
12036 Score on the subject line.
12039 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
12042 Score on thread---the References line.
12048 Score on the number of lines.
12051 Score on the Message-ID.
12054 Score on followups.
12064 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
12065 what headers you are scoring on.
12077 Substring matching.
12080 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
12109 Greater than number.
12114 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
12115 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
12116 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
12120 Temporary score entry.
12123 Permanent score entry.
12126 Immediately scoring.
12131 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
12132 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
12133 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
12134 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
12136 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
12137 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
12138 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
12139 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
12140 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
12142 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
12143 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
12144 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
12145 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
12146 current score file.
12148 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
12149 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
12150 pretend they are keymaps or not.
12153 @node Group Score Commands
12154 @section Group Score Commands
12155 @cindex group score commands
12157 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
12162 @kindex W f (Group)
12163 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12164 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
12165 all the time. This command will flush the cache
12166 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
12170 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
12172 @findex gnus-batch-score
12173 @cindex batch scoring
12175 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l gnus -f gnus-batch-score
12179 @node Score Variables
12180 @section Score Variables
12181 @cindex score variables
12185 @item gnus-use-scoring
12186 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
12187 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
12188 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
12190 @item gnus-kill-killed
12191 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
12192 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
12193 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
12194 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
12195 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
12196 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
12197 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
12199 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
12200 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
12201 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
12202 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
12203 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
12205 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
12206 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
12207 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
12208 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
12210 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12211 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12212 @cindex score cache
12213 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
12214 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
12215 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
12216 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
12217 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
12218 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
12221 @item gnus-save-score
12222 @vindex gnus-save-score
12223 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
12224 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
12225 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
12227 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12228 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12229 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
12230 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
12231 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
12232 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
12233 manually entered data.
12235 @item gnus-summary-default-score
12236 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
12237 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
12239 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
12240 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
12241 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
12242 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
12243 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
12244 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
12246 @item gnus-score-over-mark
12247 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
12248 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
12249 default. Default is @samp{+}.
12251 @item gnus-score-below-mark
12252 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
12253 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
12254 default. Default is @samp{-}.
12256 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12257 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12258 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
12259 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
12261 Predefined functions available are:
12264 @item gnus-score-find-single
12265 @findex gnus-score-find-single
12266 Only apply the group's own score file.
12268 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
12269 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
12270 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
12271 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
12272 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
12273 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
12274 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
12275 then a regexp match is done.
12277 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
12278 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
12280 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
12281 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
12282 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
12283 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
12285 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12286 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12287 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12288 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12289 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12292 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12293 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12294 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12295 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12296 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12297 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12300 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12301 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12302 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12303 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12304 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12306 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12307 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12308 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12309 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12310 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12311 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12312 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12315 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12316 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12317 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12319 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
12320 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
12321 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
12322 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
12323 threading---according to the current value of
12324 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
12325 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
12326 simplified in this manner.
12331 @node Score File Format
12332 @section Score File Format
12333 @cindex score file format
12335 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12336 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12337 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12339 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12343 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12345 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12347 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12349 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12354 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12358 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12359 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12360 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12361 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12365 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12366 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12368 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12369 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12370 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12372 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12377 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12378 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12379 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12380 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12381 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12382 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12383 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12384 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12385 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12386 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12387 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12388 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12389 to articles that matches these score entries.
12391 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12392 score entry has one to four elements.
12396 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12397 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12401 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12402 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12403 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12404 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12405 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12406 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12409 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12410 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12411 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12412 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12413 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12416 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12417 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12418 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12419 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12422 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12423 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12424 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12425 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12426 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12427 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12428 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12429 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12430 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12431 instead, if you feel like.
12434 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12435 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
12437 These predicates are true if
12440 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
12443 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
12444 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
12451 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
12452 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
12453 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
12454 it's not. I think.)
12456 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
12457 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
12458 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
12459 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
12462 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12463 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12464 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12465 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12466 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12467 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12468 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12472 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12473 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12474 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12475 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12476 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12477 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12478 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12479 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12482 @item Head, Body, All
12483 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12487 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12488 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12489 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12490 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12491 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12492 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12493 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12497 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12498 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
12499 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12500 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12501 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12502 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12503 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12504 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12505 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12506 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12510 @cindex Score File Atoms
12512 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12513 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12516 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12517 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12519 @item mark-and-expunge
12520 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12521 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12524 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12525 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12526 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12527 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12528 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12531 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12532 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12535 @item exclude-files
12536 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12537 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12541 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12542 ignored when handling global score files.
12545 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12546 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
12547 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
12548 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
12551 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12552 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12553 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12554 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12556 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12560 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12563 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12564 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12565 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12566 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12567 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12569 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12570 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12571 ordinary scoring rules.
12574 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12575 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12576 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12577 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12578 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12579 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12580 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12581 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12582 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12583 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12584 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12588 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12589 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12590 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12591 file for a number of groups.
12594 @cindex local variables
12595 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12596 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12597 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12598 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12599 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12603 @node Score File Editing
12604 @section Score File Editing
12606 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12607 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12608 with a mode for that.
12610 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12611 additional commands:
12616 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12617 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12618 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12619 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12622 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12623 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12624 Insert the current date in numerical format
12625 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12626 you were wondering.
12629 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
12630 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
12631 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
12632 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
12633 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
12638 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
12640 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
12641 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
12643 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
12644 e} to begin editing score files.
12647 @node Adaptive Scoring
12648 @section Adaptive Scoring
12649 @cindex adaptive scoring
12651 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
12652 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
12653 stupidity, to be precise.
12655 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
12656 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
12657 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
12658 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
12659 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12660 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
12661 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
12662 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
12663 variable to @code{(word line)}.
12665 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12666 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
12667 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
12668 might look something like this:
12671 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12672 '((gnus-unread-mark)
12673 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
12674 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
12675 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
12676 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
12677 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
12678 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
12679 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
12680 (gnus-ancient-mark)
12681 (gnus-low-score-mark)
12682 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
12685 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
12686 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
12687 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
12688 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
12689 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
12690 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
12693 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
12694 will be applied to each article.
12696 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
12697 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
12698 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
12699 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
12701 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
12702 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
12703 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
12704 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
12706 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
12707 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
12708 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
12709 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
12711 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
12712 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
12713 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
12714 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
12715 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
12716 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
12718 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
12719 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
12720 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
12721 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
12722 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
12723 aspirins afterwards.)
12725 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
12726 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
12727 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
12729 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
12730 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
12731 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
12733 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
12734 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
12735 let you use different rules in different groups.
12737 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
12738 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
12739 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
12742 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
12743 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
12744 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
12745 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
12746 the length of the match is less than
12747 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
12748 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
12751 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12752 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
12753 headers. If you adapt on words, the
12754 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
12755 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
12758 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12759 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
12760 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
12761 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
12762 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
12765 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
12766 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
12767 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
12768 score with 30 points.
12770 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
12771 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
12772 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
12773 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
12774 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
12776 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
12777 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
12778 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
12779 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
12781 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
12782 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
12783 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
12784 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
12786 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
12787 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
12788 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
12790 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
12791 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
12792 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
12793 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
12796 @node Home Score File
12797 @section Home Score File
12799 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
12800 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
12801 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
12802 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
12804 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
12805 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
12806 could perhaps use the same home score file.
12808 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
12809 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
12814 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
12818 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
12819 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
12823 A list. The elements in this list can be:
12827 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
12828 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
12831 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
12832 the home score file.
12835 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
12838 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
12843 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
12846 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12847 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
12850 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
12851 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
12853 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
12855 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12856 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
12859 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
12860 Other functions include
12863 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
12864 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
12865 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
12866 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
12870 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
12871 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
12872 their own home score files:
12875 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12876 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
12877 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
12878 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
12879 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
12882 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
12883 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
12884 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
12885 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
12886 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
12888 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
12889 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
12890 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
12891 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
12892 precedence over this variable.
12895 @node Followups To Yourself
12896 @section Followups To Yourself
12898 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
12899 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
12900 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
12901 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
12902 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
12903 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
12907 @item gnus-score-followup-article
12908 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
12909 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
12912 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
12913 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
12914 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
12918 @vindex message-sent-hook
12919 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
12920 @code{message-sent-hook}.
12922 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
12923 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
12927 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12928 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12931 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
12932 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
12937 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
12941 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
12942 is system-dependent.
12946 @section Scoring Tips
12947 @cindex scoring tips
12953 @cindex scoring crossposts
12954 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
12955 the @code{Xref} header.
12957 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
12960 @item Multiple crossposts
12961 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
12962 more than, say, 3 groups:
12964 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
12967 @item Matching on the body
12968 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
12969 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
12970 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
12971 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
12972 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
12973 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
12974 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
12977 @item Marking as read
12978 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
12979 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
12980 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
12984 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
12986 @item Negated character classes
12987 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
12988 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
12989 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
12993 @node Reverse Scoring
12994 @section Reverse Scoring
12995 @cindex reverse scoring
12997 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
12998 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
12999 like this in your score file:
13003 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
13008 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
13009 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
13012 @node Global Score Files
13013 @section Global Score Files
13014 @cindex global score files
13016 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
13017 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
13018 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
13020 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
13021 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
13022 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
13024 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
13025 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
13026 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
13027 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
13028 files are applicable to which group.
13030 Say you want to use the score file
13031 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
13032 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
13035 (setq gnus-global-score-files
13036 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
13037 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
13040 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
13041 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
13042 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
13043 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
13044 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
13046 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
13047 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
13049 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
13050 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
13051 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
13052 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
13053 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
13054 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
13056 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
13062 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
13064 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
13066 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
13068 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
13069 lowered out of existence.
13071 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
13072 articles completely.
13075 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
13076 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
13077 old articles for a long time.
13080 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
13081 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
13082 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
13083 holding our breath yet?
13087 @section Kill Files
13090 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
13091 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
13092 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
13094 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
13095 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
13096 files into score files.
13098 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
13099 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
13100 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
13101 that isn't a very good idea.
13103 Normal kill files look like this:
13106 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13107 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
13111 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
13112 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
13114 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
13115 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
13118 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
13123 @kindex M-k (Summary)
13124 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
13125 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
13128 @kindex M-K (Summary)
13129 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
13130 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
13133 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
13138 @kindex M-k (Group)
13139 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
13140 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
13143 @kindex M-K (Group)
13144 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
13145 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
13148 Kill file variables:
13151 @item gnus-kill-file-name
13152 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
13153 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
13154 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
13155 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
13156 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
13157 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
13159 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13160 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13161 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
13162 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
13165 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
13166 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
13167 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
13168 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
13169 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
13170 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
13171 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
13172 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
13173 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
13175 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13176 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13177 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
13182 @node Converting Kill Files
13183 @section Converting Kill Files
13185 @cindex converting kill files
13187 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
13188 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
13189 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
13192 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
13193 You can fetch it from
13194 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
13196 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
13197 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
13198 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
13206 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
13207 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
13208 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
13210 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
13211 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
13212 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
13213 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
13214 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
13215 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
13216 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
13217 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
13221 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
13222 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
13223 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
13224 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
13228 @node Using GroupLens
13229 @subsection Using GroupLens
13231 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
13233 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
13234 better bit in town at the moment.
13236 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
13240 @item gnus-use-grouplens
13241 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
13242 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
13243 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
13245 @item grouplens-pseudonym
13246 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
13247 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
13248 with the Better Bit Bureau.
13250 @item grouplens-newsgroups
13251 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
13252 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
13256 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
13257 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
13258 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
13259 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
13260 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
13261 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
13264 @node Rating Articles
13265 @subsection Rating Articles
13267 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
13268 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
13269 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
13270 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
13273 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
13278 @kindex r (GroupLens)
13279 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
13280 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
13283 @kindex k (GroupLens)
13284 @findex grouplens-score-thread
13285 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
13286 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
13287 threads in rec.humor.
13291 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
13292 the score of the article you're reading.
13297 @kindex n (GroupLens)
13298 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
13299 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
13302 @kindex , (GroupLens)
13303 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
13304 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
13308 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
13309 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
13312 @node Displaying Predictions
13313 @subsection Displaying Predictions
13315 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
13316 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
13317 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
13318 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
13319 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
13321 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
13322 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
13323 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
13324 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
13325 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
13326 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13327 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13328 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13329 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13330 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13331 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13332 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13333 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13335 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13336 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13337 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13338 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13340 The following are valid values for that variable.
13343 @item prediction-spot
13344 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13347 @item confidence-interval
13348 A numeric confidence interval.
13350 @item prediction-bar
13351 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13353 @item confidence-bar
13354 Numerical confidence.
13356 @item confidence-spot
13357 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13359 @item prediction-num
13360 Plain-old numeric value.
13362 @item confidence-plus-minus
13363 Prediction +/- confidence.
13368 @node GroupLens Variables
13369 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13373 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13374 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13375 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13376 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13379 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13380 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13383 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13384 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13386 @item grouplens-score-offset
13387 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13388 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13391 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13392 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13393 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13398 @node Advanced Scoring
13399 @section Advanced Scoring
13401 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13402 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13403 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13404 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13405 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13407 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13411 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13412 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13413 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13417 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13418 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13420 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13421 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13422 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13423 non-@code{nil} value.
13425 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13426 operator, and various match operators.
13433 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13434 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13435 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13440 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13441 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13442 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13447 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13448 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13452 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13453 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13454 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13455 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13456 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13457 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13458 the ancestry you want to go.
13460 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13461 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13462 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13463 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13464 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13467 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13468 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13470 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13471 when he's talking about Gnus:
13475 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13476 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13482 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13486 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13493 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13494 really don't want to read what he's written:
13498 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13499 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13503 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13504 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13505 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13512 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13513 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13514 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13515 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13519 The possibilities are endless.
13522 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13523 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13525 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13526 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13527 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13528 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13529 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13530 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13531 @samp{subject}) first.
13533 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13534 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
13545 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
13546 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13552 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13559 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13560 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13565 @section Score Decays
13566 @cindex score decays
13569 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13570 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13571 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13572 use them in any sensible way.
13574 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13575 @findex gnus-decay-score
13576 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
13577 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13578 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13579 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13580 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13581 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
13582 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13583 definition of that function:
13586 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13588 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
13589 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13592 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13594 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13596 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13599 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13600 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13601 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13602 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13606 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13609 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13612 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13616 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13617 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13618 the new score, which should be an integer.
13620 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
13621 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
13628 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
13629 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
13630 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
13631 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
13632 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
13633 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
13634 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
13635 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
13636 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
13637 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
13638 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
13639 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
13640 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
13641 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
13642 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
13643 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
13644 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
13645 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
13649 @node Process/Prefix
13650 @section Process/Prefix
13651 @cindex process/prefix convention
13653 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
13654 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
13656 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
13657 command to be performed on.
13661 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
13662 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
13663 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
13664 with the current one.
13666 @vindex transient-mark-mode
13667 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
13668 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
13670 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
13671 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
13674 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
13675 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
13677 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
13680 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
13681 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
13682 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
13683 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13685 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
13686 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
13687 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
13688 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
13689 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
13690 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
13691 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
13692 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
13696 @section Interactive
13697 @cindex interaction
13701 @item gnus-novice-user
13702 @vindex gnus-novice-user
13703 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
13704 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
13705 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
13706 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
13709 @item gnus-expert-user
13710 @vindex gnus-expert-user
13711 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
13712 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
13713 matter how strange.
13715 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
13716 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
13717 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
13718 is @code{t} by default.
13720 @item gnus-interactive-exit
13721 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
13722 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
13727 @node Symbolic Prefixes
13728 @section Symbolic Prefixes
13729 @cindex symbolic prefixes
13731 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
13732 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
13733 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
13734 rule of 900 to the current article.
13736 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
13737 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
13738 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
13739 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
13740 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
13741 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
13742 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
13744 @kindex M-i (Summary)
13745 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
13746 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
13747 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
13748 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
13749 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
13750 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
13751 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
13752 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
13754 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
13755 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
13756 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
13758 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
13762 @node Formatting Variables
13763 @section Formatting Variables
13764 @cindex formatting variables
13766 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
13767 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
13768 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
13769 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
13770 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
13773 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
13774 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
13775 lots of percentages everywhere.
13778 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
13779 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
13780 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
13781 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
13782 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
13785 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
13786 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
13787 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
13788 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
13789 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
13790 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
13791 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
13792 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
13794 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
13795 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
13797 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
13798 @findex gnus-update-format
13799 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
13800 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
13801 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
13802 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
13806 @node Formatting Basics
13807 @subsection Formatting Basics
13809 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
13810 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
13811 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
13813 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
13814 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
13815 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
13816 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
13817 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
13820 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
13821 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
13822 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
13823 less than 4 characters wide.
13826 @node Mode Line Formatting
13827 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
13829 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
13830 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
13831 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
13832 with the following two differences:
13837 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
13840 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
13841 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
13842 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
13843 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
13844 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
13845 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
13846 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
13851 @node Advanced Formatting
13852 @subsection Advanced Formatting
13854 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
13855 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
13856 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
13857 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
13859 These are the valid modifiers:
13864 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
13868 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
13873 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
13876 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
13881 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
13884 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
13887 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
13890 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
13894 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
13895 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
13896 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
13897 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
13898 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
13899 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
13900 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
13902 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
13903 last operation, padding.
13905 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
13906 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
13907 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
13908 @xref{Compilation}.
13911 @node User-Defined Specs
13912 @subsection User-Defined Specs
13914 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
13915 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
13916 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
13917 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
13918 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
13919 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
13920 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
13921 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
13922 should protect against that.
13924 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
13925 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
13926 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
13927 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
13931 @node Formatting Fonts
13932 @subsection Formatting Fonts
13934 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
13935 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
13936 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
13937 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
13940 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
13941 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
13942 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
13943 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
13944 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
13945 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
13947 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
13950 ;; Create three face types.
13951 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
13952 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
13954 ;; We want the article count to be in
13955 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
13956 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
13957 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
13959 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
13960 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
13962 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
13963 (setq gnus-group-line-format
13964 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
13967 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
13968 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
13970 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
13971 mode-line variables.
13974 @node Windows Configuration
13975 @section Windows Configuration
13976 @cindex windows configuration
13978 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
13980 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
13981 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
13982 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
13983 @code{t} by default.
13985 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
13986 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
13987 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
13990 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
13991 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
13992 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13996 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
13997 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
13998 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
13999 possible names is listed below.
14001 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
14002 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
14005 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14009 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
14010 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
14011 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
14012 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
14013 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
14014 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
14015 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
14016 size spec per split.
14018 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
14019 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
14020 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
14021 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
14022 present) gets focus.
14024 Here's a more complicated example:
14027 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
14028 (summary 0.25 point)
14029 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
14033 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
14034 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
14035 occupy, not a percentage.
14037 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
14038 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
14039 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
14040 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
14041 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
14044 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
14047 (article (horizontal 1.0
14052 (summary 0.25 point)
14057 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
14058 @code{horizontal} thingie?
14060 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
14061 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
14062 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
14063 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
14064 the screen is to be given to this strip.
14066 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
14067 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
14068 lines from the splits.
14070 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
14074 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
14075 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
14076 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
14077 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
14078 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
14079 size = number | frame-params
14080 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
14083 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
14084 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
14085 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
14086 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
14088 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
14089 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
14090 @cindex window height
14091 @cindex window width
14092 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
14093 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
14094 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
14095 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
14096 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
14097 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
14099 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
14100 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
14101 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
14102 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
14104 @findex gnus-configure-frame
14105 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
14106 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
14107 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
14108 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
14109 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
14110 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
14111 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
14112 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
14113 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
14114 configuration list.
14117 (gnus-configure-frame
14121 (article 0.3 point))
14129 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
14130 @code{frame} split:
14133 (gnus-configure-frame
14136 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
14138 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
14139 (user-position . t)
14140 (left . -1) (top . 1))
14145 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
14146 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
14147 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
14148 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
14149 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
14150 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
14151 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
14152 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
14155 Here's a list of all possible keys for
14156 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
14158 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
14159 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
14160 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
14161 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
14162 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
14163 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
14165 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
14166 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
14167 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
14171 (message (horizontal 1.0
14172 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
14174 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
14179 @findex gnus-add-configuration
14180 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
14181 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
14182 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
14183 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
14186 (gnus-add-configuration
14187 '(article (vertical 1.0
14189 (summary .25 point)
14193 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
14194 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
14195 Gnus has been loaded.
14197 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
14198 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
14199 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
14200 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
14201 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
14204 @node Faces and Fonts
14205 @section Faces and Fonts
14210 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
14211 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
14212 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
14217 @section Compilation
14218 @cindex compilation
14219 @cindex byte-compilation
14221 @findex gnus-compile
14223 Remember all those line format specification variables?
14224 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
14225 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
14226 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
14227 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
14228 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
14231 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
14232 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
14233 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
14234 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
14235 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
14236 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
14237 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
14241 @section Mode Lines
14244 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
14245 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
14246 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
14247 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
14248 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
14249 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
14250 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
14253 @cindex display-time
14255 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
14256 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
14257 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
14258 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
14259 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
14260 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
14261 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
14262 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
14265 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
14267 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
14268 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
14270 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
14271 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
14272 (length display-time-string)))))
14275 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
14276 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
14277 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
14278 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
14279 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
14282 @node Highlighting and Menus
14283 @section Highlighting and Menus
14285 @cindex highlighting
14288 @vindex gnus-visual
14289 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
14290 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
14291 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
14294 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
14295 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
14298 @item group-highlight
14299 Do highlights in the group buffer.
14300 @item summary-highlight
14301 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
14302 @item article-highlight
14303 Do highlights in the article buffer.
14305 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
14307 Create menus in the group buffer.
14309 Create menus in the summary buffers.
14311 Create menus in the article buffer.
14313 Create menus in the browse buffer.
14315 Create menus in the server buffer.
14317 Create menus in the score buffers.
14319 Create menus in all buffers.
14322 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
14323 buffers, you could say something like:
14326 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
14329 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
14332 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
14335 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
14336 in all Gnus buffers.
14338 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
14341 @item gnus-mouse-face
14342 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
14343 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
14344 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
14348 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
14352 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
14353 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
14354 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
14356 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
14357 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
14358 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14360 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14361 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14362 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14364 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14365 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14366 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14368 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14369 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14370 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14372 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14373 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14374 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14385 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14386 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14387 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14388 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14389 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14393 @vindex gnus-carpal
14394 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14395 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14396 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14401 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14402 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14403 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14405 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14406 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14407 Face used on buttons.
14409 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14410 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14411 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14413 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14414 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14415 Buttons in the group buffer.
14417 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14418 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14419 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14421 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14422 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14423 Buttons in the server buffer.
14425 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14426 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14427 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14430 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14431 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14432 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14440 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14441 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14442 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14443 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14444 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14446 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14447 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14448 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14450 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14451 been idle for thirty minutes:
14454 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14457 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14461 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14464 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14465 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14466 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14468 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14469 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14470 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14471 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14473 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14474 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14475 @var{idle} minutes.
14477 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14478 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14481 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14482 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14483 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14485 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14486 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14487 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14488 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14490 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14491 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14492 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14494 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14495 your @file{.gnus} file:
14497 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14499 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14502 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14503 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14504 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14505 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14506 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14507 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14508 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14509 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14510 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14511 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14512 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14514 @findex gnus-demon-init
14515 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14516 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14517 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14518 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14519 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14521 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
14522 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14523 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14532 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14533 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
14535 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
14536 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
14537 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
14538 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
14541 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
14542 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
14543 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
14544 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
14546 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
14547 this will make spam disappear.
14549 There are some variables to customize, of course:
14552 @item gnus-use-nocem
14553 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
14554 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
14557 @item gnus-nocem-groups
14558 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
14559 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
14560 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
14561 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
14563 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
14564 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
14565 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
14566 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
14567 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
14568 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
14569 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
14571 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
14574 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
14575 @cindex Chris Lewis
14576 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
14577 usenet abuse than anybody else.
14580 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
14581 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
14582 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
14584 @item jem@@xpat.com;
14586 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
14589 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
14590 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
14591 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
14594 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
14595 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
14596 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
14597 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
14598 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
14599 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
14600 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
14601 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
14602 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
14603 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
14605 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
14606 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
14609 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
14612 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
14613 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
14616 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
14619 The specs are applied left-to-right.
14622 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
14623 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
14625 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
14626 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
14627 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
14628 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
14630 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
14631 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
14634 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
14636 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
14644 This might be dangerous, though.
14646 @item gnus-nocem-directory
14647 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
14648 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
14649 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
14651 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14652 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14653 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
14654 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
14655 might then see old spam.
14659 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
14660 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
14661 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
14662 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
14669 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
14670 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
14671 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
14673 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
14674 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
14675 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
14676 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
14677 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
14678 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
14679 @code{undo} function.
14681 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
14682 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
14683 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
14684 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
14685 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
14686 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
14687 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
14688 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
14689 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
14690 never be totally undoable.
14692 @findex gnus-undo-mode
14693 @vindex gnus-use-undo
14695 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
14696 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
14697 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
14698 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
14703 @section Moderation
14706 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
14707 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
14708 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
14711 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
14715 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
14718 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
14720 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
14725 You split your incoming mail by matching on
14726 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
14727 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
14730 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
14731 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
14734 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
14735 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
14739 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
14742 (setq gnus-moderated-list
14743 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
14747 @node XEmacs Enhancements
14748 @section XEmacs Enhancements
14751 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
14755 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
14756 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
14757 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
14758 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
14771 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
14772 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
14773 over your shoulder as you read news.
14776 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
14777 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
14778 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
14779 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
14780 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
14785 @subsubsection Picon Basics
14787 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
14796 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
14797 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
14798 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
14799 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
14800 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
14801 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
14802 @code{GIF} formats.
14805 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14806 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
14807 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
14808 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
14809 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
14811 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14812 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
14813 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
14814 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
14815 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
14816 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14819 @node Picon Requirements
14820 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
14822 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
14823 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
14826 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
14827 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
14828 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
14830 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14831 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
14832 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
14833 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
14834 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
14838 @subsubsection Easy Picons
14840 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
14841 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
14844 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
14845 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
14846 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14847 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
14848 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
14851 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
14852 containing the Picons databases.
14854 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
14857 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14858 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
14863 @subsubsection Hard Picons
14871 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
14872 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
14873 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
14874 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
14875 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
14880 @item gnus-picons-database
14881 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14882 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
14883 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
14884 subdirectories. This is only useful if
14885 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
14886 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
14888 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14889 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14890 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
14891 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
14892 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
14893 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
14894 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14896 @item gnus-picons-display-where
14897 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14898 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
14899 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
14900 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
14901 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
14902 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
14903 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
14905 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14906 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14907 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
14912 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
14913 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
14915 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
14916 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
14919 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
14920 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14922 @item gnus-article-display-picons
14923 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14924 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
14925 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
14926 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14928 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
14929 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14930 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
14931 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14935 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
14936 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
14939 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14943 @node Picon Useless Configuration
14944 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
14952 The following variables offer further control over how things are
14953 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
14954 don't need to worry about.
14958 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
14959 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
14960 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14961 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
14963 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
14964 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
14965 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
14966 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
14968 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
14969 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
14970 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14971 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
14972 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
14974 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14975 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14976 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
14977 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
14978 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
14979 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
14980 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
14982 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14983 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14984 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
14985 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
14987 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
14988 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
14989 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
14990 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
14991 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
14992 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
14993 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
14995 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
14996 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
14997 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
14998 Defaults to @code{nil}.
15000 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
15001 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
15002 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
15003 Defaults to @code{t}.
15005 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15006 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15007 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
15008 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
15010 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15011 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15012 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
15013 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
15015 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15016 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15017 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
15018 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
15019 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
15020 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
15021 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
15022 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
15033 @subsection Smileys
15038 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
15043 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
15044 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
15046 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
15047 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15050 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
15053 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
15054 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
15055 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
15056 text and maps that to file names.
15058 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
15059 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
15060 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
15061 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
15062 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
15063 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
15065 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
15066 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
15068 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
15069 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
15070 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
15072 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
15073 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
15077 @item smiley-data-directory
15078 @vindex smiley-data-directory
15079 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
15081 @item smiley-flesh-color
15082 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
15083 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
15085 @item smiley-features-color
15086 @vindex smiley-features-color
15087 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15089 @item smiley-tongue-color
15090 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
15091 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
15093 @item smiley-circle-color
15094 @vindex smiley-circle-color
15095 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15097 @item smiley-mouse-face
15098 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
15099 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
15105 @subsection Toolbar
15115 @item gnus-use-toolbar
15116 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
15117 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
15118 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
15119 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
15121 @item gnus-group-toolbar
15122 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
15123 The toolbar in the group buffer.
15125 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
15126 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
15127 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
15129 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15130 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15131 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
15137 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
15140 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15141 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15142 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
15143 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
15144 unusual directory structure.
15146 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15147 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15148 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
15149 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
15151 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15152 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15153 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
15154 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
15155 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
15156 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
15158 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15159 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15160 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
15174 @node Fuzzy Matching
15175 @section Fuzzy Matching
15176 @cindex fuzzy matching
15178 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
15179 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
15181 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
15182 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
15183 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
15185 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
15186 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
15187 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
15188 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
15189 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
15192 @node Thwarting Email Spam
15193 @section Thwarting Email Spam
15197 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
15199 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
15200 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
15201 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
15202 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
15203 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
15204 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
15205 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
15206 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
15209 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
15210 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
15211 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
15212 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
15213 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
15214 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
15218 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
15219 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
15221 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
15222 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
15223 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
15224 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
15225 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
15226 part of the mail address.)
15229 (setq message-default-news-headers
15230 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
15233 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15234 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
15239 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
15240 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
15241 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
15247 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
15248 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
15249 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
15250 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
15252 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
15253 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
15254 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
15255 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
15256 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
15257 your fancy split rule in this way:
15262 (to "larsi" "misc")
15266 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
15267 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
15268 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
15269 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
15270 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
15272 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
15273 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
15274 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
15275 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
15276 cosmic balance somewhat.
15278 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
15279 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
15280 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
15281 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
15284 @node Various Various
15285 @section Various Various
15291 @item gnus-home-directory
15292 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
15293 defaults to @file{~/}.
15295 @item gnus-directory
15296 @vindex gnus-directory
15297 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
15298 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
15299 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
15301 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
15302 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
15303 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
15304 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
15306 @item gnus-default-directory
15307 @vindex gnus-default-directory
15308 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
15309 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
15310 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
15311 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15312 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
15313 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
15316 @vindex gnus-verbose
15317 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
15318 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
15319 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
15320 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
15321 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
15323 @item gnus-verbose-backends
15324 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
15325 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
15326 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
15328 @item nnheader-max-head-length
15329 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
15330 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
15331 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
15332 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
15333 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
15334 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
15335 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
15336 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
15337 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
15339 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
15340 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
15341 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
15342 read when doing the operation described above.
15344 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15345 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15347 @cindex invalid characters in file names
15348 @cindex characters in file names
15349 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
15350 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
15351 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
15354 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15358 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
15359 Windows (phooey) systems.
15361 @item gnus-hidden-properties
15362 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
15363 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
15364 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
15365 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
15367 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
15368 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
15369 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
15370 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
15371 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
15373 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
15374 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
15375 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
15384 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
15385 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
15387 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
15389 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
15395 Not because of victories @*
15398 but for the common sunshine,@*
15400 the largess of the spring.
15404 but for the day's work done@*
15405 as well as I was able;@*
15406 not for a seat upon the dais@*
15407 but at the common table.@*
15412 @chapter Appendices
15415 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
15416 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
15417 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
15418 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
15419 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
15420 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15421 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15429 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15430 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15432 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15433 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15434 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15435 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15436 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15438 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15439 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15440 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15441 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15442 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15443 appropriate name, don't you think?)
15445 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
15446 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
15447 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
15448 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
15450 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
15451 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
15452 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
15454 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
15455 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
15457 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
15458 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
15460 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37
15461 releases. If was released as ``Gnus 5.6 on March 8th 1998.
15463 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
15464 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
15465 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
15466 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
15467 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
15471 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
15472 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
15473 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
15474 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
15475 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
15476 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
15477 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15484 What's the point of Gnus?
15486 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15487 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15488 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15489 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15490 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15491 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15492 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15493 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15494 keep track of millions of people who post?
15496 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15497 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15498 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15499 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15500 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15501 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15502 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15503 every one of you to explore and invent.
15505 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15506 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
15509 @node Compatibility
15510 @subsection Compatibility
15512 @cindex compatibility
15513 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
15514 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
15515 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
15520 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
15524 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
15527 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
15530 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
15531 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
15532 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
15533 important variables have their values copied into their global
15534 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
15535 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
15537 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
15538 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
15539 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
15540 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
15541 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
15545 @cindex highlighting
15546 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
15547 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
15548 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
15549 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
15550 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
15551 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
15554 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
15555 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
15556 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
15557 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
15559 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
15560 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
15561 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
15562 to stop doing it the old way.
15564 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
15566 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
15568 @cindex reporting bugs
15570 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
15571 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
15572 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
15574 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
15575 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
15576 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
15577 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
15582 @subsection Conformity
15584 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
15585 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
15592 There are no known breaches of this standard.
15596 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
15598 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
15599 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
15600 We do have some breaches to this one.
15605 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
15606 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
15609 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
15610 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
15611 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
15612 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
15613 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
15618 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
15619 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
15624 @subsection Emacsen
15630 Gnus should work on :
15635 Emacs 19.32 and up.
15638 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
15641 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
15645 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
15646 reliably, at least.
15648 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
15649 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
15650 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
15655 @subsection Contributors
15656 @cindex contributors
15658 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
15659 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
15660 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
15661 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
15662 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
15663 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
15664 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
15665 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
15666 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
15667 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
15669 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
15675 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
15678 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
15679 well as numerous other things).
15682 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
15685 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
15688 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
15689 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
15692 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
15695 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
15696 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15699 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
15702 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
15705 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
15708 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
15711 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
15712 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
15715 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
15718 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
15721 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
15724 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
15728 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
15731 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
15734 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
15737 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
15738 well as autoconf support.
15742 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
15743 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
15745 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
15754 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
15758 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
15780 Massimo Campostrini,
15788 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
15794 Michael Welsh Duggan,
15797 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
15801 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
15807 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
15809 Michelangelo Grigni,
15812 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
15814 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
15816 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
15821 François Felix Ingrand,
15822 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
15824 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
15832 Peter Skov Knudsen,
15833 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
15834 Thor Kristoffersen,
15836 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
15853 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
15854 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
15861 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
15865 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
15867 John McClary Prevost,
15872 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
15877 Christian von Roques,
15879 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
15885 Philippe Schnoebelen,
15887 Randal L. Schwartz,
15915 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
15917 Shenghuo Zhu. @c Zhu
15919 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
15920 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
15921 (550kB and counting).
15923 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
15926 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
15927 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
15931 @subsection New Features
15932 @cindex new features
15935 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
15936 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
15937 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
15938 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6.
15941 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
15942 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
15943 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
15947 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
15949 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
15954 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
15955 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
15958 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
15959 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
15962 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
15965 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
15966 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
15967 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15970 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
15971 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
15972 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
15973 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15976 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
15977 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15980 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
15981 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
15982 (@pxref{The Active File}).
15985 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
15986 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
15989 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
15990 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
15991 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15994 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
15995 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
15996 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
15999 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
16000 the @file{.emacs} file.
16003 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
16004 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16007 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
16008 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
16011 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
16012 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16015 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
16016 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
16019 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
16020 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16023 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
16026 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
16027 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
16030 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
16031 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
16034 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
16035 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
16038 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
16041 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
16042 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16045 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
16049 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
16053 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
16054 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
16057 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
16063 @node September Gnus
16064 @subsubsection September Gnus
16068 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
16072 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
16077 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
16078 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
16082 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
16083 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
16087 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
16091 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
16092 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
16095 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
16099 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16102 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
16105 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
16108 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
16112 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
16113 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
16116 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
16120 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
16124 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
16128 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
16132 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
16135 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
16136 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
16139 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
16143 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
16144 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
16147 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
16150 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
16151 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
16152 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16155 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
16159 The Gnus cache is much faster.
16162 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
16166 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
16167 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16170 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
16171 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
16174 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
16175 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16178 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
16179 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
16180 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
16183 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
16184 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
16187 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
16190 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16193 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16194 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
16198 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
16201 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
16204 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
16205 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
16208 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
16212 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
16215 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
16220 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
16223 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
16227 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16230 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
16234 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
16237 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
16240 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
16241 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16244 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
16245 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
16249 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
16250 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
16253 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
16257 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
16258 buffer to allow easier treatment.
16261 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
16264 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
16268 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
16272 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
16273 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
16276 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
16280 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
16281 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16284 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
16285 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16288 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
16292 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16295 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16296 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
16300 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
16303 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
16309 @subsubsection Red Gnus
16311 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
16315 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
16322 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
16325 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
16326 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16329 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
16330 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
16334 Article washing status can be displayed in the
16335 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
16338 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
16341 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
16342 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
16345 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
16349 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
16350 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
16354 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
16355 Server Internals}).
16358 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
16362 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
16365 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
16366 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
16369 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
16370 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
16371 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
16374 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
16375 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16378 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
16379 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
16382 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
16386 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
16387 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16390 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
16391 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16394 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
16398 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
16401 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
16405 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
16406 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16409 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
16410 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16413 A new command for reading collections of documents
16414 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
16415 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
16418 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
16422 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
16423 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
16426 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
16427 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
16428 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
16431 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
16432 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
16436 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
16440 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
16444 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
16449 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
16453 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
16457 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
16458 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
16461 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
16464 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16465 'gnus-article-emphasize)
16472 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
16474 New features in Gnus 5.6:
16479 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
16480 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
16481 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
16484 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
16485 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
16486 group, which is created automatically.
16489 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
16493 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
16496 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
16497 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
16500 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
16504 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
16507 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
16508 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
16511 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
16514 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
16515 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
16518 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
16519 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
16522 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
16523 control over simplification.
16526 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
16529 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
16533 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
16536 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16539 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
16540 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
16541 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
16544 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
16545 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
16548 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
16552 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
16553 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
16556 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
16557 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
16560 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
16564 A history of where mails have been split is available.
16567 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
16570 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
16571 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
16574 A new function for citing in Message has been
16575 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
16578 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
16581 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
16585 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
16586 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
16589 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
16590 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
16593 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
16596 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
16601 @node Newest Features
16602 @subsection Newest Features
16605 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
16608 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
16610 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
16611 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
16614 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
16619 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
16622 Really do unbinhexing.
16625 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
16626 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
16629 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
16632 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
16635 facep is not declared.
16638 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
16639 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
16642 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
16647 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
16648 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
16649 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
16650 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
16651 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
16652 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
16653 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
16658 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
16661 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
16664 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
16666 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
16667 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
16669 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
16671 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
16673 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
16674 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
16676 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
16678 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
16679 be marked as unread.
16681 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
16683 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
16685 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
16686 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
16688 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
16690 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
16692 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
16693 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
16695 topics that contain just groups with ticked
16696 articles aren't displayed.
16698 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
16700 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
16701 make the mail groups killed.
16703 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
16705 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
16706 and articles have to be removed.
16708 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
16711 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
16713 finding short score file names takes forever.
16715 canceling articles in foreign groups.
16717 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
16719 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
16721 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
16723 nnweb doesn't work properly.
16725 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
16727 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
16728 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
16732 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
16734 really unbinhex binhex files.
16736 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
16737 bar and the Gnus bar.
16740 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
16741 `(canonize-message-id id)'
16742 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
16743 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
16744 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
16745 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
16750 nnml .overview directory with splits.
16754 postponed commands.
16756 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
16758 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
16761 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
16762 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
16764 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
16765 inherit copy prompts and save files.
16767 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
16769 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
16770 for backends that support that.
16772 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
16774 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
16775 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
16777 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
16778 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
16780 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
16782 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
16784 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
16786 server mode command: close/open all connections
16788 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
16789 has been changed before using it.
16791 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
16793 hide (sub)threads with low score.
16795 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
16797 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
16799 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
16800 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
16802 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
16803 contain groups that match a regexp.
16805 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
16808 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
16811 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
16812 from subject lines.
16814 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
16816 nntp-ping-before-connect
16818 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
16820 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
16821 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
16823 message annotations.
16825 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
16827 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
16828 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
16830 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
16835 support qmail maildir spools
16837 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
16839 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
16841 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
16843 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
16844 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
16846 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
16848 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
16850 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
16851 finds and generate proper active ranges.
16853 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
16854 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
16856 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
16858 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
16860 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
16861 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
16863 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
16865 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
16867 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
16868 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
16871 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
16873 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
16875 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
16876 `C-c C-c' when posting.
16878 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
16881 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
16882 should be marker as expirable.
16884 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
16886 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
16887 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
16889 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
16890 Also consult Date headers.
16892 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
16894 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
16896 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
16897 Message-ID, delete the "original".
16899 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
16900 into a See-Also header.
16902 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
16904 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
16906 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
16907 should be listed as such and not as "K".
16909 generate font names dynamically.
16911 score file mode auto-alist.
16913 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
16914 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
16916 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
16917 absolutely all headers there is.
16919 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
16920 and pipe them to the process.
16922 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
16923 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
16924 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
16926 function for starting to edit a file to put into
16927 the current mail group.
16929 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
16931 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
16932 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
16934 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
16935 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
16937 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
16939 when replying to several process-marked articles,
16940 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
16942 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
16943 groups it has been mailed to.
16945 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
16947 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
16949 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
16951 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
16952 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
16954 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
16955 newlines) should be ignored.
16957 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
16958 groups in subtopics as well.
16960 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
16962 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
16965 add edit and forward secondary marks.
16967 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
16969 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
16971 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
16973 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
16975 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
16977 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
16978 or the formatted article.
16980 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
16982 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
16983 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
16985 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
16987 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
16989 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
16991 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
16992 even unread articles.
16994 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
16996 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
16998 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
17000 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
17002 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17004 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
17007 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
17008 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
17010 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
17011 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
17013 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
17015 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
17017 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
17018 from a particular server? Hm.
17020 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
17021 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
17023 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
17025 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
17026 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
17028 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
17029 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
17031 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
17032 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
17033 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
17036 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
17037 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
17039 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
17041 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
17043 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
17045 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
17048 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
17051 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
17052 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
17054 command to show and edit group scores
17056 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
17059 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
17061 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
17063 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
17064 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
17067 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
17068 that are of that length.
17070 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
17072 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
17074 asynchronous posting under nntp.
17076 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
17078 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
17080 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
17082 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
17083 a score lower than this number.
17085 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
17087 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
17089 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
17090 so that each copy can be edited separately.
17092 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
17094 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
17095 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
17097 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
17100 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
17101 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
17102 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
17103 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
17105 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
17108 command to remove all topic stuff.
17110 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
17111 and splitting the resulting digests.
17113 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
17115 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
17117 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
17118 matches an alist -- before saving.
17120 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
17122 variable to activate each group before entering them
17123 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
17125 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
17126 starting Gnus first if necessary.
17128 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
17129 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
17131 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
17133 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
17134 of several groups at once.
17136 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
17137 matches some regexp(s).
17139 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
17141 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
17143 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
17145 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
17147 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
17149 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
17151 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
17153 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
17154 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
17155 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
17156 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
17158 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
17159 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
17161 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
17163 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
17164 recently cited text.
17166 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
17168 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
17171 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
17172 server and just read the articles in the server
17174 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
17175 value of nnoo variables.
17177 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
17179 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
17180 listed in each group info.
17182 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
17185 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
17186 should only be applied to some groups.
17188 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
17189 mail-copies-to: never.
17191 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
17192 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
17194 the slave dribble files should autosave to the slave file names.
17196 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
17199 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
17202 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
17204 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
17207 group user-defined meta-parameters.
17211 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
17213 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
17214 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
17215 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
17216 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
17217 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
17219 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
17220 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
17227 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
17228 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
17230 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
17231 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
17233 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
17234 "Return the date the group was last read."
17235 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
17240 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
17241 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
17242 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
17243 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
17247 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
17248 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
17250 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
17253 They could be used like this:
17257 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
17258 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
17259 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
17261 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
17263 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
17266 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
17269 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
17270 affect the summary line format.
17274 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
17276 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
17277 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
17279 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
17282 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
17284 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
17286 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
17288 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
17290 - For other files, just find them normally.
17292 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
17293 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
17296 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
17297 tell him what you are doing.
17300 Currently, I get prompted:
17304 decend into sci.something ?
17308 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
17309 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
17310 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
17311 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
17314 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
17315 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
17316 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
17317 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
17320 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
17321 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
17327 more than n blank lines
17329 more than m identical lines
17330 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
17332 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
17336 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
17337 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
17338 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
17339 "same" subject for threading purposes.
17342 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
17343 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
17344 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
17345 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
17348 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
17351 soup - bowl of soup
17352 score below - dim light bulb
17353 score over - bright light bulb
17356 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
17361 show-list-of-articles-in-group
17362 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17363 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
17364 if (articles-selected)
17365 start-reading-selected-articles;
17366 junk-unread-articles;
17371 else if (key-pressed = '.')
17372 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
17373 select-thread-under-cursor;
17375 select-article-under-cursor;
17379 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17380 if (more-pages-in-article)
17382 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
17389 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
17390 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
17391 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
17394 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
17395 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
17396 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
17397 the wildcard expression).
17400 It would be nice if it also handled
17402 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
17404 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
17409 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
17410 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
17411 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
17412 article versions) variable.
17414 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
17416 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
17417 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
17421 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
17424 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
17425 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
17426 (message-sent-hook).
17428 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
17431 * Enhancements to Gnus:
17435 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
17436 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
17439 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
17440 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
17441 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
17444 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
17445 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
17449 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
17452 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
17456 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
17457 the nnmail duplicate checking.
17460 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
17461 value of the signature file.
17464 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
17465 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
17468 (setq message-tab-alist
17469 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
17470 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
17472 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
17476 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
17479 a command to import a buffer into a group.
17482 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
17485 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
17486 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
17489 a command to process mark all unread articles.
17492 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
17493 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
17494 do more gathering by subject.
17497 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
17498 article numerical order.
17501 (gnus-thread-total-score
17502 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
17506 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
17509 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
17510 in the summary buffer.
17513 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
17514 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
17517 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
17518 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
17519 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
17520 and/or newsgroup name.
17523 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
17526 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
17529 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
17532 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
17533 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
17534 will automatically get the process mark.
17537 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
17538 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
17539 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
17542 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
17546 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
17547 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
17550 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
17551 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
17555 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
17556 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
17559 be able to post via DejaNews.
17562 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
17565 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
17566 allow them to be displayed separately.
17569 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
17570 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
17573 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
17574 articles that match a certain From header.
17577 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
17578 saving living summary buffers.
17581 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
17582 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
17585 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
17586 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
17589 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
17590 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
17593 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
17594 (goto-char (point-min))
17595 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
17596 (replace-match "`" t t))
17597 (goto-char (point-min))
17598 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
17599 (replace-match "'" t t))
17600 (goto-char (point-min))
17601 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
17602 (replace-match "\"" t t))
17603 (goto-char (point-min))
17604 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
17605 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
17610 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
17612 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
17613 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
17614 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
17615 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
17619 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
17622 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
17623 numbers and match on the age of the article.
17627 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
17628 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
17629 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
17631 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
17632 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
17634 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
17635 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
17640 all commands that react to the process mark should push
17641 the current process mark set onto the stack.
17644 gnus-article-hide-pgp
17645 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
17647 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
17649 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
17650 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
17653 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
17654 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
17657 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
17661 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
17662 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
17665 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
17668 nndraft-request-group should tally autosave files.
17671 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
17674 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
17678 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
17684 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
17687 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
17691 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
17692 X characters in the body.
17695 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
17698 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
17701 format spec to "tab" to a position.
17704 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
17707 command to display all dormant articles.
17710 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
17713 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
17714 to something someone else has said.
17717 Read Netscape discussion groups:
17718 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
17721 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
17722 the displayed version.
17725 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
17729 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
17732 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
17733 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
17734 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
17738 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
17739 in the head or body.
17742 Allow breaking lengthy NNTP commands.
17745 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
17748 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
17749 in a special, unique buffer.
17752 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
17755 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
17756 is less than a certain number of days old.
17759 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
17762 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
17765 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
17766 file, for instance.
17769 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
17770 in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
17771 dummy root instead of the first article.
17774 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
17775 topics for displaying.
17778 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
17779 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
17782 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
17785 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
17786 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
17787 summary buffer for each article.
17790 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
17793 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
17797 Solve the halting problem.
17806 @section The Manual
17810 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
17811 either @code{texi2dvi}
17813 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
17814 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
17816 to get what you hold in your hands now.
17818 The following conventions have been used:
17823 This is a @samp{string}
17826 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
17829 This is a @file{file}
17832 This is a @code{symbol}
17836 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
17840 (setq flargnoze "yes")
17843 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
17846 (setq flumphel 'yes)
17849 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
17850 ever get them confused.
17854 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
17855 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
17856 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
17857 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
17858 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
17859 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
17860 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
17868 @section Terminology
17870 @cindex terminology
17875 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
17876 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
17877 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
17878 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
17879 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
17883 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
17884 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
17885 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
17886 not posting, and replying is not following up.
17890 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
17894 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
17899 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
17900 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
17901 is all done by the backends.
17905 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
17906 default, way of getting news.
17910 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
17911 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
17916 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
17917 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
17921 A message that has been posted as news.
17924 @cindex mail message
17925 A message that has been mailed.
17929 A mail message or news article
17933 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
17938 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
17943 A line from the head of an article.
17947 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
17948 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
17952 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
17953 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
17954 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
17955 normal @sc{head} format.
17959 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
17960 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
17961 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
17962 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
17963 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
17964 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
17966 @item killed groups
17967 @cindex killed groups
17968 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
17969 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
17971 @item zombie groups
17972 @cindex zombie groups
17973 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
17976 @cindex active file
17977 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
17978 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
17979 is rather large, as you might surmise.
17982 @cindex bogus groups
17983 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
17984 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
17985 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
17988 @cindex activating groups
17989 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
17990 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
17991 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
17995 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
17997 @item select method
17998 @cindex select method
17999 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
18002 @item virtual server
18003 @cindex virtual server
18004 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
18005 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
18006 whole is a virtual server.
18010 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
18011 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
18014 @item ephemeral groups
18015 @cindex ephemeral groups
18016 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
18017 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
18018 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
18021 @cindex solid groups
18022 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
18023 group buffer are solid groups.
18025 @item sparse articles
18026 @cindex sparse articles
18027 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
18028 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
18032 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
18033 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
18037 @cindex thread root
18038 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
18039 articles in the thread.
18043 An article that has responses.
18047 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
18051 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
18052 specified by RFC1153.
18058 @node Customization
18059 @section Customization
18060 @cindex general customization
18062 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
18063 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
18064 for some quite common situations.
18067 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
18068 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
18069 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
18070 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
18074 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
18075 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
18077 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
18078 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
18079 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
18083 @item gnus-read-active-file
18084 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
18085 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
18086 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18087 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
18088 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
18090 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
18091 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
18092 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
18093 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
18097 @node Slow Terminal Connection
18098 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
18100 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
18101 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
18102 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
18106 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
18107 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
18108 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
18109 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
18110 horizontal and vertical recentering.
18112 @item gnus-visible-headers
18113 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
18114 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
18115 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
18116 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
18118 @item gnus-article-display-hook
18119 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
18121 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
18122 '(gnus-article-hide-headers
18123 gnus-article-hide-signature
18124 gnus-article-hide-citation))
18127 @item gnus-use-full-window
18128 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
18129 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
18130 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
18131 want to read them anyway.
18133 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
18134 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
18137 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
18138 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
18139 lines, which might save some time.
18143 @node Little Disk Space
18144 @subsection Little Disk Space
18147 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
18148 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
18152 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
18153 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
18154 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
18155 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18158 @item gnus-save-killed-list
18159 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
18160 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
18161 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
18162 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
18168 @subsection Slow Machine
18169 @cindex slow machine
18171 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
18172 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
18174 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18175 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
18177 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
18178 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
18179 summary buffer faster.
18181 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
18182 processing a bit faster.
18186 @node Troubleshooting
18187 @section Troubleshooting
18188 @cindex troubleshooting
18190 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
18198 Make sure your computer is switched on.
18201 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
18202 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
18206 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
18207 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
18208 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
18209 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
18212 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
18216 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
18217 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
18218 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
18219 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
18220 something like that.
18223 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
18226 @cindex reporting bugs
18228 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18230 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
18231 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
18232 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
18233 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
18235 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
18236 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
18237 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
18238 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
18241 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
18242 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
18243 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
18244 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
18245 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
18246 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
18248 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
18249 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
18250 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
18253 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
18254 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
18256 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
18257 @cindex ding mailing list
18258 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
18259 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
18263 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
18264 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
18266 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
18267 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
18268 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
18269 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
18272 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
18273 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
18274 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
18275 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
18276 and general methods of operation.
18279 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
18280 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
18281 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
18282 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
18283 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
18284 * Group Info:: The group info format.
18285 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
18286 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
18287 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
18291 @node Gnus Utility Functions
18292 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
18293 @cindex Gnus utility functions
18294 @cindex utility functions
18296 @cindex internal variables
18298 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
18299 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
18300 Below is a list of the most common ones.
18304 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
18305 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
18306 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
18308 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
18309 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
18310 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
18312 @item gnus-group-real-name
18313 @findex gnus-group-real-name
18314 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
18317 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
18318 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
18319 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
18320 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
18322 @item gnus-get-info
18323 @findex gnus-get-info
18324 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
18326 @item gnus-group-unread
18327 @findex gnus-group-unread
18328 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
18332 @findex gnus-active
18333 The active entry for @var{group}.
18335 @item gnus-set-active
18336 @findex gnus-set-active
18337 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
18339 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18340 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18341 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
18344 @item gnus-continuum-version
18345 @findex gnus-continuum-version
18346 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
18347 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
18350 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
18351 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
18352 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
18354 @item gnus-news-group-p
18355 @findex gnus-news-group-p
18356 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
18358 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18359 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18360 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
18362 @item gnus-server-to-method
18363 @findex gnus-server-to-method
18364 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
18366 @item gnus-server-equal
18367 @findex gnus-server-equal
18368 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
18370 @item gnus-group-native-p
18371 @findex gnus-group-native-p
18372 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
18374 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
18375 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
18376 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
18378 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
18379 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
18380 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
18382 @item group-group-find-parameter
18383 @findex group-group-find-parameter
18384 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
18385 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
18387 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
18388 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
18389 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
18391 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
18392 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
18393 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
18395 @item gnus-check-backend-function
18396 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
18397 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
18398 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
18401 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
18405 @item gnus-read-method
18406 @findex gnus-read-method
18407 Prompts the user for a select method.
18412 @node Backend Interface
18413 @subsection Backend Interface
18415 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
18416 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
18417 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
18418 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
18419 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
18420 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
18422 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
18423 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
18424 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
18425 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
18426 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
18427 been opened, the function should fail.
18429 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
18430 name. Take this example:
18434 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
18435 (nntp-port-number 4324))
18438 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
18439 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
18441 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
18442 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
18443 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
18445 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
18446 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
18447 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
18449 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
18450 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
18451 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
18452 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
18453 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
18454 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
18457 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
18458 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
18459 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
18460 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
18463 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
18466 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
18469 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
18470 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
18471 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
18472 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
18473 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
18474 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
18478 @node Required Backend Functions
18479 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
18483 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
18485 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
18486 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
18487 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
18488 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
18490 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
18491 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
18492 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
18493 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
18495 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
18496 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
18497 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
18498 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
18499 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
18500 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
18501 number, do maximum fetches.
18503 Here's an example HEAD:
18506 221 1056 Article retrieved.
18507 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
18508 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
18509 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
18510 Subject: Re: Something very droll
18511 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
18512 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
18514 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
18515 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
18516 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
18520 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
18521 these in the data buffer.
18523 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
18527 head = error / valid-head
18528 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
18529 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
18530 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
18531 header = <text> eol
18534 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
18535 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
18539 nov-buffer = *nov-line
18540 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
18541 field = <text except TAB>
18544 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
18548 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
18550 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
18551 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
18553 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
18554 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
18555 server. In fact, it should do so.
18557 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
18558 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
18561 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
18563 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
18564 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
18567 There should be no data returned.
18570 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
18572 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
18573 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
18574 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
18575 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
18577 There should be no data returned.
18580 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
18582 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
18583 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
18584 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
18585 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
18587 There should be no data returned.
18590 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
18592 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
18594 There should be no data returned.
18597 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
18599 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
18600 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
18601 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
18602 it would be nice if that were possible.
18604 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
18605 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
18606 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
18607 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
18608 into its article buffer.
18610 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
18611 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
18612 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
18613 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
18614 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
18615 on successful article retrieval.
18618 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
18620 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
18621 making @var{group} the current group.
18623 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
18626 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
18629 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
18632 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
18633 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
18634 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
18635 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
18636 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
18637 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
18638 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
18639 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
18642 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
18643 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
18644 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
18648 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18650 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
18651 a no-op on most backends.
18653 There should be no data returned.
18656 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
18658 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
18661 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
18664 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
18665 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
18668 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
18669 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
18672 active-file = *active-line
18673 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
18675 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
18678 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
18679 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
18680 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
18683 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
18685 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
18686 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
18687 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
18688 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
18689 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
18690 clear if the posting could not be completed.
18692 There should be no result data from this function.
18697 @node Optional Backend Functions
18698 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
18702 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
18704 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
18705 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
18706 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
18708 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
18709 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
18710 former is in the same format as the data from
18711 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
18712 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
18715 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
18719 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
18721 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
18722 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
18723 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
18724 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
18725 should return the (altered) group info.
18727 There should be no result data from this function.
18730 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
18732 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
18733 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
18734 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
18735 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
18736 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
18737 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
18738 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
18739 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
18741 There should be no result data from this function.
18744 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
18746 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
18747 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
18748 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
18749 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
18750 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
18752 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
18753 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
18754 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
18757 There should be no result data from this function.
18760 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
18762 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
18763 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
18764 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
18765 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
18766 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
18767 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
18768 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
18770 There should be no result data from this function.
18773 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
18775 The result data from this function should be a description of
18779 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
18781 description = <text>
18784 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
18786 The result data from this function should be the description of all
18787 groups available on the server.
18790 description-buffer = *description-line
18794 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
18796 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
18797 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
18798 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
18801 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18803 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
18805 There should be no return data.
18808 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
18810 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
18811 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
18812 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
18813 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
18814 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
18817 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
18820 There should be no result data returned.
18823 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
18826 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
18827 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
18829 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
18830 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
18831 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
18832 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
18833 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
18834 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
18836 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
18837 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
18840 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18841 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18843 There should be no data returned.
18846 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
18848 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
18849 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
18850 this function in short order.
18852 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18853 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18855 There should be no data returned.
18858 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
18860 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
18861 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
18863 There should be no data returned.
18866 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
18868 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
18869 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
18870 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
18872 There should be no data returned.
18875 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
18877 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
18878 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
18880 There should be no data returned.
18885 @node Error Messaging
18886 @subsubsection Error Messaging
18888 @findex nnheader-report
18889 @findex nnheader-get-report
18890 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
18891 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
18892 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
18893 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
18894 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
18895 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
18898 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
18900 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
18903 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
18904 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
18905 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
18906 takes one argument---the server symbol.
18908 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
18909 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
18910 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
18913 @node Writing New Backends
18914 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
18916 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
18917 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
18918 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
18919 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
18920 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
18923 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
18924 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
18925 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
18927 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
18928 package called @code{nnoo}.
18930 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
18931 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
18937 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
18938 parameters. For instance:
18941 (nnoo-declare nndir
18945 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
18946 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
18949 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
18950 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
18951 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
18953 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
18954 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
18955 a function in those backends.
18958 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
18959 "Where nndir will look for groups."
18960 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
18963 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
18964 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
18965 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
18967 @item nnoo-define-basics
18968 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
18972 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
18976 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
18977 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
18978 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
18980 @item nnoo-map-functions
18981 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
18982 functions from the parent backends.
18985 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
18986 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18987 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
18990 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
18991 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
18992 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
18993 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
18996 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
18997 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
18998 haven't already been defined.
19004 nnmh-request-newgroups)
19008 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
19009 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
19010 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
19015 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
19018 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
19019 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
19023 (require 'nnheader)
19027 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
19029 (nnoo-declare nndir
19032 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19033 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19034 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19036 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
19037 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
19040 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
19041 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
19042 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
19044 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
19045 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
19047 ;;; Interface functions.
19049 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19051 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
19052 (setq nndir-directory
19053 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
19055 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
19056 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
19057 (push `(nndir-current-group
19058 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19060 (push `(nndir-top-directory
19061 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19063 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
19065 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19066 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19067 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19068 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
19069 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
19073 nnmh-status-message
19075 nnmh-request-newgroups))
19081 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19082 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19084 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
19085 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
19086 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
19087 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
19089 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
19090 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
19095 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
19098 The abilities can be:
19102 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
19104 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
19106 This backend supports both mail and news.
19108 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
19111 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
19112 articles and groups.
19114 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
19115 true for almost all backends.
19116 @item prompt-address
19117 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
19118 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
19119 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
19123 @node Mail-like Backends
19124 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
19126 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
19127 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
19128 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
19129 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
19132 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
19133 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
19134 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
19137 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
19138 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
19141 This function takes four parameters.
19145 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
19148 @item exit-function
19149 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
19151 @item temp-directory
19152 Where the temporary files should be stored.
19155 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
19156 performed for one group only.
19159 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
19160 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
19161 find the article number assigned to this article.
19163 The function also uses the following variables:
19164 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
19165 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
19166 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
19167 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
19171 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
19172 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
19176 @node Score File Syntax
19177 @subsection Score File Syntax
19179 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
19180 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
19181 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
19183 Here's a typical score file:
19187 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
19194 BNF definition of a score file:
19197 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
19198 element = rule / atom
19199 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
19200 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
19201 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
19202 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
19204 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
19205 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
19206 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
19207 date-header = "date"
19208 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19209 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19210 score = "nil" / <integer>
19211 date = "nil" / <natural number>
19212 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
19213 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
19214 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
19215 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
19216 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19217 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19218 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
19219 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19220 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
19221 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
19222 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
19223 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
19224 exclude-files / read-only / touched
19225 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
19226 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
19227 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
19228 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
19229 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
19230 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
19231 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
19232 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
19233 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
19234 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
19235 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
19236 eval = "eval" space <form>
19237 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
19240 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
19243 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
19244 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
19245 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
19246 one looong line, then that's ok.
19248 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
19249 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19253 @subsection Headers
19255 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
19256 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
19257 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
19258 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
19260 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
19261 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
19262 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
19263 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
19264 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
19265 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
19266 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
19268 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
19269 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
19270 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
19271 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
19272 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
19274 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
19281 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
19282 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
19284 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
19285 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
19286 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
19287 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
19289 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
19293 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
19296 is transformed into
19299 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
19302 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
19303 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
19306 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
19309 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
19310 is slightly tricky:
19313 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
19319 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
19322 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
19328 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
19335 and is equal to the previous range.
19337 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
19338 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
19339 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
19343 range = simple-range / normal-range
19344 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
19345 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
19346 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
19347 number *[ " " contents ]
19350 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
19351 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
19352 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
19353 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
19354 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
19359 @subsection Group Info
19361 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
19362 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
19363 describes the group.
19365 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
19366 second is a more complex one:
19369 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
19371 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
19372 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
19374 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
19377 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
19378 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
19379 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
19380 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
19381 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
19382 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
19383 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
19384 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
19385 this section is about.
19387 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
19388 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
19389 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
19391 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
19394 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
19395 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
19396 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19397 group = quote <string> quote
19398 ralevel = rank / level
19399 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19400 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
19401 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19403 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
19404 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
19405 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
19406 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
19409 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
19410 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
19413 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
19414 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
19417 @item gnus-info-group
19418 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
19419 @findex gnus-info-group
19420 @findex gnus-info-set-group
19421 Get/set the group name.
19423 @item gnus-info-rank
19424 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
19425 @findex gnus-info-rank
19426 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
19427 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
19429 @item gnus-info-level
19430 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
19431 @findex gnus-info-level
19432 @findex gnus-info-set-level
19433 Get/set the group level.
19435 @item gnus-info-score
19436 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
19437 @findex gnus-info-score
19438 @findex gnus-info-set-score
19439 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
19441 @item gnus-info-read
19442 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
19443 @findex gnus-info-read
19444 @findex gnus-info-set-read
19445 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
19447 @item gnus-info-marks
19448 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
19449 @findex gnus-info-marks
19450 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
19451 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
19453 @item gnus-info-method
19454 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
19455 @findex gnus-info-method
19456 @findex gnus-info-set-method
19457 Get/set the group select method.
19459 @item gnus-info-params
19460 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
19461 @findex gnus-info-params
19462 @findex gnus-info-set-params
19463 Get/set the group parameters.
19466 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
19467 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
19469 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
19470 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
19471 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
19472 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
19475 @node Extended Interactive
19476 @subsection Extended Interactive
19477 @cindex interactive
19478 @findex gnus-interactive
19480 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
19481 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
19482 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
19485 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
19486 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
19491 The best thing to do would have been to implement
19492 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
19493 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
19494 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
19495 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
19496 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
19497 @code{interactive}.
19499 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
19504 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
19505 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
19509 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
19510 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
19511 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
19514 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
19518 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
19522 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
19528 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
19529 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
19533 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
19534 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
19535 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
19537 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
19538 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
19539 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
19540 Gnus, that's very useful.
19542 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
19543 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
19544 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
19545 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
19546 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
19547 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
19548 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
19549 following function:
19552 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
19556 (,function ,@@args))
19560 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
19561 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
19562 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
19565 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
19566 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
19567 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
19569 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
19570 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
19571 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
19574 @node Various File Formats
19575 @subsection Various File Formats
19578 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
19579 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
19583 @node Active File Format
19584 @subsubsection Active File Format
19586 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
19587 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
19590 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
19593 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
19594 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
19595 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
19596 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
19597 no.general 1000 900 y
19600 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
19603 active = *group-line
19604 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
19605 group = <non-white-space string>
19607 high-number = <non-negative integer>
19608 low-number = <positive integer>
19609 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
19612 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
19613 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
19616 @node Newsgroups File Format
19617 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
19619 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
19620 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
19621 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
19624 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
19625 Here's the definition:
19629 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
19630 group = <non-white-space string>
19632 description = <string>
19637 @node Emacs for Heathens
19638 @section Emacs for Heathens
19640 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
19641 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
19642 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
19643 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
19644 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
19645 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
19646 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
19650 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
19651 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
19656 @subsection Keystrokes
19660 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
19663 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
19666 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
19667 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
19668 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
19669 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
19670 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
19671 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
19673 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
19674 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
19675 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
19676 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
19677 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
19678 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
19679 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
19681 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
19682 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
19683 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
19684 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
19685 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
19686 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
19687 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
19689 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
19690 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
19691 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
19692 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
19693 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
19699 @subsection Emacs Lisp
19701 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
19702 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
19703 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
19704 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
19706 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
19707 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
19708 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
19709 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
19710 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
19711 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
19712 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
19715 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
19716 write the following:
19719 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
19722 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
19723 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
19724 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
19727 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
19728 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
19729 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
19730 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
19731 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
19733 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
19734 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
19735 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
19739 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
19743 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
19746 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
19747 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
19750 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
19753 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
19754 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
19757 @include gnus-faq.texi