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4 @settitle Red Gnus 0.66 Manual
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233 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
240 \thispagestyle{empty}
242 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
244 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
245 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
246 are preserved on all copies.
248 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
249 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
250 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
251 permission notice identical to this one.
253 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
254 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
263 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
265 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
267 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
268 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
269 are preserved on all copies.
272 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
273 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
274 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
275 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
278 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
279 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
280 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
281 permission notice identical to this one.
283 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
284 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
290 @title Red Gnus 0.66 Manual
292 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
295 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
296 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
302 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
303 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
304 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
305 permission notice identical to this one.
307 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
308 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
317 @top The Red Gnus Newsreader
321 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
322 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
323 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
326 This manual corresponds to Red Gnus 0.66
337 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
338 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
340 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
341 being accused of plagiarism:
343 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
344 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
345 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
346 even read news with it!
348 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
349 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
350 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
351 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
352 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
359 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
360 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
361 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
362 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
363 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
364 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
365 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
366 * Various:: General purpose settings.
367 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
368 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
369 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
370 * Key Index:: Key Index.
374 @chapter Starting Gnus
379 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
380 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
383 @findex gnus-other-frame
384 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
385 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
386 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
388 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
392 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
393 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
394 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
395 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
396 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
397 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
398 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
399 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
400 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
401 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
402 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
406 @node Finding the News
407 @section Finding the News
410 @vindex gnus-select-method
412 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
413 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
414 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
415 native method. All groups that are not fetched with this method are
418 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
419 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
422 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
425 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
428 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
431 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
432 certainly be much faster.
434 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
436 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
437 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
438 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
439 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
440 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
441 that fails as well, Gnus will will try to use the machine that is
442 running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
444 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
445 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
446 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
447 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
449 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
450 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
451 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
452 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
453 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
454 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
456 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
458 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
459 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
460 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
461 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
462 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
463 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
465 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
467 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
468 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
469 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
470 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
471 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
472 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
475 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
476 would typically set this variable to
479 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
484 @section The First Time
485 @cindex first time usage
487 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
488 be subscribed by default.
490 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
491 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
492 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
493 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
496 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
497 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is here
498 defined as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
500 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
501 help you with most common problems.
503 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
504 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
508 @node The Server is Down
509 @section The Server is Down
510 @cindex server errors
512 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
513 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
514 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
516 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
517 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
518 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
519 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
520 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
521 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
522 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
524 @findex gnus-no-server
525 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
527 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
528 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
529 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
530 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
531 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
532 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
537 @section Slave Gnusae
540 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
541 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
542 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
543 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
545 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
548 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
549 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
550 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
551 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
552 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
553 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
554 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
556 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
557 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
558 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
559 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
560 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
561 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
562 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
563 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
565 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
566 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
569 @node Fetching a Group
570 @section Fetching a Group
571 @cindex fetching a group
573 @findex gnus-fetch-group
574 It it sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
575 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
576 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
577 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
578 It takes the group name as a parameter.
586 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
587 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
588 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
589 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
590 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
591 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
592 is @code{t} by default.
595 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
596 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
597 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
601 @node Checking New Groups
602 @subsection Checking New Groups
604 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
605 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
606 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
607 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
608 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
609 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
610 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
611 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
612 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
613 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
615 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
616 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
617 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
618 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
619 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
620 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
621 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
622 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
623 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
624 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
625 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
627 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
628 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
629 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
630 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
631 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
632 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
635 @node Subscription Methods
636 @subsection Subscription Methods
638 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
639 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
640 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
642 This variable should contain a function. Some handy pre-fab values
647 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
648 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
649 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
650 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
651 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
653 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
654 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
655 Subscribe all new groups randomly.
657 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
658 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
659 Subscribe all new groups alphabetically.
661 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
662 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
663 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
664 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
665 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
666 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
667 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
668 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
669 up. Or something like that.
671 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
672 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
673 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
674 you about @strong{all} new groups.
676 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
677 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
682 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
683 A closely related variable is
684 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
685 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
686 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
687 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
690 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above to
691 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
692 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
695 @node Filtering New Groups
696 @subsection Filtering New Groups
698 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
699 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
700 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
703 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
706 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
707 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
708 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
709 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
710 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
711 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
712 subscribing these groups.
713 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
714 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
716 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
717 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
718 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
719 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
720 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
721 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
722 and if the the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
723 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
725 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
726 Yet another variable that meddles here is
727 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
728 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
729 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
730 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
731 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
732 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
733 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
734 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
737 @node Changing Servers
738 @section Changing Servers
739 @cindex changing servers
741 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
742 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
743 very flaky and you want to use another.
745 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
746 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
750 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
751 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
752 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
753 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
756 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
757 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
758 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
759 functions more than absolutely necessary.
761 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
762 @findex gnus-change-server
763 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
764 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
765 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
766 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
767 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
769 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
770 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
771 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
772 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
773 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
775 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
776 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
777 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
778 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
779 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
780 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
784 @section Startup Files
785 @cindex startup files
790 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
791 information is traditionally stored in this file.
793 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
794 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
795 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
796 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
797 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
798 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
799 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
801 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
802 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
803 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
804 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file.
806 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
807 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
808 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
809 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
810 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
811 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
813 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
814 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
815 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
816 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
817 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
818 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
819 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
820 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
821 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
822 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
823 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
824 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
826 @vindex gnus-startup-file
827 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
828 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
829 file being whatever that one is with a @samp{.eld} appended.
831 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
832 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
833 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
834 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
835 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
836 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
837 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
838 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
839 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
840 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
843 (defun turn-off-backup ()
844 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
846 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
847 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
850 @vindex gnus-init-file
851 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
852 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus.el} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
853 (@file{~/.gnus.el} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
854 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{.emacs} and
855 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff.
863 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
864 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
865 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
866 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
867 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
870 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
871 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
874 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
875 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
876 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
878 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
879 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
880 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
881 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
882 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
883 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
886 @node The Active File
887 @section The Active File
889 @cindex ignored groups
891 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
892 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
893 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
895 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
896 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
897 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
898 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
899 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
900 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
901 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
904 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
905 @c if you set it to anything else.
907 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
909 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
910 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
911 reading the active file. This variable is @code{t} by default.
913 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
914 you actually subscribe to.
916 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
917 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
918 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
919 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
921 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
922 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
923 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
924 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
925 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
926 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
928 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
929 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
930 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
931 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
932 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
933 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
935 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
936 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
939 @node Startup Variables
940 @section Startup Variables
945 @vindex gnus-load-hook
946 A hook that is run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
947 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
948 times you start Gnus.
950 @item gnus-startup-hook
951 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
952 A hook that is run after starting up Gnus successfully.
954 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
955 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
956 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
957 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
958 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
959 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
960 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
961 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
963 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
964 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
965 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
966 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
967 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
968 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
970 @item gnus-no-groups-message
971 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
972 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
974 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
975 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
976 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
978 @item gnus-startup-jingle
979 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
980 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
981 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
986 @node The Group Buffer
987 @chapter The Group Buffer
990 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
991 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
992 long as Gnus is active.
995 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
996 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
997 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
998 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
999 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1000 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1001 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1002 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1003 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1004 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1005 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1006 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1007 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1008 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1009 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1010 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1011 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1015 @node Group Buffer Format
1016 @section Group Buffer Format
1019 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1020 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1021 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1025 @node Group Line Specification
1026 @subsection Group Line Specification
1027 @cindex group buffer format
1029 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1030 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1032 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1035 25: news.announce.newusers
1036 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1041 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1042 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1043 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1044 asterisk at the beginning of the line?)
1046 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1047 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1048 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1049 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1050 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1051 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1053 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1055 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1056 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1057 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1058 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1061 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1062 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1063 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1065 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1070 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1073 Whether the group is subscribed.
1076 Level of subscribedness.
1079 Number of unread articles.
1082 Number of dormant articles.
1085 Number of ticked articles.
1088 Number of read articles.
1091 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1092 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1095 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1098 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1107 Newsgroup description.
1110 @samp{m} if moderated.
1113 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1122 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1126 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1129 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1130 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1131 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1132 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1133 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1136 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1138 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1142 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1146 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1147 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
1148 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1149 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1150 paratere as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1151 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1156 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1157 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1158 group, or a bogus native group.
1161 @node Group Modeline Specification
1162 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1163 @cindex group modeline
1165 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1166 The mode line can be changed by setting
1167 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1168 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1172 The native news server.
1174 The native select method.
1178 @node Group Highlighting
1179 @subsection Group Highlighting
1180 @cindex highlighting
1181 @cindex group highlighting
1183 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1184 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1185 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1186 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1187 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1189 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1193 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1195 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1196 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1197 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1199 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1201 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1203 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))))
1206 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1213 The number of unread articles in the group.
1217 Whether the group is a mail group.
1219 The level of the group.
1221 The score of the group.
1223 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1225 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1228 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1229 topic being inserted.
1232 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1233 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1234 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1236 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1237 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1238 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1239 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1240 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1243 @node Group Maneuvering
1244 @section Group Maneuvering
1245 @cindex group movement
1247 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1248 expected, hopefully.
1254 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1255 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1256 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1262 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1263 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1264 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1268 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1269 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1273 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1274 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1278 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1279 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1280 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1284 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1285 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1286 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1289 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1295 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1296 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1297 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1302 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1303 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1304 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1308 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1309 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1310 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1313 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1314 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1315 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1316 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1320 @node Selecting a Group
1321 @section Selecting a Group
1322 @cindex group selection
1327 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1328 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1329 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1330 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1331 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1332 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1333 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1334 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1335 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1336 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1340 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1341 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1342 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1343 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1344 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1348 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1349 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1350 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1351 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1352 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1353 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1354 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1355 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer.
1356 This might be useful if you want to toggle threading before entering the
1360 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1361 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1362 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1363 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1364 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1368 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1369 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1370 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1371 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1372 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1373 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1374 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1375 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1378 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1379 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1380 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1381 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1386 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1387 full summary buffer.
1390 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1393 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1397 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1398 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1399 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1403 @node Subscription Commands
1404 @section Subscription Commands
1405 @cindex subscription
1413 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1414 Toggle subscription to the current group
1415 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1421 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1422 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1423 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1424 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1430 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1431 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1437 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1438 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1441 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1442 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1443 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1444 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1445 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1451 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1452 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1456 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1457 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1460 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1461 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1462 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1463 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1464 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1465 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1466 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1467 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1468 @file{.newsrc} file.
1472 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1482 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1483 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1484 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1485 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1486 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1491 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1492 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1493 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1497 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1498 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1499 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1501 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1502 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1503 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1504 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1505 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1506 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1513 @section Group Levels
1517 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1518 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1519 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1520 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1521 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1523 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1529 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1530 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1531 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1532 prompted for a level.
1535 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1536 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1537 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1538 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1539 Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
1540 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1541 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1542 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1543 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1544 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (default 9),
1545 completely dead. Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly
1546 the same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what
1547 articles you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and
1548 living groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely
1549 for reasons of efficiency.
1551 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1552 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1554 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1555 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1556 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1558 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1559 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1560 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1561 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1562 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1563 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1564 relevant legal ranges.
1566 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1567 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1568 will only move to groups that are of the same level (or lower). In
1569 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1570 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1571 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1574 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1575 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1576 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1579 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1580 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1581 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1582 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1585 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1586 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1587 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1588 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1590 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1591 Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
1592 @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
1593 unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
1594 5. The default is 6.
1598 @section Group Score
1601 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1602 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1603 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1606 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1607 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1608 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1609 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1610 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1611 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1612 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1614 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1615 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1616 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1617 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1618 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1619 action after each summary exit, you can add
1620 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1621 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1622 slow things down somewhat.
1625 @node Marking Groups
1626 @section Marking Groups
1627 @cindex marking groups
1629 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1630 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1631 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1632 bidding on those groups.
1634 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1635 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1636 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1644 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1645 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1651 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1652 Remove the mark from the current group
1653 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1657 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1658 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1662 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1663 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1667 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1668 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1672 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1673 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1674 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1677 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1679 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1680 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1681 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1682 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1683 the command to be executed.
1686 @node Foreign Groups
1687 @section Foreign Groups
1688 @cindex foreign groups
1690 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1691 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1692 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1693 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1700 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1701 @cindex making groups
1702 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1703 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1704 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1708 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1709 @cindex renaming groups
1710 Rename the current group to something else
1711 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some
1712 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1718 @findex gnus-group-customize
1719 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1723 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1724 @cindex renaming groups
1725 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1726 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1730 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1731 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1732 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1736 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1737 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1738 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1742 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1744 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1745 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1750 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1751 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1755 @cindex (ding) archive
1756 @cindex archive group
1757 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1758 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1759 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1760 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1761 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1762 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1763 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1767 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1769 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1770 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1771 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1772 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1776 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1778 Read an arbitrary directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
1779 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1780 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1784 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1785 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1787 Make a group based on some file or other
1788 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1789 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1790 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1791 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs}, and
1792 @code{forward}. If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will
1793 guess at the file type. @xref{Document Groups}.
1797 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1802 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1803 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1804 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1805 search engine type and the search string. Legal search engine types
1806 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1807 @xref{Web Searches}.
1810 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1811 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1812 This function will delete the current group
1813 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1814 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1815 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1816 absolutely sure of what you are doing.
1820 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1821 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1822 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1826 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1827 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1828 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1831 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1834 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1835 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1836 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1837 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1838 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1841 @node Group Parameters
1842 @section Group Parameters
1843 @cindex group parameters
1845 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1850 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1851 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1852 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1853 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1854 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1855 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1856 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1857 copies of your followups.
1859 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1860 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1861 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1862 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1863 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1864 list address instead.
1868 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1869 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1870 doing a @kbd{a} in any group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1871 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1872 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1874 @item broken-reply-to
1875 @cindex broken-reply-to
1876 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1877 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1878 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1879 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1880 broken behavior. So there!
1884 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
1885 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
1889 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, Gnus will treat
1890 all responses as if they were responses to news articles. This can be
1891 useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a news group.
1895 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
1896 @code{t}, new composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
1897 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
1898 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
1899 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence over
1900 any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later).
1904 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, all articles that
1905 are read will be marked as expirable. For an alternative approach,
1906 @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
1909 @cindex total-expire
1910 If this symbol is present, all read articles will be put through the
1911 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
1916 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
1917 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
1918 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
1919 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
1920 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
1921 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
1924 @cindex score file group parameter
1925 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
1926 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
1927 means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
1930 @cindex adapt file group parameter
1931 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
1932 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
1933 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
1936 When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
1937 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
1938 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
1939 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
1942 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} says which articles to
1943 display on entering the group. Legal values are:
1947 Display all articles, both read and unread.
1950 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
1955 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
1956 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
1957 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
1960 @item @var{(variable form)}
1961 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
1962 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
1963 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
1964 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
1965 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
1966 @code{eval}ed there.
1968 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
1969 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
1970 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
1971 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
1972 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
1976 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
1978 Also @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
1981 @node Listing Groups
1982 @section Listing Groups
1983 @cindex group listing
1985 These commands all list various slices of the groups that are available.
1993 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
1994 List all groups that have unread articles
1995 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
1996 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
1997 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
1998 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2005 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2006 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2007 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2008 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2009 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2010 unsubscribed groups).
2014 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2015 List all unread groups on a specific level
2016 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2017 with no unread articles.
2021 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2022 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2023 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2024 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2029 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2030 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2034 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2035 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2036 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2040 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2041 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2045 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2046 List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
2047 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2048 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2049 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2050 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list group that
2051 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they are killed groups.
2052 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2056 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2057 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2058 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2062 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2063 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2064 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2068 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2069 @cindex visible group parameter
2070 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2071 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2072 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2073 get the same effect.
2075 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2076 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2077 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2078 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2079 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2082 @node Sorting Groups
2083 @section Sorting Groups
2084 @cindex sorting groups
2086 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2087 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2088 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2089 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2090 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2091 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2096 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2097 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2098 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2100 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2101 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2102 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2104 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2105 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2106 Sort by group level.
2108 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2109 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2110 Sort by group score.
2112 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2113 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2114 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2115 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
2117 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2118 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2119 Sort by number of unread articles.
2121 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2122 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2123 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2128 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2129 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2133 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2134 some sorting criteria:
2138 @kindex G S a (Group)
2139 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2140 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2141 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2144 @kindex G S u (Group)
2145 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2146 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2147 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2150 @kindex G S l (Group)
2151 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2152 Sort the group buffer by group level
2153 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2156 @kindex G S v (Group)
2157 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2158 Sort the group buffer by group score
2159 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
2162 @kindex G S r (Group)
2163 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2164 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2165 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2168 @kindex G S m (Group)
2169 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2170 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2171 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2175 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2177 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2181 @kindex G P a (Group)
2182 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2183 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2184 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2187 @kindex G P u (Group)
2188 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2189 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2190 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2193 @kindex G P l (Group)
2194 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2195 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2196 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2199 @kindex G P v (Group)
2200 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2201 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2202 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}).
2205 @kindex G P r (Group)
2206 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2207 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2208 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}).
2211 @kindex G P m (Group)
2212 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2213 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2214 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2220 @node Group Maintenance
2221 @section Group Maintenance
2222 @cindex bogus groups
2227 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2228 Find bogus groups and delete them
2229 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2233 @findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
2234 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}). If
2235 given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server for
2239 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2240 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2241 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2242 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2245 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2246 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2247 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2248 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2253 @node Browse Foreign Server
2254 @section Browse Foreign Server
2255 @cindex foreign servers
2256 @cindex browsing servers
2261 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2262 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2263 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2264 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2267 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2268 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2269 will be use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2270 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2272 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2277 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2278 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2282 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2283 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2286 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2287 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2288 Enter the current group and display the first article
2289 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2292 @kindex RET (Browse)
2293 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2294 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2298 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2299 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2300 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2306 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2307 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2311 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2312 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2313 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2318 @section Exiting Gnus
2319 @cindex exiting Gnus
2321 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2326 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2327 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2328 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2329 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2333 @findex gnus-group-exit
2334 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2338 @findex gnus-group-quit
2339 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2340 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2343 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2344 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2345 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2346 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2347 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2352 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2353 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2354 trying to customize meta-variables.
2359 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2360 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2361 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2367 @section Group Topics
2370 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2371 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2372 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2373 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2374 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2375 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2383 2: alt.religion.emacs
2386 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2388 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2389 13: comp.sources.unix
2392 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2394 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2395 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2396 is a toggling command.)
2398 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2399 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2400 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2401 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2404 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2405 the hook for the group mode:
2408 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2412 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2413 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2414 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2415 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2416 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2420 @node Topic Variables
2421 @subsection Topic Variables
2422 @cindex topic variables
2424 Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2425 really neat, I think.
2427 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2428 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2429 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2442 Number of groups in the topic.
2444 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2446 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2449 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2450 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2451 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2454 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2455 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2457 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2458 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2459 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2462 @node Topic Commands
2463 @subsection Topic Commands
2464 @cindex topic commands
2466 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2467 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2468 definitions slightly.
2474 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2475 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2476 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2480 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2481 Move the current group to some other topic
2482 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2483 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2487 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2488 Copy the current group to some other topic
2489 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2490 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2494 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2495 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2496 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2497 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2501 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2502 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2503 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2507 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2508 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2509 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2513 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2514 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2515 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2518 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2519 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2520 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2521 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2525 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2527 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2528 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2529 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2530 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2531 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2532 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2535 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2536 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2537 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2538 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2539 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2543 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2544 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2545 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2549 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2550 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2551 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2556 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2557 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2560 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2561 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2562 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2566 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2567 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2568 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2572 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2573 @cindex group parameters
2574 @cindex topic parameters
2576 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2577 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2583 @subsection Topic Sorting
2584 @cindex topic sorting
2586 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2592 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2593 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2594 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2595 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2598 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2599 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2600 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2601 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2604 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2605 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2606 Sort the current topic by group level
2607 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2610 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2611 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2612 Sort the current topic by group score
2613 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}).
2616 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2617 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2618 Sort the current topic by group rank
2619 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2622 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2623 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2624 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2625 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2629 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2632 @node Topic Topology
2633 @subsection Topic Topology
2634 @cindex topic topology
2637 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2643 2: alt.religion.emacs
2646 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2648 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2649 13: comp.sources.unix
2652 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2653 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2654 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2659 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2660 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2664 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2665 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2666 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2667 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2668 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2669 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2671 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2672 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2673 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2676 @node Topic Parameters
2677 @subsection Topic Parameters
2678 @cindex topic parameters
2680 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2681 ancestor) topic parameters. All legal group parameters are legal topic
2682 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2684 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2685 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2686 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2687 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2693 2: alt.religion.emacs
2697 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2699 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2700 13: comp.sources.unix
2704 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2705 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2706 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2707 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2708 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2709 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2711 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2712 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2713 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2714 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2715 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2717 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2718 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2719 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2720 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2721 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2722 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2723 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2724 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2727 @node Misc Group Stuff
2728 @section Misc Group Stuff
2731 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2732 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2733 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2734 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2741 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2742 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2743 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2747 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2748 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). The current
2749 group name will be used as the default.
2753 @findex gnus-group-mail
2754 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2758 Variables for the group buffer:
2762 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2763 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2764 @code{gnus-group-mode-hook} is called after the group buffer has been
2767 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2768 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2769 @code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} is called after the group buffer is
2770 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2773 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2774 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2775 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2776 whether they are empty or not.
2781 @node Scanning New Messages
2782 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2783 @cindex new messages
2784 @cindex scanning new news
2790 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2791 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2792 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2793 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2794 command will force a total rereading of the active file(s) from the
2799 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2800 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2801 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2802 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2803 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2804 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2806 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2807 @cindex activating groups
2809 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2810 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2815 @findex gnus-group-restart
2816 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
2817 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all variables, and
2818 then starts Gnus all over again.
2822 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2823 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2825 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2826 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2830 @node Group Information
2831 @subsection Group Information
2832 @cindex group information
2833 @cindex information on groups
2841 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2842 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2845 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2846 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2847 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2848 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2849 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2850 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
2851 for fetching the file.
2853 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
2854 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
2859 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
2860 @cindex describing groups
2861 @cindex group description
2862 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2863 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2864 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2868 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2869 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2870 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2875 @findex gnus-version
2876 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
2880 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
2881 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
2884 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
2887 @findex gnus-info-find-node
2888 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
2892 @node Group Timestamp
2893 @subsection Group Timestamp
2895 @cindex group timestamps
2897 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
2898 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
2899 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
2902 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
2905 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
2907 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
2908 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
2911 (setq gnus-group-line-format
2912 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
2915 This will result in lines looking like:
2918 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
2919 0: custom 19961002T012713
2922 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
2923 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
2927 (setq gnus-group-line-format
2928 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
2933 @subsection File Commands
2934 @cindex file commands
2940 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
2941 @vindex gnus-init-file
2942 @cindex reading init file
2943 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
2944 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
2948 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
2949 @cindex saving .newsrc
2950 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
2951 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
2952 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
2955 @c @kindex Z (Group)
2956 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
2957 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
2962 @node The Summary Buffer
2963 @chapter The Summary Buffer
2964 @cindex summary buffer
2966 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
2967 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
2969 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
2970 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
2972 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
2975 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
2976 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
2977 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
2978 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
2979 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
2980 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
2981 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
2982 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
2983 * Threading:: How threads are made.
2984 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
2985 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
2986 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
2987 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
2988 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
2989 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
2990 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
2991 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
2992 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
2993 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
2994 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
2995 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
2996 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
2997 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
2998 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
2999 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3000 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3004 @node Summary Buffer Format
3005 @section Summary Buffer Format
3006 @cindex summary buffer format
3009 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3010 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3011 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3014 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3015 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3016 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3017 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3018 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3019 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
3020 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3021 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3022 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3023 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3024 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3026 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3027 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3028 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3029 with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{}.
3032 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3033 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3035 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3036 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3037 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3038 lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3039 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3041 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3043 The following format specification characters are understood:
3051 Subject if the article is the root or the previous article had a
3052 different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3053 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
3055 Full @code{From} header.
3057 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3059 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3060 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3061 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3062 may be more thorough.
3064 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3067 Number of lines in the article.
3069 Number of characters in the article.
3071 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3073 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3074 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3076 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3077 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3079 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3080 for adopted articles.
3082 One space for each thread level.
3084 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3092 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3093 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3094 default level. If the difference between
3095 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3096 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3104 The @code{Date} in @code{YY-MMM} format.
3106 The @code{Date} in @code{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS} format.
3112 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3113 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3115 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3116 article has any children.
3120 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3121 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
3122 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3123 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3124 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3125 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3128 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3129 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3130 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3131 that. This means that it is illegal to have these specs after a
3132 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3133 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3135 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3136 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3138 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3141 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3142 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3144 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3145 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3146 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3147 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3149 Here are the elements you can play with:
3155 Unprefixed group name.
3157 Current article number.
3161 Number of unread articles in this group.
3163 Number of unselected articles in this group.
3165 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3166 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3167 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3168 and no unselected ones.
3170 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3171 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3173 Subject of the current article.
3177 Name of the current score file.
3179 Number of dormant articles.
3181 Number of ticked articles.
3183 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3185 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3189 @node Summary Highlighting
3190 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3194 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3195 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3196 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3197 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3198 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3200 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3201 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3202 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3203 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3205 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3206 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3207 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) that is used to
3208 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3210 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3211 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3212 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3213 list where the elements are on the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3214 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3215 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3217 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3218 ((> score default) . bold))
3220 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3221 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3225 @node Summary Maneuvering
3226 @section Summary Maneuvering
3227 @cindex summary movement
3229 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3230 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3232 None of these commands select articles.
3237 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3238 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3239 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3240 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3241 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3245 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3246 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3247 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3248 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3249 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3254 @kindex G j (Summary)
3255 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3256 Ask for an article number and then go to that article
3257 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3260 @kindex G g (Summary)
3261 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3262 Ask for an article number and then go the summary line of that article
3263 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3266 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3267 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3268 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3269 to the group buffer.
3271 Variables related to summary movement:
3275 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3276 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3277 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3278 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3279 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3280 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3281 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3282 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3283 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3284 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3285 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3286 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3287 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3288 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3290 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3291 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3292 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3293 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3294 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3295 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3296 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3298 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3299 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3300 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3301 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3302 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3304 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3305 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3306 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3307 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3308 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3309 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3310 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3311 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3317 @node Choosing Articles
3318 @section Choosing Articles
3319 @cindex selecting articles
3322 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3323 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3327 @node Choosing Commands
3328 @subsection Choosing Commands
3330 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3331 and they all select and display an article.
3335 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3336 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3337 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3338 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3343 @kindex G n (Summary)
3344 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3345 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3350 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3351 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3356 @kindex G N (Summary)
3357 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3358 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3363 @kindex G P (Summary)
3364 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3365 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3368 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3369 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3370 Go to the next article with the same subject
3371 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3374 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3375 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3376 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3377 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3381 @kindex G f (Summary)
3383 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3384 Go to the first unread article
3385 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3389 @kindex G b (Summary)
3391 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3392 Go to the article with the highest score
3393 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3398 @kindex G l (Summary)
3399 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3400 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3403 @kindex G p (Summary)
3404 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3405 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3406 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3407 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3408 history as you like.
3412 @node Choosing Variables
3413 @subsection Choosing Variables
3415 Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3418 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3419 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3420 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3421 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3422 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3423 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3425 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3426 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3427 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3428 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3430 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3431 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3432 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3433 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3434 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3435 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3436 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3437 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3438 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3439 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3440 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3441 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3442 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3443 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3448 @node Paging the Article
3449 @section Scrolling the Article
3450 @cindex article scrolling
3455 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3456 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3457 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3458 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3459 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3462 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3463 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3464 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3467 @kindex RET (Summary)
3468 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3469 Scroll the current article one line forward
3470 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3474 @kindex A g (Summary)
3476 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3477 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3478 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3479 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3480 the way it came from the server.
3485 @kindex A < (Summary)
3486 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3487 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3488 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3493 @kindex A > (Summary)
3494 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3495 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3499 @kindex A s (Summary)
3501 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3502 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3503 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3508 @node Reply Followup and Post
3509 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3512 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3513 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3517 @node Summary Mail Commands
3518 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3520 @cindex composing mail
3522 Commands for composing a mail message:
3528 @kindex S r (Summary)
3530 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3531 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3532 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3537 @kindex S R (Summary)
3538 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3539 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3540 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3541 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3544 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3545 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3546 Forward the current article to some other person
3547 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3548 headers of the forwarded article.
3553 @kindex S m (Summary)
3554 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3555 Send a mail to some other person
3556 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3559 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3560 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3561 @cindex bouncing mail
3562 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3563 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3564 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3565 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3566 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3567 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3568 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3569 very well fail, though.
3572 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3573 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3574 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3575 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3576 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3577 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3578 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3579 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3580 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3581 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3583 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3584 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3585 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3586 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3587 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3590 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3591 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3592 Digest the current series and forward the result using mail
3593 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3594 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3597 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3598 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3599 @cindex crossposting
3600 @cindex excessive crossposting
3601 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3602 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3604 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3605 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3606 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3607 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3608 command understands the process/prefix convention
3609 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3614 @node Summary Post Commands
3615 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3617 @cindex composing news
3619 Commands for posting a news article:
3625 @kindex S p (Summary)
3626 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3627 Post an article to the current group
3628 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3633 @kindex S f (Summary)
3634 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3635 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3639 @kindex S F (Summary)
3641 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3642 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3643 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3644 process/prefix convention.
3647 @kindex S n (Summary)
3648 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3649 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3650 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3653 @kindex S n (Summary)
3654 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3655 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3656 message through mail and include the original message
3657 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3658 the process/prefix convention.
3661 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3662 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3663 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3664 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3665 headers of the forwarded article.
3668 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3669 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3670 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3671 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
3674 @kindex S u (Summary)
3675 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3676 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3677 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3681 @node Canceling and Superseding
3682 @section Canceling Articles
3683 @cindex canceling articles
3684 @cindex superseding articles
3686 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3687 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3689 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3691 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3693 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3694 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3695 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3696 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3698 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3699 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3702 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3703 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3704 your original article.
3706 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3708 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3709 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3710 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3713 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3714 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3715 have posted almost the same article twice.
3717 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3718 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3719 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3720 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*post-buf*}). There you will
3721 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3722 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3723 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3724 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3725 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3726 canceled/superseded.
3728 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3731 @node Marking Articles
3732 @section Marking Articles
3733 @cindex article marking
3734 @cindex article ticking
3737 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3739 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3740 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3741 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3743 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3746 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3747 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3748 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3752 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3756 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3757 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3761 @node Unread Articles
3762 @subsection Unread Articles
3764 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3769 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3770 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3772 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3773 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3774 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3775 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3776 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3780 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3781 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3783 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3784 are followups to it.
3787 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3788 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
3790 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
3795 @subsection Read Articles
3796 @cindex expirable mark
3798 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3803 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3804 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
3805 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
3808 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3809 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3812 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3813 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
3814 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3817 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3818 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3821 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3822 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3825 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
3826 Marked as read by having a too low score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
3829 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
3830 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
3833 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
3834 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
3837 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
3838 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
3841 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
3842 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
3846 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
3847 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
3848 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
3852 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
3853 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
3855 One more special mark, though:
3859 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
3860 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
3862 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
3863 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
3864 control the expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
3865 articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
3871 @subsection Other Marks
3872 @cindex process mark
3875 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
3881 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
3882 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
3883 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
3884 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
3885 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
3888 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
3889 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
3890 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
3891 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
3894 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
3895 Articles that are stored in the article cache will be marked with an
3896 @samp{*} in the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}).
3899 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
3900 Articles that are ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
3901 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
3902 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}.
3905 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
3906 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
3907 It the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
3908 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
3909 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
3912 @vindex gnus-process-mark
3913 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}. A
3914 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
3915 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
3916 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
3917 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
3921 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
3922 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
3923 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
3925 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
3926 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
3927 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
3931 @subsection Setting Marks
3932 @cindex setting marks
3934 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
3940 @kindex M t (Summary)
3941 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
3942 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
3947 @kindex M ? (Summary)
3948 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
3949 Mark the current article as dormant
3950 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}).
3954 @kindex M d (Summary)
3956 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
3957 Mark the current article as read
3958 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
3962 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
3963 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
3964 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
3969 @kindex M k (Summary)
3970 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
3971 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
3972 and then select the next unread article
3973 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
3977 @kindex M K (Summary)
3978 @kindex C-k (Summary)
3979 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
3980 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
3981 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
3984 @kindex M C (Summary)
3985 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
3986 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
3989 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
3990 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
3991 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
3992 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
3995 @kindex M H (Summary)
3996 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
3997 Catchup the current group to point
3998 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4001 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4002 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4003 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4004 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4007 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4008 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4009 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4010 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4014 @kindex M c (Summary)
4015 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4016 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4017 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4018 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}).
4022 @kindex M e (Summary)
4024 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4025 Mark the current article as expirable
4026 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4029 @kindex M b (Summary)
4030 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4031 Set a bookmark in the current article
4032 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4035 @kindex M B (Summary)
4036 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4037 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4038 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4041 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4042 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4043 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4044 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4047 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4048 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4049 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4050 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4053 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4054 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4055 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4056 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4057 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4060 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4061 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4062 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4063 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4064 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4065 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4066 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4067 The default is @code{t}.
4070 @node Setting Process Marks
4071 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4072 @cindex setting process marks
4079 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4080 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4081 Mark the current article with the process mark
4082 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4083 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4087 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4088 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4089 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4090 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4093 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4094 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4095 Remove the process mark from all articles
4096 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4099 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4100 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4101 Invert the list of process marked articles
4102 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4105 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4106 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4107 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4110 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4111 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4112 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4115 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4116 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4117 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4118 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4121 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4122 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4123 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4124 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4127 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4128 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4129 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4130 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4133 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4134 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4135 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4138 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4139 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4140 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4141 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4144 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4145 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4146 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4149 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4150 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4151 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4152 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4155 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4156 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4157 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4158 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4161 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4162 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4163 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4164 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4167 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4168 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4169 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4170 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4179 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4180 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4181 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4188 @kindex / / (Summary)
4189 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4190 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4191 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4194 @kindex / a (Summary)
4195 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4196 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4197 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4201 @kindex / u (Summary)
4203 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4204 Limit the summary buffer to articles that are not marked as read
4205 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4206 buffer to articles that are strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4207 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4210 @kindex / m (Summary)
4211 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4212 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4213 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4216 @kindex / n (Summary)
4217 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4218 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4219 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4220 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4223 @kindex / w (Summary)
4224 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4225 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4226 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4230 @kindex / v (Summary)
4231 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4232 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4233 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4237 @kindex M S (Summary)
4238 @kindex / E (Summary)
4239 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4240 Display all expunged articles
4241 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4244 @kindex / D (Summary)
4245 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4246 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4249 @kindex / d (Summary)
4250 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4251 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4254 @kindex / c (Summary)
4255 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4256 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4257 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4260 @kindex / C (Summary)
4261 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4262 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4263 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4264 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4272 @cindex article threading
4274 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put replies to
4275 articles directly after the articles they reply to---in a hierarchical
4279 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4280 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4284 @node Customizing Threading
4285 @subsection Customizing Threading
4286 @cindex customizing threading
4292 @item gnus-show-threads
4293 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4294 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4295 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4296 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4297 slower and more awkward.
4299 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4300 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4301 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4302 more old headers---headers to articles that are marked as read. If you
4303 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4304 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4305 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4306 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4307 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4308 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4309 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4310 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4312 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4313 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4314 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4315 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4316 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4317 articles that belong in the same thread together. This will leave
4318 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4319 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4320 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4321 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4322 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4323 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4324 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4325 @code{nil} by default.
4327 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4328 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4329 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4330 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4331 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4332 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4333 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subjects lines. If
4334 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4335 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4336 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4337 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4339 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4340 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4341 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects.
4343 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4344 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4345 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4346 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4347 simplification is used.
4349 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4350 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4351 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4352 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4354 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4356 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4362 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4363 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4364 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4365 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4370 (mapconcat 'identity
4371 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4373 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4376 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4379 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4380 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4381 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4382 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4383 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4384 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4385 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process. The
4386 default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4388 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4389 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4390 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4391 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4392 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4393 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4394 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever includes unrelated
4395 articles, but it's also means that people who have posted with broken
4396 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4400 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4401 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4402 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4403 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4405 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4406 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4407 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4410 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4414 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4415 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4418 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4419 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4420 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4421 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4422 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4423 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4425 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4426 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4427 There are four possible values:
4429 @cindex adopting articles
4434 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4435 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4436 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4437 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4440 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4441 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4442 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4443 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4444 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4445 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4446 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4449 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4450 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4451 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4455 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4456 display them after one another.
4459 Don't gather loose threads.
4462 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4463 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4464 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4467 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4468 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4469 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4472 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4473 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4474 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4475 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4476 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4479 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4480 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4481 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4486 @node Thread Commands
4487 @subsection Thread Commands
4488 @cindex thread commands
4494 @kindex T k (Summary)
4495 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4496 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4497 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4498 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4499 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4504 @kindex T l (Summary)
4505 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4506 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4507 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4508 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4511 @kindex T i (Summary)
4512 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4513 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4514 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4517 @kindex T # (Summary)
4518 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4519 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4520 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4523 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4524 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4525 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4526 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4529 @kindex T T (Summary)
4530 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4531 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4534 @kindex T s (Summary)
4535 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4536 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4537 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4540 @kindex T h (Summary)
4541 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4542 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4545 @kindex T S (Summary)
4546 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4547 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4550 @kindex T H (Summary)
4551 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4552 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4555 @kindex T t (Summary)
4556 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4557 Re-thread the thread the current article is part of
4558 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4559 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4562 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4563 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4564 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4565 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}.
4569 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4570 understand the numeric prefix.
4575 @kindex T n (Summary)
4576 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4577 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4580 @kindex T p (Summary)
4581 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4582 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4585 @kindex T d (Summary)
4586 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4587 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4590 @kindex T u (Summary)
4591 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4592 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4595 @kindex T o (Summary)
4596 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4597 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4600 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4601 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4602 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4603 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4604 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4605 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4606 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If is
4607 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4608 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4609 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4610 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4611 that have subjects that are fuzzily equal will be included.
4617 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4618 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4619 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4620 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4621 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4622 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4623 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
4624 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
4625 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
4626 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
4627 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
4628 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
4629 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
4630 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
4632 Each function takes two threads and return non-@code{nil} if the first
4633 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
4634 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
4635 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
4636 in the list. You should probably always include
4637 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
4638 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
4639 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
4640 ascending article order.
4642 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
4643 number, you could do something like:
4646 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4647 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4648 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4649 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4652 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
4653 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
4654 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
4655 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
4656 which the articles arrived.
4658 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
4662 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4664 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
4665 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4668 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
4669 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
4670 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
4671 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
4674 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
4675 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
4676 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
4677 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
4678 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
4679 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
4680 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
4681 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
4682 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
4683 is uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
4684 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
4685 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
4686 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
4688 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
4692 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
4693 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
4694 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
4699 @node Asynchronous Fetching
4700 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
4701 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
4702 @cindex article pre-fetch
4705 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
4706 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
4707 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
4708 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
4709 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
4711 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
4712 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
4714 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
4715 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
4716 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
4717 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
4718 connection is blocked.
4720 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
4721 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
4722 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
4723 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
4725 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
4726 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
4727 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
4728 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
4731 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
4734 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
4735 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
4736 happen automatically.
4738 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
4739 You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
4740 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
4741 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
4742 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
4743 pre-fetch all the articles that it can without bound. If it is
4744 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be made.
4746 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
4747 @findex gnus-async-read-p
4748 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
4749 articles, for instance. Which articles to pre-fetch is controlled by
4750 the @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable. This function should
4751 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
4752 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
4753 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
4754 data structure as the only parameter.
4756 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles that are
4757 shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
4760 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
4761 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
4762 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
4763 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
4766 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
4769 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
4770 preferrably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
4771 It's also probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
4773 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
4774 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
4775 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
4776 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
4780 Remove articles when they are read.
4783 Remove articles when exiting the group.
4786 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
4788 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
4789 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
4790 from the next group.
4793 @node Article Caching
4794 @section Article Caching
4795 @cindex article caching
4798 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
4799 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
4800 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
4801 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
4802 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
4804 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
4806 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4807 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
4808 @vindex gnus-use-cache
4809 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
4810 all articles that are ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
4811 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
4812 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
4813 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
4815 When re-select a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
4816 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
4817 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
4818 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
4819 as dormant, and don't worry.
4821 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
4823 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
4824 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
4825 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
4826 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
4827 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
4828 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
4829 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
4830 articles that are marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
4831 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
4832 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
4834 @findex gnus-jog-cache
4835 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
4836 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
4837 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, and store them in
4838 the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if 1)
4839 your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really, really slow
4840 and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk. Seriously.
4842 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
4843 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
4844 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
4845 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
4846 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
4847 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
4848 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
4851 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
4852 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
4853 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
4854 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
4855 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
4856 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
4857 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
4858 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
4859 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
4863 @node Persistent Articles
4864 @section Persistent Articles
4865 @cindex persistent articles
4867 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
4868 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
4869 useful in my opinion.
4871 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
4872 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
4873 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
4874 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
4875 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
4876 the expiry going on at the news server.
4878 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
4879 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
4880 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
4886 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
4887 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
4890 @kindex M-* (Summary)
4891 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
4892 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
4893 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
4897 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
4899 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
4900 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
4901 interested in persistent articles:
4904 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
4908 @node Article Backlog
4909 @section Article Backlog
4911 @cindex article backlog
4913 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
4914 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
4915 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
4916 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
4917 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
4918 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
4919 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
4920 increase memory usage some.
4922 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
4923 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
4924 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
4925 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
4926 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
4927 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
4928 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
4930 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
4933 @node Saving Articles
4934 @section Saving Articles
4935 @cindex saving articles
4937 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
4938 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
4939 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
4940 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
4941 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
4943 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
4944 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
4945 unwanted headers before saving the article.
4947 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
4948 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
4949 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
4950 deleted before saving.
4956 @kindex O o (Summary)
4958 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
4959 Save the current article using the default article saver
4960 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
4963 @kindex O m (Summary)
4964 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
4965 Save the current article in mail format
4966 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
4969 @kindex O r (Summary)
4970 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
4971 Save the current article in rmail format
4972 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
4975 @kindex O f (Summary)
4976 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
4977 Save the current article in plain file format
4978 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
4981 @kindex O F (Summary)
4982 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
4983 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
4984 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
4987 @kindex O b (Summary)
4988 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
4989 Save the current article body in plain file format
4990 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
4993 @kindex O h (Summary)
4994 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
4995 Save the current article in mh folder format
4996 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
4999 @kindex O v (Summary)
5000 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5001 Save the current article in a VM folder
5002 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5005 @kindex O p (Summary)
5006 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5007 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5008 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5011 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5012 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5013 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5014 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5015 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5016 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5017 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5018 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5019 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5020 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5021 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5022 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5026 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5027 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5028 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5029 functions below, or you can create your own.
5033 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5034 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5035 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5036 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5037 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5038 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5039 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5041 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5042 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5043 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5044 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5045 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5046 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5048 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5049 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5050 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5051 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5052 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5053 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5054 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5056 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5057 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5058 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5059 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5060 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5062 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5063 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5064 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5065 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5066 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5069 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5070 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5071 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5072 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5073 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}. The former creates capitalized names, and
5074 the latter does not.
5076 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5077 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5078 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5079 reader to use this setting.
5082 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5083 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5084 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5085 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5088 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5089 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5090 available functions that generate names:
5094 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5095 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5096 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5098 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5099 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5100 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5102 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5103 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5104 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5106 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5107 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5108 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5111 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5112 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5113 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5114 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5115 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5119 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5120 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5121 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5122 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5125 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5126 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5127 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5128 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5129 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5130 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5131 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5132 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5133 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5135 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5136 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5137 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5138 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5140 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5141 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5142 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5145 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5146 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5147 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5148 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5149 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5150 all the files in the toplevel directory
5151 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5152 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5153 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5154 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5156 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5157 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5158 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5159 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5160 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5163 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5167 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5168 (setq gnus-default-article-save 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5171 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5172 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5173 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5174 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5177 @node Decoding Articles
5178 @section Decoding Articles
5179 @cindex decoding articles
5181 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5182 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5185 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5186 * Shared Articles:: Unshar articles.
5187 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5188 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5189 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5192 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5193 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5194 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5195 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5196 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5198 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5199 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5200 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5202 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5203 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5204 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5206 Subjects that are nonstandard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5207 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5208 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5211 @node Uuencoded Articles
5212 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5214 @cindex uuencoded articles
5219 @kindex X u (Summary)
5220 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5221 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5224 @kindex X U (Summary)
5225 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5226 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5227 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5230 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5231 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5232 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5235 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5236 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5237 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5238 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5241 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5242 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5243 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5244 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5245 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5247 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5248 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5249 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5250 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5253 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5254 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5255 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5256 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5257 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5258 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5262 @node Shared Articles
5263 @subsection Shared Articles
5265 @cindex shared articles
5270 @kindex X s (Summary)
5271 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5272 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5275 @kindex X S (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5277 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5280 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5281 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5282 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5285 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5286 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5287 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5288 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5292 @node PostScript Files
5293 @subsection PostScript Files
5299 @kindex X p (Summary)
5300 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5301 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5304 @kindex X P (Summary)
5305 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5306 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5307 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5310 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5311 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5312 View the current PostScript series
5313 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5316 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5317 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5318 View and save the current PostScript series
5319 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5323 @node Decoding Variables
5324 @subsection Decoding Variables
5326 Adjective, not verb.
5329 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5330 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5331 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5335 @node Rule Variables
5336 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5337 @cindex rule variables
5339 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5340 variables are on the form
5343 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5350 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5351 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5353 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5354 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5357 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5358 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5361 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5362 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5363 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5364 user and default view rules.
5366 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5367 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5368 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5373 @node Other Decode Variables
5374 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5377 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5379 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5380 All functions in this list will be called right each file has been
5381 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5382 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5383 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5387 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5388 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5391 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5392 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5393 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5396 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5397 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5398 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5399 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5400 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5403 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5404 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5405 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5407 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5408 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5409 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5410 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5411 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5414 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5415 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5416 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5418 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5419 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5420 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5421 looking for files to display.
5423 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5424 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5425 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5428 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5429 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5430 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5433 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5434 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5435 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5438 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5439 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5440 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5443 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5444 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5445 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark articles that were
5446 unsuccessfully decoded as unread.
5448 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5449 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5450 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5451 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5453 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5454 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5456 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5457 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5458 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5459 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5461 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5462 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5463 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5464 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5465 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5466 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5467 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5468 simply dropped them.
5473 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5474 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5478 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5479 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5480 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5481 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5482 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5483 for you when you post the article.
5485 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5486 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5487 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5488 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5490 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5491 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5492 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5493 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen are able
5494 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5495 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5496 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5498 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5499 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5500 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5501 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5502 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5503 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5504 Default is @code{t}.
5510 @subsection Viewing Files
5511 @cindex viewing files
5512 @cindex pseudo-articles
5514 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5515 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5516 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5517 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5518 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5519 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5520 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5522 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5523 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5524 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5525 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5527 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5528 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5529 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5531 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5532 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5533 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5534 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5535 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5537 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5538 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5539 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5540 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5541 a list of parameters to that command.
5543 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5544 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5545 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5547 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5548 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5549 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5552 @node Article Treatment
5553 @section Article Treatment
5555 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5556 object of newsreaders are to actually, like, read what people have
5557 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5558 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5559 these articles easier.
5562 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5563 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look niced.
5564 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5565 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5566 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5567 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5568 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5572 @node Article Highlighting
5573 @subsection Article Highlighting
5576 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
5577 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
5582 @kindex W H a (Summary)
5583 @findex gnus-article-highlight
5584 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
5587 @kindex W H h (Summary)
5588 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
5589 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
5590 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
5591 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
5592 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
5593 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
5594 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
5595 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
5596 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
5597 prepended---Gnus will add one.
5600 @kindex W H c (Summary)
5601 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
5602 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
5604 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
5607 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5609 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5610 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
5611 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
5613 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5614 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5615 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
5617 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
5618 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
5619 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
5621 @item gnus-cite-face-list
5622 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
5623 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
5624 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
5625 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
5628 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
5629 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
5630 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
5632 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5633 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5634 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
5636 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5637 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5638 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
5639 that it's a citation.
5641 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5642 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5643 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
5645 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5646 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5647 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
5649 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
5650 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
5651 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
5652 cited text belonging to the attribution.
5658 @kindex W H s (Summary)
5659 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5660 @vindex gnus-signature-face
5661 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
5662 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
5663 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
5664 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
5665 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
5671 @node Article Fontisizing
5672 @subsection Article Fontisizing
5674 @cindex article emphasis
5676 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
5677 @kindex W e (Summary)
5678 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
5679 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
5680 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
5681 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
5683 @vindex gnus-article-emphasis
5684 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
5685 @code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
5686 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
5687 that says what regular expression grouping used to find the entire
5688 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
5689 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
5690 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
5694 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
5695 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
5696 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
5699 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
5700 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
5701 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
5702 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
5703 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
5704 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
5705 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
5706 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
5707 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
5708 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
5709 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
5710 @code{gnus-emphasis-undeline-bold}, and
5711 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
5713 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
5714 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
5715 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
5719 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
5723 @node Article Hiding
5724 @subsection Article Hiding
5725 @cindex article hiding
5727 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
5728 too much cruft in most articles.
5733 @kindex W W a (Summary)
5734 @findex gnus-article-hide
5735 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
5738 @kindex W W h (Summary)
5739 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
5740 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
5744 @kindex W W b (Summary)
5745 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
5746 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
5747 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
5750 @kindex W W s (Summary)
5751 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
5752 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
5756 @kindex W W p (Summary)
5757 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
5758 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
5761 @kindex W W P (Summary)
5762 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
5763 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) gruft
5764 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
5767 @kindex W W c (Summary)
5768 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
5769 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
5770 customizing the hiding:
5774 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5775 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5776 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
5777 50), hide the cited text.
5779 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5780 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5781 The cited text must be have at least this length (default 10) before it
5784 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5785 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5786 Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
5787 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
5788 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
5793 Start point of the hidden text.
5795 End point of the hidden text.
5797 Length of the hidden text.
5800 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
5801 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
5802 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
5807 @kindex W W C (Summary)
5808 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
5809 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
5810 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
5811 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
5812 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
5816 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
5817 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
5818 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
5820 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
5821 citation customization.
5824 @node Article Washing
5825 @subsection Article Washing
5827 @cindex article washing
5829 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
5830 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
5832 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
5833 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
5839 @kindex W l (Summary)
5840 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
5841 Remove page breaks from the current article
5842 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
5845 @kindex W r (Summary)
5846 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
5847 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
5848 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
5851 @kindex W t (Summary)
5852 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
5853 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
5854 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
5857 @kindex W v (Summary)
5858 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
5859 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
5860 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
5863 @kindex W m (Summary)
5864 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
5865 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
5866 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
5869 @kindex W o (Summary)
5870 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
5871 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
5874 @kindex W w (Summary)
5875 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
5876 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
5877 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
5878 late and certainly after any highlighting.
5881 @kindex W c (Summary)
5882 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
5883 Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
5886 @kindex W q (Summary)
5887 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
5888 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
5891 @kindex W f (Summary)
5893 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
5894 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
5895 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
5896 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
5897 Look for and display any X-Face headers
5898 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
5899 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
5900 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
5901 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
5902 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
5903 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
5904 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
5905 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
5906 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
5907 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
5908 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
5909 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
5910 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
5914 @kindex W b (Summary)
5915 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
5916 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
5919 @kindex W B (Summary)
5920 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
5921 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
5922 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
5925 @kindex W E l (Summary)
5926 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
5927 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
5928 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
5931 @kindex W E m (Summary)
5932 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
5933 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
5934 lines with a single empty line.
5935 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
5938 @kindex W E t (Summary)
5939 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
5940 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
5941 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
5944 @kindex W E a (Summary)
5945 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
5946 Do all the three commands above
5947 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
5952 @node Article Buttons
5953 @subsection Article Buttons
5956 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
5957 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
5958 with the minimum of fuzz.
5960 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
5961 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
5962 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
5967 @item gnus-button-alist
5968 @vindex gnus-button-alist
5969 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
5972 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5978 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
5979 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that match embedded URLs:
5980 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
5983 Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
5984 a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
5985 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
5988 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
5989 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
5990 avoid false matches.
5993 This function will be called when you click on this button.
5996 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
5997 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6001 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6004 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6007 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6008 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6009 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6010 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6011 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6014 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6017 @var{header} is a regular expression.
6019 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6020 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6021 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6022 default values of the variables above.
6024 @item gnus-article-button-face
6025 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6026 Face used on buttons.
6028 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6029 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6030 Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6036 @subsection Article Date
6038 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6039 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6040 when the article was sent.
6045 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6046 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6047 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6048 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6051 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6052 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6053 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6056 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6057 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6058 Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and now
6059 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
6062 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6063 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6064 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6065 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
6066 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6067 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6068 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6073 @node Article Signature
6074 @subsection Article Signature
6076 @cindex article signature
6078 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6079 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6080 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6081 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6082 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6083 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6084 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6085 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6086 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6089 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6090 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6091 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6092 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6093 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6094 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6095 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6096 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6099 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6102 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6103 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6108 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6111 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6114 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6115 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6117 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6118 in question is not a signature.
6121 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6125 @node Summary Sorting
6126 @section Summary Sorting
6127 @cindex summary sorting
6129 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6130 can't really see why you'd want that.
6135 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6136 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6137 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6140 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6141 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6142 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6145 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6146 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6147 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6150 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6151 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6152 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6155 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6156 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6157 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6160 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6161 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6162 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6163 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6164 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6168 @node Finding the Parent
6169 @section Finding the Parent
6170 @cindex parent articles
6171 @cindex referring articles
6173 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6175 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6176 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6177 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6178 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6179 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6180 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6181 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6182 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6184 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6185 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6186 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6187 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6188 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6191 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6192 @kindex A R (Summary)
6193 You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
6194 header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
6195 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6197 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6198 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6200 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6201 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6202 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6203 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6204 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6205 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6206 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6208 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6209 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6210 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6211 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6212 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the same
6213 as the one that keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's
6214 not really necessary.
6216 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6217 not do a particularly excellent job of it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6218 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6219 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6220 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6221 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6224 @node Alternative Approaches
6225 @section Alternative Approaches
6227 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6228 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6231 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6232 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6237 @subsection Pick and Read
6238 @cindex pick and read
6240 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{nn}) use a two-phased
6241 reading interface. The user first marks the articles she wants to read
6242 from a summary buffer. Then she starts reading the articles with just
6243 an article buffer displayed.
6245 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6246 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6247 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6248 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6249 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6250 it makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
6253 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6258 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6259 Pick the article on the current line
6260 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6261 go to the article on that line and pick that article. (The line number
6262 is normally displayed on the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6265 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6266 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6267 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6268 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6272 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6273 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6277 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6278 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6282 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6283 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6287 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6288 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6292 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6293 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6297 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6298 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6302 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6303 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6307 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6308 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6312 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6313 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6317 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6318 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6322 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6323 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6324 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6325 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6326 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6327 will still be visible when you are reading.
6331 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6334 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6337 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6338 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6340 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6341 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6342 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6344 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6345 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different than the
6346 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6347 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6348 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6349 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6350 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6354 @subsection Binary Groups
6355 @cindex binary groups
6357 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6358 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6359 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6360 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6361 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6362 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6363 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6366 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6367 In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned this
6368 mode on is the @kbd{g} command (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6370 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6371 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6375 @section Tree Display
6378 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6379 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6380 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6381 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6384 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6387 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6388 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6389 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6391 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6392 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6393 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6394 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of legal specs, @pxref{Summary
6397 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6398 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6399 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6400 default is @code{modeline}.
6402 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6403 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6404 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6405 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6406 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6407 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6408 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6414 The name of the poster.
6416 The @code{From} header.
6418 The number of the article.
6420 The opening bracket.
6422 The closing bracket.
6427 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6429 Variables related to the display are:
6432 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6433 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6434 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6435 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6436 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6437 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
6439 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6440 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6441 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6442 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
6446 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
6447 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
6448 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
6449 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
6450 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
6451 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}.
6453 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
6454 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
6455 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6456 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
6457 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
6458 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
6459 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
6463 Here's and example from a horizontal tree buffer:
6466 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
6476 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
6480 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
6481 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
6483 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
6485 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
6491 @node Mail Group Commands
6492 @section Mail Group Commands
6493 @cindex mail group commands
6495 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
6496 illegal in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
6498 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
6499 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6504 @kindex B e (Summary)
6505 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
6506 Expire all expirable articles in the group
6507 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
6510 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
6511 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
6512 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
6513 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
6514 articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
6515 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
6518 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
6519 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
6520 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
6521 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
6522 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
6525 @kindex B m (Summary)
6527 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
6528 Move the article from one mail group to another
6529 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6532 @kindex B c (Summary)
6534 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
6535 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
6536 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
6539 @kindex B C (Summary)
6540 @cindex crosspost mail
6541 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
6542 Crosspost the current article to some other group
6543 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
6544 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
6545 be properly updated.
6548 @kindex B i (Summary)
6549 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
6550 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
6551 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
6552 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
6555 @kindex B r (Summary)
6556 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
6557 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6561 @kindex B w (Summary)
6563 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
6564 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
6565 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
6566 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
6567 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
6570 @kindex B q (Summary)
6571 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
6572 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
6573 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
6574 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
6577 @kindex B p (Summary)
6578 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
6579 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
6580 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
6581 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
6582 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
6583 article from your news server (or rather, from
6584 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
6585 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
6586 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
6587 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
6588 just not have arrived yet.
6592 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
6593 @cindex moving articles
6594 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
6595 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
6596 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
6597 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
6598 suggestions you find reasonable.
6601 @node Various Summary Stuff
6602 @section Various Summary Stuff
6605 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
6606 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
6607 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
6608 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
6612 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
6613 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
6614 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
6616 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
6617 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
6618 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
6619 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
6620 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
6621 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
6624 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6625 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6626 Is is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
6627 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
6628 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
6633 @node Summary Group Information
6634 @subsection Summary Group Information
6639 @kindex H f (Summary)
6640 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
6641 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
6642 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
6643 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
6644 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
6645 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
6646 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
6647 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} probably will be used for
6651 @kindex H d (Summary)
6652 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
6653 Give a brief description of the current group
6654 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
6655 rereading the description from the server.
6658 @kindex H h (Summary)
6659 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
6660 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
6661 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
6664 @kindex H i (Summary)
6665 @findex gnus-info-find-node
6666 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
6670 @node Searching for Articles
6671 @subsection Searching for Articles
6676 @kindex M-s (Summary)
6677 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
6678 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
6679 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
6682 @kindex M-r (Summary)
6683 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
6684 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
6685 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
6689 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
6690 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
6691 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
6692 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}).
6695 @kindex M-& (Summary)
6696 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
6697 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
6698 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
6701 @node Summary Generation Commands
6702 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
6707 @kindex Y g (Summary)
6708 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
6709 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
6712 @kindex Y c (Summary)
6713 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
6714 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
6715 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
6720 @node Really Various Summary Commands
6721 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
6726 @kindex C-d (Summary)
6727 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
6728 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
6729 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
6730 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
6731 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
6732 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
6733 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
6734 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
6738 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
6739 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
6740 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
6741 several documents into one biiig group
6742 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
6743 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
6744 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
6745 command understands the process/prefix convention
6746 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6749 @kindex C-t (Summary)
6750 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
6751 Toggle truncation of summary lines
6752 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
6753 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
6754 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
6758 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
6759 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
6760 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
6765 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
6766 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
6767 @cindex summary exit
6768 @cindex exiting groups
6770 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
6771 group and return you to the group buffer.
6777 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
6779 @findex gnus-summary-exit
6780 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
6781 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
6782 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
6783 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
6784 called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
6785 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
6786 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
6791 @kindex Z E (Summary)
6793 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
6794 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
6795 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
6799 @kindex Z c (Summary)
6801 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
6802 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
6803 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
6806 @kindex Z C (Summary)
6807 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
6808 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
6809 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
6812 @kindex Z n (Summary)
6813 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
6814 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
6815 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
6818 @kindex Z R (Summary)
6819 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
6820 Exit this group, and then enter it again
6821 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
6822 all articles, both read and unread.
6826 @kindex Z G (Summary)
6827 @kindex M-g (Summary)
6828 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
6829 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
6830 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
6831 articles, both read and unread.
6834 @kindex Z N (Summary)
6835 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
6836 Exit the group and go to the next group
6837 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
6840 @kindex Z P (Summary)
6841 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
6842 Exit the group and go to the previous group
6843 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
6846 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
6847 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
6850 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
6851 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
6852 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
6853 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
6854 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
6855 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
6856 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
6857 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
6858 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
6859 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
6860 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
6861 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
6863 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
6865 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
6866 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
6867 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
6868 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
6869 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
6870 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
6871 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
6872 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
6873 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
6876 @node Crosspost Handling
6877 @section Crosspost Handling
6881 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
6882 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
6883 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
6884 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
6885 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
6886 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
6889 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
6890 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
6891 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
6892 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
6893 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
6895 @cindex cross-posting
6898 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
6899 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
6900 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
6901 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
6902 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
6903 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
6904 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
6905 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
6906 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
6907 the cross reference mechanism.
6909 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
6910 @cindex overview.fmt
6911 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
6912 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
6913 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
6914 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
6915 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
6916 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
6919 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
6920 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
6921 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
6926 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6929 @node Duplicate Suppression
6930 @section Duplicate Suppression
6932 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
6933 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
6934 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
6935 approach may not work satisfactorily for some users for various
6940 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
6941 is evil and not very common.
6944 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
6945 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
6948 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
6949 different @sc{nntp} servers.
6952 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
6955 I'm sure there are other situations that @code{Xref} handling fails as
6956 well, but these four are the most common situations.
6958 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
6959 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
6960 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
6961 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
6962 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
6963 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
6964 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
6967 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
6968 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
6969 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
6970 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
6971 article as read the the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
6975 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
6976 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
6977 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
6979 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
6980 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
6981 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
6982 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
6983 However, this means that only duplicate articles that is read in a
6984 single Gnus session are suppressed.
6986 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
6987 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
6988 This variables says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
6989 suppression list. The default is 10000.
6991 @item gnus-duplicate-file
6992 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
6993 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list. The
6994 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
6997 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
6998 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
6999 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7000 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7001 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7002 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7003 to you to figure out, I think.
7006 @node The Article Buffer
7007 @chapter The Article Buffer
7008 @cindex article buffer
7010 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7011 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7012 tell Gnus otherwise.
7015 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7016 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7017 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7018 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7019 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7023 @node Hiding Headers
7024 @section Hiding Headers
7025 @cindex hiding headers
7026 @cindex deleting headers
7028 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7029 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7031 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7032 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7033 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7034 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7035 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7036 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7037 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7038 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7039 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7041 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7045 @item gnus-visible-headers
7046 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7047 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7048 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7049 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7051 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7052 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7055 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7058 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
7061 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7062 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7063 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7064 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7065 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7066 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7068 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7069 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7072 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7075 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
7078 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7079 variable will have no effect.
7083 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7084 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7085 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7086 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7087 the headers are to be displayed.
7089 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7090 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7093 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7096 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7097 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers that
7098 are listed in this variable.
7100 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7101 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7102 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7103 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7104 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7105 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7106 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7107 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7108 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7110 These conditions are:
7113 Remove all empty headers.
7115 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7118 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7119 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7121 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7124 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7128 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7131 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7132 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7135 This is also the default value for this variable.
7139 @section Using @sc{mime}
7142 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7143 while people stand around yawning.
7145 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7146 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7148 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7149 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7150 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7152 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7153 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7154 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7155 @findex metamail-buffer
7156 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7157 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7158 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7159 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7160 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7161 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7162 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7163 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7165 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7166 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7167 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7168 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7169 comes streaming out out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7170 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7171 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7172 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7173 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7175 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7178 @node Customizing Articles
7179 @section Customizing Articles
7180 @cindex article customization
7182 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7183 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7184 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7185 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7187 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7188 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7189 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7190 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7191 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7192 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7193 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7194 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7195 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7197 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7198 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7199 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7200 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7201 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7204 @node Article Keymap
7205 @section Article Keymap
7207 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7208 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7209 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7210 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7213 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7218 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7219 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7220 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7223 @kindex DEL (Article)
7224 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7225 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7228 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7229 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7230 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7231 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7232 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7235 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7236 @findex gnus-article-mail
7237 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7238 given a prefix, include the mail.
7242 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7243 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7244 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7248 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7249 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7250 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7253 @kindex TAB (Article)
7254 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7255 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}. This
7256 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7259 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7260 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7261 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}.
7267 @section Misc Article
7271 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7272 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7273 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7274 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7277 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7278 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7279 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7280 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7281 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7282 the contents of the article buffer.
7284 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7285 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7286 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7287 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7288 hiding headers, and the like.
7290 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7291 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7292 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7294 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7295 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7296 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7297 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7299 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7300 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7301 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7302 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7303 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7307 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7308 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7312 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7314 @item gnus-break-pages
7315 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7316 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7317 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7318 paging will not be done.
7320 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7321 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7322 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7327 @node Composing Messages
7328 @chapter Composing Messages
7333 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7334 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7335 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7336 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7337 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7338 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7339 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7342 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7343 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7344 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7345 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7346 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7347 @c * Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
7348 @c * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7349 @c * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7352 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7353 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
7359 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
7362 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
7363 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
7364 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
7365 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
7373 Variables for composing news articles:
7376 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7377 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7378 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
7379 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
7380 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
7381 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to sent the
7382 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
7383 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
7384 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
7387 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7388 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7389 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
7390 file. It is 1000 by default.
7395 @node Posting Server
7396 @section Posting Server
7398 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
7399 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
7401 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
7403 @vindex gnus-post-method
7405 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
7406 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
7407 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
7408 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
7409 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
7412 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
7415 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
7416 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
7417 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
7418 the ``current'' server for posting.
7420 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
7421 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
7423 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
7424 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
7429 @section Mail and Post
7431 Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
7435 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
7436 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
7437 @cindex mailing lists
7439 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists that are
7440 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
7441 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
7442 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
7443 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
7444 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that match the groups that
7445 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
7446 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
7447 still a pain, though.
7451 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
7452 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
7453 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
7456 @findex ispell-message
7458 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
7462 @node Archived Messages
7463 @section Archived Messages
7464 @cindex archived messages
7465 @cindex sent messages
7467 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail you send.
7468 The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to store
7469 the mail. If you want to disable this completely, you should set
7470 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}.
7472 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
7473 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
7474 use to store sent messages. The default is:
7478 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))
7481 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
7482 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
7483 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
7484 directory chosen, you could say something like:
7487 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
7488 '(nnfolder "archive"
7489 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
7490 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
7491 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
7494 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
7496 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
7497 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
7498 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
7500 This variable can be:
7504 Messages will be saved in that group.
7505 @item a list of strings
7506 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
7507 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
7508 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
7510 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
7515 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
7517 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
7520 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
7522 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
7525 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
7527 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7528 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
7529 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
7530 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
7535 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7536 '((if (message-news-p)
7541 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
7542 messages in one file per month:
7545 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7546 '((if (message-news-p)
7548 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
7549 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
7552 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
7553 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
7554 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
7555 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
7556 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
7557 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
7558 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
7559 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
7560 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
7561 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
7563 That's the default method of archiving sent mail. Gnus also a different
7564 way for the people who don't like the default method. In that case you
7565 should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}; this will
7568 XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
7569 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.
7572 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
7573 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
7574 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
7575 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
7576 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
7579 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
7580 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
7581 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
7586 @c @node Posting Styles
7587 @c @section Posting Styles
7588 @c @cindex posting styles
7591 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
7593 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
7594 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
7595 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
7598 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
7599 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
7600 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
7601 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
7602 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
7607 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
7608 @c (organization . "What me?"))
7610 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
7611 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
7612 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
7615 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
7616 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
7617 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
7618 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
7619 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
7620 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
7621 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
7622 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
7624 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
7625 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
7626 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
7627 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
7628 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
7629 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
7632 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
7633 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
7634 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
7635 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
7636 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
7639 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
7640 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
7641 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
7643 @c So here's a new example:
7646 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
7648 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
7649 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
7650 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
7651 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
7653 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
7654 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
7655 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
7656 @c (posting-from-work-p
7657 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
7658 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
7659 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
7661 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
7668 @c If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
7669 @c you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
7670 @c craazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save the
7671 @c message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some other
7672 @c day, and send it when you feel its finished.
7674 @c Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
7675 @c some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
7676 @c automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
7677 @c If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
7678 @c article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
7682 @c @vindex gnus-draft-group-directory
7683 @c The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
7684 @c @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
7685 @c @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{gnus-draft-group-directory}
7686 @c controls both the name of the group and the location---the leaf element
7687 @c in the path will be used as the name of the group. What makes this
7688 @c group special is that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any
7689 @c articles as read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
7691 @c If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
7694 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
7695 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
7696 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
7697 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
7698 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
7699 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
7700 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
7701 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
7702 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
7703 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
7704 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
7705 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
7706 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
7707 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
7709 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
7710 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
7711 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
7713 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-draft
7714 @c @kindex S D c (Summary)
7715 @c When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
7716 @c draft group and push @kbd{S D c} (@code{gnus-summary-send-draft}) to do
7717 @c that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
7719 @c Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
7722 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-all-drafts
7723 @c If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
7724 @c doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{S D a} command
7725 @c (@code{gnus-summary-send-all-drafts}). This command understands the
7726 @c process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7729 @c @node Rejected Articles
7730 @c @section Rejected Articles
7731 @c @cindex rejected articles
7733 @c Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
7734 @c doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
7735 @c @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
7736 @c Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
7738 @c These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
7739 @c (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
7740 @c fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
7741 @c you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
7742 @c articles until some later time when the server feels better.
7744 @c The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
7745 @c (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
7746 @c typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
7749 @node Select Methods
7750 @chapter Select Methods
7751 @cindex foreign groups
7752 @cindex select methods
7754 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group that is not read by the usual (or
7755 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
7756 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
7757 personal mail group.
7759 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
7760 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
7761 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
7762 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
7763 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
7764 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
7766 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
7767 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
7769 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
7772 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
7773 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
7774 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
7775 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
7776 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
7778 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
7781 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
7782 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
7783 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
7784 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
7785 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
7789 @node The Server Buffer
7790 @section The Server Buffer
7792 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
7793 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
7794 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
7795 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
7796 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
7797 backend represents a virtual server.
7799 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
7800 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
7801 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
7802 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
7804 These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
7805 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
7806 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
7807 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
7808 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
7809 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
7810 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
7812 To enter the server buffer, user the @kbd{^}
7813 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
7816 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
7817 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
7818 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
7819 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
7820 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
7821 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
7824 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
7825 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
7828 @node Server Buffer Format
7829 @subsection Server Buffer Format
7830 @cindex server buffer format
7832 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
7833 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
7834 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
7835 variable, with some simple extensions:
7840 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
7843 The name of this server.
7846 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
7849 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
7852 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
7853 The mode line can also be customized by using the
7854 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
7865 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
7868 @node Server Commands
7869 @subsection Server Commands
7870 @cindex server commands
7876 @findex gnus-server-add-server
7877 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
7881 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
7882 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
7885 @kindex SPACE (Server)
7886 @findex gnus-server-read-server
7887 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
7891 @findex gnus-server-exit
7892 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
7896 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
7897 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
7901 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
7902 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
7906 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
7907 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
7911 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
7912 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
7916 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
7917 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
7918 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
7923 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
7924 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
7925 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
7926 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
7931 @node Example Methods
7932 @subsection Example Methods
7934 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
7937 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
7940 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
7946 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
7947 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
7950 After these two elements, there may be a arbitrary number of
7951 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
7953 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
7954 port 15 from that machine. This is what the select method should
7958 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
7961 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
7962 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example.
7964 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
7965 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
7966 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
7970 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
7973 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
7976 Here's the method for a public spool:
7980 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
7981 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
7985 @node Creating a Virtual Server
7986 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
7988 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
7989 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
7991 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
7992 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
7993 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
7995 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
7997 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
7998 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
7999 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8000 will contain the following:
8010 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8011 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8012 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8015 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8016 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8017 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8020 @node Servers and Methods
8021 @subsection Servers and Methods
8023 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8024 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8025 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8026 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8030 @node Unavailable Servers
8031 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8033 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8034 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8035 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8036 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8037 actually the case or not.
8039 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8040 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to the server
8041 @samp{nepholococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8042 away from you, the machine is quite, so it takes 1 minute just to find
8043 out that it refuses connection from you today. If Gnus were to attempt
8044 to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't attempt to do
8045 that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'', it will
8046 regard that server as ``down''.
8048 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8049 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8051 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8052 with the following commands:
8058 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8059 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8060 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8064 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8065 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8066 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8070 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8071 Mark the current server as unreachable
8072 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8075 @kindex M-o (Server)
8076 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8077 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8078 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8081 @kindex M-c (Server)
8082 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8083 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8084 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8088 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8089 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from all servers
8090 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8096 @section Getting News
8097 @cindex reading news
8098 @cindex news backends
8100 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8101 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8102 or it can read from a local spool.
8105 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8106 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8111 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8114 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8115 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8116 server as the, uhm, address.
8118 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8119 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8120 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8121 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8123 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8124 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8125 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8127 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8132 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8133 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8134 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8136 @cindex authentification
8137 @cindex nntp authentification
8138 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8139 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8140 @code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
8141 It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
8142 been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
8143 the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function.
8145 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8146 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8147 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8148 server. Available functions include:
8151 @item nntp-send-authinfo
8152 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8153 This function will used you current login name as the user name and will
8154 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
8156 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8157 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8158 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
8160 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8161 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8162 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8163 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
8166 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8167 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8168 This is an list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8169 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8170 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8173 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8177 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8179 The default value is
8182 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8183 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8186 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8187 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8189 @item nntp-maximum-request
8190 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8191 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8192 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8193 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8194 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8195 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8196 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8198 @item nntp-connection-timeout
8199 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8200 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8201 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
8202 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
8203 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
8204 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
8205 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
8206 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
8207 no timeouts are done.
8209 @item nntp-command-timeout
8210 @vindex nntp-command-timeout
8211 @cindex PPP connections
8212 @cindex dynamic IP addresses
8213 If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
8214 address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
8215 changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
8216 waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
8217 unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
8218 then, if it sits waiting longer than that number of seconds for a reply
8219 from the server, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
8220 the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
8221 likely number is 30 seconds.
8223 @item nntp-retry-on-break
8224 @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8225 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8226 hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8229 @item nntp-server-hook
8230 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8231 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8234 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8235 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8236 @item nntp-open-server-function
8237 @vindex nntp-open-server-function
8238 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
8239 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8240 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8241 is @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an rlogin on the remote system,
8242 and then does a telnet to the @sc{nntp} server available there.
8244 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8245 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8246 If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
8247 @code{nntp-open-server-function}, this list will be used as the
8248 parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8250 @item nntp-end-of-line
8251 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
8252 String to use as end-of-line markers when talking to the @sc{nntp}
8253 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
8254 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
8256 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8257 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8258 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
8262 @vindex nntp-address
8263 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
8265 @item nntp-port-number
8266 @vindex nntp-port-number
8267 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
8270 @item nntp-buggy-select
8271 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
8272 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
8274 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
8275 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
8276 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
8277 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks whether @sc{nov}
8278 can be used automatically.
8280 @item nntp-xover-commands
8281 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
8284 List of strings that are used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
8285 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
8289 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
8290 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
8291 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
8292 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
8293 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
8294 lines that you do not want, and will not use. This variable says how
8295 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
8296 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
8297 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
8298 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
8299 @code{nntp} will never split requests.
8301 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
8302 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
8303 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
8305 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8306 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8307 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
8308 server closes connection.
8314 @subsection News Spool
8318 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
8319 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
8320 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
8323 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
8324 anything else) as the address.
8326 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
8327 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
8328 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
8329 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
8333 @item nnspool-inews-program
8334 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
8335 Program used to post an article.
8337 @item nnspool-inews-switches
8338 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
8339 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
8341 @item nnspool-spool-directory
8342 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
8343 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
8344 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
8346 @item nnspool-nov-directory
8347 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
8348 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
8349 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
8351 @item nnspool-lib-dir
8352 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
8353 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
8355 @item nnspool-active-file
8356 @vindex nnspool-active-file
8357 The path of the active file.
8359 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
8360 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
8361 The path of the group descriptions file.
8363 @item nnspool-history-file
8364 @vindex nnspool-history-file
8365 The path of the news history file.
8367 @item nnspool-active-times-file
8368 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
8369 The path of the active date file.
8371 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
8372 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
8373 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
8376 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8377 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8379 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
8380 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
8381 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
8387 @section Getting Mail
8388 @cindex reading mail
8391 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
8395 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
8396 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
8397 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
8398 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
8399 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
8400 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
8401 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
8402 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
8403 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
8404 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
8405 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
8409 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
8410 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
8412 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
8413 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
8414 and things will happen automatically.
8416 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a one file per
8417 mail backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
8420 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
8421 '((nnml "private")))
8424 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
8425 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
8426 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
8427 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
8428 like any other group.
8430 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
8433 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8434 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8435 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8439 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
8440 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
8441 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
8444 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
8445 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though,
8446 especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
8449 @node Splitting Mail
8450 @subsection Splitting Mail
8451 @cindex splitting mail
8452 @cindex mail splitting
8454 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
8455 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
8456 to be split into groups.
8459 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8460 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8461 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8465 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
8466 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
8467 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
8468 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
8469 determine if it belongs in this mail group.
8471 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
8472 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
8475 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
8476 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
8477 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
8478 mail belongs in that group.
8480 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
8481 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any
8482 mails that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps.
8484 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
8485 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
8486 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
8487 message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
8488 thinks should carry this mail message.
8490 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
8491 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
8492 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
8493 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
8495 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
8496 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
8497 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
8498 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
8499 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
8501 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
8504 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
8505 the crossposted articles. However, not all files systems support hard
8506 links. If that's the case for you, set
8507 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
8508 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
8510 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
8511 @kindex nnmail-split-history
8512 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
8513 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
8515 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
8516 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
8517 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
8518 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
8519 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
8520 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
8521 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
8522 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
8526 @node Mail Backend Variables
8527 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
8529 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
8533 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8534 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8535 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
8536 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
8538 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
8539 @item nnmail-spool-file
8543 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
8544 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
8545 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
8546 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
8547 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
8548 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
8549 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
8550 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
8551 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
8552 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
8553 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
8554 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
8555 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
8556 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
8557 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
8559 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
8560 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
8563 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
8564 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
8565 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
8566 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
8567 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
8568 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
8570 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
8571 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8572 @item nnmail-use-procmail
8573 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
8574 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
8575 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
8576 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
8579 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
8580 @item nnmail-crash-box
8581 When the mail backends read a spool file, it is first moved to this
8582 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
8583 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
8586 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8587 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8588 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
8589 used for, well, anything, really.
8591 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
8592 @item nnmail-split-hook
8593 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
8594 @findex RFC1522 decoding
8595 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
8596 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
8597 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
8598 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
8599 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{article-decode-rfc1522}
8600 is one likely function to add to this hook.
8602 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8603 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8604 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8605 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8606 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
8607 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
8608 starting to handle the new mail) and
8609 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
8610 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
8611 default file modes the new mail files get:
8614 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8615 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
8617 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
8618 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
8621 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
8622 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
8623 This variable says where to move the incoming mail to while processing
8624 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
8625 inhabits (i.e., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
8626 it will be used instead.
8628 @item nnmail-movemail-program
8629 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
8630 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
8631 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
8633 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
8634 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
8637 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
8638 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
8639 @cindex incoming mail files
8640 @cindex deleting incoming files
8641 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
8642 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{nil} by
8643 default for reasons of security.
8645 Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
8646 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
8647 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point.) By not deleting the
8648 Incoming* files, one can be sure to not lose mail -- if Gnus totally
8649 whacks out, one can always recover what was lost.
8651 Delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
8653 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
8654 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
8655 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
8656 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories like
8657 @file{mail.misc/}. If it is @code{nil}, the same group will end up in
8660 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
8661 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
8663 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
8668 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
8669 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
8670 @cindex mail splitting
8671 @cindex fancy mail splitting
8673 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
8674 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
8675 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
8676 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
8677 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
8678 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
8680 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
8683 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
8684 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
8685 ;; from real errors.
8686 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
8688 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
8689 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
8690 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
8691 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
8692 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
8693 ;; Other mailing lists...
8694 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
8695 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
8697 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
8698 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
8702 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
8703 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
8704 the five possible split syntaxes:
8709 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
8712 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, and the first
8713 element is a string, then that means that if header FIELD (a regexp)
8714 contains VALUE (also a regexp), then store the message as specified by
8718 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8719 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
8720 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
8721 be stored in one or more groups.
8724 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8725 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
8728 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
8729 this message anywhere.
8732 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
8733 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
8734 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
8739 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
8740 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
8741 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
8742 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
8743 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
8745 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
8746 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
8747 are expanded as specified by the variable
8748 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
8749 the car of the cells contains the key, and the cdr contains a string.
8751 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
8752 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
8753 when all this splitting is performed.
8755 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
8756 information in the headers, you can say things like:
8759 (any "debian-\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
8762 That is, do @code{replace-match}-like substitions in the group names.
8765 @node Mail and Procmail
8766 @subsection Mail and Procmail
8771 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
8772 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
8773 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
8774 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
8775 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
8777 This also means that you probably don't want to set
8778 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
8781 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
8782 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
8783 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends (except
8784 @code{nnmh}) actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
8785 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
8786 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
8788 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) what groups
8791 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example.
8793 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
8794 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
8796 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
8797 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
8798 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
8799 to include all your mail groups.
8801 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
8802 method will be created automatically.
8804 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8805 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
8806 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
8807 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
8808 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
8809 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
8810 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
8811 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
8813 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
8814 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
8815 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
8816 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
8817 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
8819 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8820 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
8821 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
8822 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
8823 ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
8826 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
8827 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i. e., the incoming
8828 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
8829 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
8830 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
8833 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
8834 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
8835 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
8836 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
8837 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
8841 @node Incorporating Old Mail
8842 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
8844 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
8845 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
8846 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
8849 Doing so can be quite easy.
8851 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
8852 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
8853 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
8854 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
8855 your @code{nnml} groups.
8861 Go to the group buffer.
8864 Type `G f' and give the path of the mbox file when prompted to create an
8865 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8868 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
8871 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group (@pxref{Setting
8875 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
8876 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
8879 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
8880 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
8881 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
8882 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
8883 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
8885 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
8886 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
8887 using the new mail backend.
8891 @subsection Expiring Mail
8892 @cindex article expiry
8894 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
8895 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
8896 different approach to mail reading.
8898 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
8899 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
8900 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
8901 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
8902 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
8903 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
8906 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
8907 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
8908 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
8909 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
8910 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
8911 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
8912 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
8913 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
8915 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8916 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
8917 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
8918 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
8919 articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
8920 column in the summary buffer.
8922 Note that making a group auto-expirable don't mean that all read
8923 articles are expired---only the articles that are marked as expirable
8924 will be expired. Also note the using the @kbd{d} command won't make
8925 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
8926 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
8928 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
8929 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
8932 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8933 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
8936 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
8937 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
8939 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
8940 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
8941 doesn't really mix very well.
8943 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
8944 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
8945 expirable article has to live. The default is seven days.
8947 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
8948 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
8949 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
8950 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
8953 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8955 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8957 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
8959 ((string= group "mail.junk")
8961 ((string= group "important")
8967 The group names that this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
8968 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
8970 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
8971 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can be either a number (not
8972 necessarily an integer) or the symbols @code{immediate} or
8975 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
8976 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8978 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8979 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
8980 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
8981 easier for procmail users.
8983 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
8984 By the way, that line up there about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
8985 articles is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
8986 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
8987 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
8988 caution. Even more dangerous is the
8989 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
8990 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
8991 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
8992 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
8993 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
8994 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
8995 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
8998 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
9002 @subsection Washing Mail
9003 @cindex mail washing
9004 @cindex list server brain damage
9005 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9007 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9008 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9009 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
9010 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
9011 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
9012 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
9014 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
9015 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
9016 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
9019 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
9020 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
9021 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
9022 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
9025 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9026 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9027 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
9028 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
9031 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9032 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9033 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
9034 Emacs running on MS machines.
9038 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9039 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9040 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
9041 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
9044 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9045 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9046 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
9047 headers too make them look nice. Aaah.
9049 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9050 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9051 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
9052 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
9053 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
9054 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
9055 also be a list of regexp.
9057 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
9058 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
9061 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
9062 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
9065 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
9066 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
9067 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
9071 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9072 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9073 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
9077 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
9078 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
9079 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
9086 @subsection Duplicates
9088 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
9089 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
9090 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
9091 @cindex duplicate mails
9092 If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
9093 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
9094 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
9095 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
9096 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
9097 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
9098 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
9099 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
9100 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
9101 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
9102 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
9103 will generate a brand new @code{Message-ID} for the mail and insert a
9104 warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks that this is a
9105 duplicate of a different message.
9107 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
9108 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
9109 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
9110 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
9112 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
9115 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
9116 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
9120 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
9121 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
9122 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
9123 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
9124 (any mail "mail.misc")
9131 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9132 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
9137 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
9138 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
9139 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
9140 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
9141 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
9144 @node Not Reading Mail
9145 @subsection Not Reading Mail
9147 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
9148 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
9149 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
9151 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
9152 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
9154 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9155 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9156 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9157 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9158 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9159 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
9160 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
9161 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
9162 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
9163 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
9164 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
9166 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
9167 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
9171 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
9172 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
9174 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
9175 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
9176 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
9179 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
9180 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
9181 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
9182 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
9183 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
9188 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
9190 @cindex unix mail box
9192 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9193 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9194 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
9195 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
9196 which group it belongs in.
9198 Virtual server settings:
9201 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
9202 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9203 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
9205 @item nnmbox-active-file
9206 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9207 The name of the active file for the mail box.
9209 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
9210 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9211 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
9217 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
9221 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9222 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9223 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
9224 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
9225 article to say which group it belongs in.
9227 Virtual server settings:
9230 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
9231 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9232 The name of the rmail mbox file.
9234 @item nnbabyl-active-file
9235 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9236 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
9238 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9239 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9240 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
9245 @subsubsection Mail Spool
9247 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
9249 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
9250 format. It should be used with some caution.
9252 @vindex nnml-directory
9253 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files;
9254 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the correct
9255 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
9256 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
9258 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
9261 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
9262 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
9263 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
9264 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
9265 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
9266 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
9267 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
9268 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
9270 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
9271 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
9272 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes is the fastest
9273 backend when it comes to reading mail.
9275 Virtual server settings:
9278 @item nnml-directory
9279 @vindex nnml-directory
9280 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
9282 @item nnml-active-file
9283 @vindex nnml-active-file
9284 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
9286 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
9287 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
9288 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
9291 @item nnml-get-new-mail
9292 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9293 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
9295 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
9296 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
9297 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
9299 @item nnml-nov-file-name
9300 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
9301 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
9303 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9304 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9305 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
9309 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
9310 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
9311 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
9312 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
9313 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
9314 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
9315 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
9320 @subsubsection MH Spool
9322 @cindex mh-e mail spool
9324 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
9325 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
9326 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
9327 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
9329 Virtual server settings:
9332 @item nnmh-directory
9333 @vindex nnmh-directory
9334 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
9336 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
9337 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9338 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
9341 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
9342 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
9343 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
9344 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
9345 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
9346 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
9347 to set this variable to @code{t}.
9352 @subsubsection Mail Folders
9354 @cindex mbox folders
9355 @cindex mail folders
9357 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
9358 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
9359 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
9362 Virtual server settings:
9365 @item nnfolder-directory
9366 @vindex nnfolder-directory
9367 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
9369 @item nnfolder-active-file
9370 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
9371 The name of the active file.
9373 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9374 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9375 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
9377 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
9378 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9379 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
9382 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
9383 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
9384 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
9385 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
9386 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
9387 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
9391 @section Other Sources
9393 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
9394 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
9398 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
9399 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
9400 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
9401 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
9402 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
9403 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
9407 @node Directory Groups
9408 @subsection Directory Groups
9410 @cindex directory groups
9412 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
9413 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
9416 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp}, that most
9417 wonderful of all wonderful Emacs packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I
9418 didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
9420 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
9421 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
9422 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the the directory name,
9423 @code{ange-ftp} will actually allow you to read this directory over at
9424 @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
9426 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
9428 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
9429 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
9430 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
9431 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
9434 @node Anything Groups
9435 @subsection Anything Groups
9438 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
9439 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
9440 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
9443 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
9444 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
9445 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
9446 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
9447 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
9448 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
9449 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
9450 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
9451 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
9452 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
9455 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
9456 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
9457 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
9458 in the article buffer, just as usual.
9460 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
9461 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
9462 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
9463 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
9465 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
9466 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
9467 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
9468 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
9469 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
9470 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
9471 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
9472 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
9477 @item nneething-map-file-directory
9478 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
9479 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
9480 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
9482 @item nneething-exclude-files
9483 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
9484 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
9485 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
9487 @item nneething-map-file
9488 @vindex nneething-map-file
9489 Name of the map files.
9493 @node Document Groups
9494 @subsection Document Groups
9496 @cindex documentation group
9499 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
9500 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
9507 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
9512 The standard Unix mbox file.
9514 @cindex MMDF mail box
9516 The MMDF mail box format.
9519 Several news articles appended into a file.
9522 @cindex rnews batch files
9523 The rnews batch transport format.
9524 @cindex forwarded messages
9533 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
9534 @cindex RFC 341 digest
9535 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
9537 @item standard-digest
9538 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
9541 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
9544 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
9545 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
9546 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
9549 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
9550 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
9551 group. And that's it.
9553 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
9554 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
9555 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
9556 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
9557 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
9558 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
9559 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
9560 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
9561 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
9562 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
9564 Virtual server variables:
9567 @item nndoc-article-type
9568 @vindex nndoc-article-type
9569 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
9570 @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{news}, @code{rnews},
9571 @code{mime-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, or @code{guess}.
9573 @item nndoc-post-type
9574 @vindex nndoc-post-type
9575 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
9576 a mail group. There are two legal values: @code{mail} (the default)
9581 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
9585 @node Document Server Internals
9586 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
9588 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
9589 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
9590 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
9591 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
9593 First, here's an example document type definition:
9597 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
9598 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
9601 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
9602 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
9603 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
9604 types can be defined with very few settings:
9608 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
9609 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
9613 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
9614 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
9616 @item head-begin-function
9617 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
9620 @item nndoc-head-begin
9621 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
9624 @item nndoc-head-end
9625 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
9626 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
9628 @item body-begin-function
9629 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
9633 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
9636 @item body-end-function
9637 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
9641 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
9643 @item nndoc-file-end
9644 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
9645 regexp will be totally ignored.
9649 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
9650 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
9651 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
9652 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
9653 something that's palatable for Gnus:
9656 @item prepare-body-function
9657 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
9658 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
9659 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
9661 @item article-transform-function
9662 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
9663 meant to be used how more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
9664 body of the article.
9666 @item generate-head-function
9667 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
9668 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
9669 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
9670 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
9674 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
9679 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9680 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9681 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
9682 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
9684 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
9685 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
9686 (subtype digest guess))
9689 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
9690 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
9691 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
9692 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
9693 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
9695 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
9696 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
9697 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
9698 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
9699 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for each
9700 type. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
9701 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
9702 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
9703 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
9704 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
9705 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest legal number.
9713 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
9714 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
9715 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
9717 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
9718 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
9719 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
9722 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
9723 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
9724 that interested in doing things properly.
9726 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
9727 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
9730 First some terminology:
9735 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
9736 get news and/or mail from.
9739 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
9740 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
9743 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
9747 @item message packets
9748 These are packets made at the server, and typically contains lots of
9749 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
9750 default, where @var{X} is a number.
9752 @item response packets
9753 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
9754 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
9755 default, where @var{X} is a number.
9765 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
9766 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
9767 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
9768 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
9771 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
9774 You put the packet in your home directory.
9777 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
9778 the native or secondary server.
9781 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
9782 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
9785 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
9789 You transfer this packet to the server.
9792 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
9795 You then repeat until you die.
9799 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
9800 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
9803 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
9804 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
9805 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
9810 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
9812 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
9816 @kindex G s b (Group)
9817 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
9818 Pack all unread articles in the current group
9819 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
9820 process/prefix convention.
9823 @kindex G s w (Group)
9824 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
9825 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
9828 @kindex G s s (Group)
9829 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
9830 Send all replies from the replies packet
9831 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
9834 @kindex G s p (Group)
9835 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
9836 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
9839 @kindex G s r (Group)
9840 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
9841 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
9844 @kindex O s (Summary)
9845 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
9846 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
9847 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
9848 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9853 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
9858 @item gnus-soup-directory
9859 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
9860 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
9861 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
9863 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
9864 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
9865 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
9866 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
9868 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
9869 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
9870 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
9873 @item gnus-soup-packer
9874 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
9875 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9876 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
9878 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
9879 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
9880 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9881 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9883 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
9884 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
9885 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
9887 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9888 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9889 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
9890 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
9896 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
9899 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
9900 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
9901 you can read them at leisure.
9903 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
9907 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
9908 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
9909 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
9910 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
9912 @item nnsoup-directory
9913 @vindex nnsoup-directory
9914 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
9915 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
9917 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
9918 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
9919 All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
9920 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
9922 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
9923 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
9924 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
9925 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
9926 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
9928 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
9929 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
9930 The index type of the replies packet. The is @samp{?n}, which means
9931 ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
9933 @item nnsoup-active-file
9934 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
9935 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
9936 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
9937 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
9938 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
9941 @vindex nnsoup-packer
9942 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
9943 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
9945 @item nnsoup-unpacker
9946 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
9947 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
9948 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9950 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
9951 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
9952 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
9955 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
9956 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
9957 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
9964 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
9966 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
9967 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
9968 more for that to happen.
9970 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
9971 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
9972 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
9975 In specific, this is what it does:
9978 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
9979 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
9982 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
9983 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
9984 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
9988 @subsection Web Searches
9993 @cindex Usenet searches
9994 @cindex searching the Usenet
9996 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
9997 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
9998 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
9999 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
10000 searches without having to use a browser.
10002 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
10003 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
10004 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
10005 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
10006 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
10008 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
10009 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
10010 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
10011 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
10012 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@code{Duplicate
10013 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
10014 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
10015 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
10016 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
10017 header---mark all articles that were posted before the last date you
10018 read the group as read.
10020 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
10021 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
10022 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
10023 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
10024 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
10025 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
10027 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
10028 to use @code{nnweb}.
10030 Virtual server variables:
10035 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
10036 are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
10039 @vindex nnweb-search
10040 The search string to feed to the search engine.
10042 @item nnweb-max-hits
10043 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
10044 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
10047 @item nnweb-type-definition
10048 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
10049 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
10050 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
10055 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
10059 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
10062 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
10065 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
10069 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
10076 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
10077 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
10078 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
10081 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
10082 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
10083 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
10085 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
10091 @item nngateway-address
10092 @vindex nngateway-address
10093 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
10095 @item nngateway-header-transformation
10096 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
10097 News headers have often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
10098 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
10099 transformation should be called, and defaults to
10100 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
10101 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
10104 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
10105 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address---an article with this
10106 @code{Newsgroups} header:
10109 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
10112 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
10115 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
10120 So, to use this, simply say something like:
10123 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
10127 @node Combined Groups
10128 @section Combined Groups
10130 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
10134 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
10135 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
10139 @node Virtual Groups
10140 @subsection Virtual Groups
10142 @cindex virtual groups
10144 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
10147 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small group, you can
10148 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
10149 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
10151 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
10152 regexp to match component groups.
10154 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
10155 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
10156 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
10157 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
10158 the virtual group.)
10160 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
10161 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
10164 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
10167 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
10168 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
10170 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
10171 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
10172 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
10173 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
10176 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
10179 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
10180 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
10181 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
10182 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
10183 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}.
10185 One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
10186 group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
10187 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
10189 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
10190 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
10191 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
10192 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
10193 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
10194 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
10195 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
10196 effect if you have two virtual groups that contain the same component
10197 group. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
10198 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
10199 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
10202 @node Kibozed Groups
10203 @subsection Kibozed Groups
10207 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
10208 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
10209 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
10210 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
10212 @kindex G k (Group)
10213 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
10216 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
10217 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
10218 @code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
10219 and @code{nnvirtual} ends.
10221 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
10222 must have a score file to say what articles that are to be included in
10223 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
10225 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
10226 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
10227 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
10228 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
10229 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
10230 all the articles in all the components groups and run them through the
10231 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
10232 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
10234 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
10235 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
10236 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
10237 Stranger things have happened.
10239 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
10240 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
10242 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
10243 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
10244 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
10245 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
10246 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
10247 on what groups that have been searched through to find component
10250 Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
10251 @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
10258 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
10259 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
10260 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
10263 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
10264 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
10265 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
10266 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
10267 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
10269 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
10270 before generating the summary buffer.
10272 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
10273 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
10274 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
10276 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
10277 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
10278 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
10279 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
10282 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
10283 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
10284 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
10285 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
10286 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
10287 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
10288 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
10289 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
10290 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
10291 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
10292 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
10293 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
10294 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
10295 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
10296 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
10297 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
10301 @node Summary Score Commands
10302 @section Summary Score Commands
10303 @cindex score commands
10305 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
10306 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
10307 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
10308 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
10309 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
10311 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
10312 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
10313 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
10314 score file the current one.
10316 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
10321 @kindex V s (Summary)
10322 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
10323 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
10326 @kindex V S (Summary)
10327 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
10328 Display the score of the current article
10329 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
10332 @kindex V t (Summary)
10333 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
10334 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
10335 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
10338 @kindex V R (Summary)
10339 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
10340 Run the current summary through the scoring process
10341 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
10342 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
10343 effect you're having.
10346 @kindex V a (Summary)
10347 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
10348 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
10349 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
10352 @kindex V c (Summary)
10353 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
10354 Make a different score file the current
10355 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
10358 @kindex V e (Summary)
10359 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
10360 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
10361 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
10365 @kindex V f (Summary)
10366 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
10367 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
10368 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
10371 @kindex V F (Summary)
10372 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10373 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
10374 after editing score files.
10377 @kindex V C (Summary)
10378 @findex gnus-score-customize
10379 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
10380 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
10383 @kindex I C-i (Summary)
10384 @findex gnus-summary-raise-score
10385 Increase the score of the current article
10386 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-score}).
10389 @kindex L C-l (Summary)
10390 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
10391 Lower the score of the current article
10392 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-score}).
10395 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
10400 @kindex V m (Summary)
10401 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
10402 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
10403 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
10406 @kindex V x (Summary)
10407 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
10408 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
10409 expunge all articles below this score
10410 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
10413 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
10414 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
10419 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
10420 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
10422 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
10423 keys are available:
10427 Score on the author name.
10430 Score on the subject line.
10433 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
10436 Score on thread---the References line.
10442 Score on the number of lines.
10445 Score on the Message-ID.
10448 Score on followups.
10458 The third key is the match type. Which match types are legal depends on
10459 what headers you are scoring on.
10471 Substring matching.
10503 Greater than number.
10508 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
10509 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
10510 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
10514 Temporary score entry.
10517 Permanent score entry.
10520 Immediately scoring.
10525 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
10526 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
10527 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
10528 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
10530 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
10531 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
10532 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
10533 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
10534 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
10536 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
10537 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
10538 pretend they are keymaps or not.
10541 @node Group Score Commands
10542 @section Group Score Commands
10543 @cindex group score commands
10545 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
10550 @kindex W f (Group)
10551 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10552 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
10553 all the time. This command will flush the cache
10554 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
10559 @node Score Variables
10560 @section Score Variables
10561 @cindex score variables
10565 @item gnus-use-scoring
10566 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
10567 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
10568 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
10570 @item gnus-kill-killed
10571 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
10572 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
10573 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
10574 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
10575 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
10576 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
10577 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
10579 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
10580 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
10581 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
10582 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
10583 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
10585 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
10586 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
10587 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
10588 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
10590 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10591 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10592 @cindex score cache
10593 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
10594 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
10595 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files that are
10596 unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
10597 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
10598 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
10599 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
10602 @item gnus-save-score
10603 @vindex gnus-save-score
10604 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
10605 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
10606 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
10608 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10609 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10610 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
10611 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
10612 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
10613 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
10614 manually entered data.
10616 @item gnus-summary-default-score
10617 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
10618 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
10620 @item gnus-score-over-mark
10621 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
10622 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
10623 default. Default is @samp{+}.
10625 @item gnus-score-below-mark
10626 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
10627 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
10628 default. Default is @samp{-}.
10630 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10631 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10632 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
10633 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
10635 Predefined functions available are:
10638 @item gnus-score-find-single
10639 @findex gnus-score-find-single
10640 Only apply the group's own score file.
10642 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
10643 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
10644 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
10645 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
10646 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
10647 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
10648 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
10649 then a regexp match is done.
10651 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
10652 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
10654 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
10655 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
10656 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
10657 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
10659 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10660 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10661 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
10662 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
10663 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
10666 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
10667 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
10668 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
10669 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
10670 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
10671 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
10674 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
10675 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
10676 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
10677 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
10678 are expired. It's 7 by default.
10680 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10681 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10682 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
10683 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
10684 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
10685 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
10686 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
10689 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10690 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10691 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
10696 @node Score File Format
10697 @section Score File Format
10698 @cindex score file format
10700 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
10701 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
10702 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
10704 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
10708 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
10710 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
10712 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
10714 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
10719 (mark-and-expunge -10)
10723 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
10724 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
10725 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
10726 (gnus-summary-make-false-root 'empty))
10730 This example demonstrates absolutely everything about a score file.
10732 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
10733 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
10734 has to be legal syntactically, if not semantically.
10736 Six keys are supported by this alist:
10741 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
10742 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
10743 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
10744 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
10745 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
10746 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
10747 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
10748 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
10749 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
10750 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
10751 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
10752 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
10753 to articles that matches these score entries.
10755 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
10756 score entry has one to four elements.
10760 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
10761 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
10765 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
10766 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
10767 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
10768 is successful. If this element is not present, the
10769 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
10770 instead. This is 1000 by default.
10773 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
10774 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
10775 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
10776 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
10777 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 ce.
10780 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
10781 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
10782 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
10783 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
10786 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
10787 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
10788 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
10789 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
10790 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
10791 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
10792 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
10793 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
10794 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
10795 instead, if you feel like.
10798 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
10799 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
10800 careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
10801 @code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
10802 lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
10803 the articles with few lines.
10806 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
10807 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
10808 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
10809 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
10810 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
10811 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
10812 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
10816 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
10817 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
10818 ISO8601 compact format first---@samp{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}. If you want to
10819 match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in every year, you
10820 could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string, for instance.
10821 (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so this will
10822 match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where the article
10823 was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the whole
10826 @item Head, Body, All
10827 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
10831 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
10832 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
10833 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
10834 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
10835 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
10836 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
10840 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
10841 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread that is
10842 started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
10843 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
10844 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
10845 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
10846 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
10847 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
10848 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
10849 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread.
10854 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10855 lower than this number will be marked as read.
10858 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10859 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
10861 @item mark-and-expunge
10862 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10863 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
10866 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
10867 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
10868 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
10869 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
10870 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
10873 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
10874 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
10877 @item exclude-files
10878 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
10879 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
10883 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
10884 ignored when handling global score files.
10887 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
10888 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
10891 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
10892 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
10893 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
10894 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
10896 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
10900 (mark-and-expunge -100)
10903 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
10904 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
10905 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
10906 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
10907 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
10909 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
10910 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
10911 ordinary scoring rules.
10914 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
10915 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
10916 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
10917 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
10918 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
10919 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
10920 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10921 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
10922 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
10923 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
10924 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
10928 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
10929 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
10930 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
10931 file for a number of groups.
10934 @cindex local variables
10935 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
10936 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
10937 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
10938 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
10943 @node Score File Editing
10944 @section Score File Editing
10946 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
10947 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
10948 with a mode for that.
10950 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
10951 additional commands:
10956 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
10957 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
10958 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
10959 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
10962 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
10963 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
10964 Insert the current date in numerical format
10965 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
10966 you were wondering.
10969 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
10970 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
10971 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
10972 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
10973 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
10978 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
10980 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
10981 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
10983 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
10984 e} to begin editing score files.
10987 @node Adaptive Scoring
10988 @section Adaptive Scoring
10989 @cindex adaptive scoring
10991 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
10992 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
10993 stupidity, to be precise.
10995 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
10996 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
10997 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
10998 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
10999 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
11000 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
11001 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
11002 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
11003 variable to @code{(word line)}.
11005 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
11006 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
11007 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
11008 might look something like this:
11011 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
11012 '((gnus-unread-mark)
11013 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
11014 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
11015 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
11016 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
11017 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
11018 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
11019 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
11020 (gnus-ancient-mark)
11021 (gnus-low-score-mark)
11022 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
11025 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
11026 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
11027 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
11028 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
11029 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
11030 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
11033 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
11034 will be applied to each article.
11036 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
11037 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
11038 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
11039 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
11041 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
11042 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
11043 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
11044 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
11046 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
11047 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
11048 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
11049 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
11051 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
11052 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
11053 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
11054 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
11055 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
11056 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
11058 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
11059 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
11060 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
11061 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
11062 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
11063 aspirins afterwards.)
11065 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
11066 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
11067 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
11069 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
11070 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
11071 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
11073 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
11074 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
11075 let you use different rules in different groups.
11077 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
11078 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
11079 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
11082 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
11083 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
11084 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
11085 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
11086 the length of the match is less than
11087 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
11088 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
11091 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
11092 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
11093 headers. If you adapt on words, the
11094 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
11095 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
11098 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
11099 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
11100 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
11101 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
11102 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
11105 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
11106 word that appears in subjects of articles that are marked with
11107 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
11108 score with 30 points.
11110 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
11111 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
11112 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
11113 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
11114 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
11116 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
11117 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
11118 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
11119 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
11121 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
11122 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
11123 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
11126 @node Home Score File
11127 @section Home Score File
11129 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
11130 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
11131 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
11132 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
11134 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
11135 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
11136 could perhaps use the same home score file.
11138 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
11139 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
11144 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
11148 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
11149 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
11153 A list. The elements in this list can be:
11157 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
11158 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
11161 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
11162 the home score file.
11165 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
11168 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
11173 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
11176 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11177 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
11180 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
11181 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
11184 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11185 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
11188 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
11190 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
11191 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
11192 their own home score files:
11195 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11196 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
11197 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
11198 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
11199 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
11202 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
11203 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
11204 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
11205 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
11206 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
11208 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
11209 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
11210 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
11211 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
11212 precedence over this variable.
11215 @node Followups To Yourself
11216 @section Followups To Yourself
11218 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
11219 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
11220 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
11221 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
11222 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
11223 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
11227 @item gnus-score-followup-article
11228 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
11229 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
11232 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
11233 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
11234 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
11238 @vindex message-sent-hook
11239 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
11240 @code{message-sent-hook}.
11242 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
11243 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
11247 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11248 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11251 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
11252 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
11257 "<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf@@.*eyesore.no>" 1000 nil r)
11260 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
11261 is system-dependent.
11265 @section Scoring Tips
11266 @cindex scoring tips
11272 @cindex scoring crossposts
11273 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
11274 the @code{Xref} header.
11276 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
11279 @item Multiple crossposts
11280 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
11281 more than, say, 3 groups:
11283 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
11286 @item Matching on the body
11287 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
11288 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
11289 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
11290 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
11291 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
11292 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
11293 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
11296 @item Marking as read
11297 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
11298 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
11299 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
11303 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
11305 @item Negated character classes
11306 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
11307 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
11308 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
11312 @node Reverse Scoring
11313 @section Reverse Scoring
11314 @cindex reverse scoring
11316 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
11317 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
11318 like this in your score file:
11322 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
11327 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
11328 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
11331 @node Global Score Files
11332 @section Global Score Files
11333 @cindex global score files
11335 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
11336 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
11337 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
11339 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
11340 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
11341 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
11343 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
11344 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
11345 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
11346 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
11347 files are applicable to which group.
11349 Say you want to use the score file
11350 @file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
11351 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
11354 (setq gnus-global-score-files
11355 '("/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
11356 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
11359 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
11360 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
11361 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
11362 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
11363 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
11365 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
11366 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
11368 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
11369 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
11370 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
11371 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
11372 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
11373 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
11375 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
11381 Articles that are heavily crossposted are probably junk.
11383 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
11385 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
11387 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
11388 lowered out of existence.
11390 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
11391 articles completely.
11394 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
11395 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
11396 old articles for a long time.
11399 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
11400 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
11401 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
11402 holding our breath yet?
11406 @section Kill Files
11409 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
11410 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
11411 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
11413 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
11414 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
11415 files into score files.
11417 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
11418 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
11419 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
11420 that isn't a very good idea.
11422 Normal kill files look like this:
11425 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11426 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
11430 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove them from
11431 the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
11433 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
11434 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
11437 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
11442 @kindex M-k (Summary)
11443 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
11444 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
11447 @kindex M-K (Summary)
11448 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
11449 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
11452 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
11457 @kindex M-k (Group)
11458 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
11459 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
11462 @kindex M-K (Group)
11463 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
11464 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
11467 Kill file variables:
11470 @item gnus-kill-file-name
11471 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
11472 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
11473 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
11474 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
11475 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
11476 course) is called just @file{KILL}.
11478 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11479 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11480 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
11481 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
11484 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
11485 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
11486 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
11487 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
11488 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
11489 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
11490 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
11491 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
11492 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
11494 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11495 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11496 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
11501 @node Converting Kill Files
11502 @section Converting Kill Files
11504 @cindex converting kill files
11506 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
11507 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
11508 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
11511 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
11512 You can fetch it from
11513 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
11515 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
11516 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
11517 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
11525 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
11526 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
11527 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
11529 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
11530 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
11531 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
11532 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
11533 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
11534 Once it has found for you some people you agree with it tells you, in
11535 the form of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use
11536 this prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
11540 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
11541 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
11542 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
11543 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
11547 @node Using GroupLens
11548 @subsection Using GroupLens
11550 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
11552 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
11553 better bit in town is at the moment.
11555 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
11559 @item gnus-use-grouplens
11560 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
11561 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
11562 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
11564 @item grouplens-pseudonym
11565 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
11566 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
11567 with the Better Bit Bureau.
11569 @item grouplens-newsgroups
11570 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
11571 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
11575 Thats the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
11576 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
11577 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
11578 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
11579 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
11580 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
11583 @node Rating Articles
11584 @subsection Rating Articles
11586 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
11587 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
11588 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
11589 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
11592 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
11597 @kindex r (GroupLens)
11598 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
11599 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
11602 @kindex k (GroupLens)
11603 @findex grouplens-score-thread
11604 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
11605 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
11606 threads in rec.humor.
11610 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
11611 the score of the article you're reading.
11616 @kindex n (GroupLens)
11617 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
11618 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
11621 @kindex , (GroupLens)
11622 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
11623 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
11627 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
11628 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
11631 @node Displaying Predictions
11632 @subsection Displaying Predictions
11634 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
11635 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
11636 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
11637 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
11638 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
11640 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
11641 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
11642 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
11643 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
11644 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
11645 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
11646 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
11647 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
11648 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
11649 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
11650 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
11651 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
11652 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
11654 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
11655 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
11656 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
11657 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
11659 The following are legal values for that variable.
11662 @item prediction-spot
11663 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
11666 @item confidence-interval
11667 A numeric confidence interval.
11669 @item prediction-bar
11670 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
11672 @item confidence-bar
11673 Numerical confidence.
11675 @item confidence-spot
11676 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
11678 @item prediction-num
11679 Plain-old numeric value.
11681 @item confidence-plus-minus
11682 Prediction +/i confidence.
11687 @node GroupLens Variables
11688 @subsection GroupLens Variables
11692 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
11693 The summary line format used in summary buffers that are GroupLens
11694 enhanced. It accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format
11695 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). The default is
11696 @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
11698 @item grouplens-bbb-host
11699 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
11702 @item grouplens-bbb-port
11703 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
11705 @item grouplens-score-offset
11706 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
11707 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
11710 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
11711 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
11712 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
11717 @node Advanced Scoring
11718 @section Advanced Scoring
11720 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
11721 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
11722 about a particular subject? Or what about if you really don't want to
11723 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
11724 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
11726 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
11730 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
11731 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
11732 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
11736 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
11737 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
11739 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
11740 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
11741 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
11742 non-@code{nil} value.
11744 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
11745 operator, and various match operators.
11752 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11753 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
11754 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
11759 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11760 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
11761 then this operator will return @code{false}.
11766 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
11767 inverse of the value of its argument.
11771 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
11772 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
11773 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
11774 current article. @code{2-} will make score fules apply to the
11775 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
11776 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) say how far back into
11777 the ancestry you want to go.
11779 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
11780 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
11781 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
11782 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
11783 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
11786 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
11787 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
11789 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
11790 when he's talking about Gnus:
11794 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11795 ("subject" "Gnus"))
11801 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
11805 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11812 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
11813 really don't want to read what he's written:
11817 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11818 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
11822 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
11823 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
11824 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
11831 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
11832 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
11833 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
11834 ("body" "white.*socks"))
11838 The possibilities are endless.
11841 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
11842 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
11844 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
11845 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
11846 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
11847 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
11848 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
11849 (@samp{body}, @code{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
11850 @samp{subject}) first.
11852 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
11853 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
11864 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
11865 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
11871 ("subject" "Gnus")))
11878 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
11879 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
11884 @section Score Decays
11885 @cindex score decays
11888 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
11889 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
11890 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
11891 use them in any sensible way.
11893 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
11894 @findex gnus-decay-score
11895 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
11896 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
11897 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
11898 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
11899 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
11900 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
11901 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
11902 definition of that function:
11905 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
11908 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
11910 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
11912 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
11915 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
11916 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
11917 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
11918 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
11922 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
11925 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
11928 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
11932 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
11933 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
11934 the new score, which should be an integer.
11936 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
11937 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
11944 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
11945 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
11946 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
11947 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
11948 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
11949 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
11950 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
11951 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
11952 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
11953 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
11954 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
11955 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
11956 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
11957 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
11958 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
11962 @node Process/Prefix
11963 @section Process/Prefix
11964 @cindex process/prefix convention
11966 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
11967 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
11969 This is a method for figuring out what articles that the user wants the
11970 command to be performed on.
11974 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
11975 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
11976 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
11977 with the current one.
11979 @vindex transient-mark-mode
11980 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
11981 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
11983 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
11984 process mark, perform the operation on the articles that are marked with
11987 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
11988 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
11990 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
11993 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
11994 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
11995 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
11996 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11998 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
11999 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
12000 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
12001 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
12002 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
12003 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
12004 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
12005 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
12009 @section Interactive
12010 @cindex interaction
12014 @item gnus-novice-user
12015 @vindex gnus-novice-user
12016 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
12017 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
12018 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
12019 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
12022 @item gnus-expert-user
12023 @vindex gnus-expert-user
12024 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
12025 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
12026 matter how strange.
12028 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
12029 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
12030 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
12031 is @code{t} by default.
12033 @item gnus-interactive-exit
12034 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
12035 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
12040 @node Formatting Variables
12041 @section Formatting Variables
12042 @cindex formatting variables
12044 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables that
12045 are called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
12046 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
12047 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
12048 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
12051 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
12052 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
12053 lots of percentages everywhere.
12056 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
12057 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
12058 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
12059 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
12062 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
12063 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
12064 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
12065 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
12066 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
12067 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
12068 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
12069 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
12071 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
12072 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
12074 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
12075 @findex gnus-update-format
12076 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
12077 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
12078 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
12079 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
12083 @node Formatting Basics
12084 @subsection Formatting Basics
12086 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
12087 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
12088 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
12090 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
12091 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
12092 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
12093 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
12094 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
12097 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
12098 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
12099 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
12100 less than 4 characters wide.
12103 @node Advanced Formatting
12104 @subsection Advanced Formatting
12106 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
12107 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
12108 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
12109 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
12111 These are the legal modifiers:
12116 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
12120 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
12125 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
12128 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
12133 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
12136 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
12139 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
12142 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
12146 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
12147 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
12148 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
12149 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
12150 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
12151 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
12152 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
12154 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
12155 last operation, padding.
12157 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
12158 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
12159 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
12160 @xref{Compilation}.
12163 @node User-Defined Specs
12164 @subsection User-Defined Specs
12166 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
12167 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
12168 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
12169 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
12170 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
12171 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
12172 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
12173 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
12174 should protect against that.
12176 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
12177 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
12178 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
12179 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
12183 @node Formatting Fonts
12184 @subsection Formatting Fonts
12186 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
12187 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
12188 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
12189 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
12192 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
12193 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
12194 default. If you say @samp{%1[} instead, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1}
12195 instead, and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes
12196 for the @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
12197 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
12199 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
12202 ;; Create three face types.
12203 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
12204 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
12206 ;; We want the article count to be in
12207 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
12208 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
12209 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
12211 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
12212 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
12214 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
12215 (setq gnus-group-line-format
12216 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
12219 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
12220 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
12222 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
12223 mode-line variables.
12226 @node Windows Configuration
12227 @section Windows Configuration
12228 @cindex windows configuration
12230 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
12232 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
12233 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
12234 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
12235 @code{t} by default.
12237 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
12238 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
12239 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
12242 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
12243 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
12244 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
12248 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
12249 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
12250 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
12251 possible names is listed below.
12253 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
12254 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
12257 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
12261 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
12262 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
12263 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
12264 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
12265 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
12266 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
12267 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
12268 size spec per split.
12270 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
12273 Here's a more complicated example:
12276 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
12277 (summary 0.25 point)
12278 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
12282 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
12283 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
12284 occupy, not a percentage.
12286 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
12287 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
12288 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
12289 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
12290 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
12293 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
12296 (article (horizontal 1.0
12301 (summary 0.25 point)
12306 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
12307 @code{horizontal} thingie?
12309 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
12310 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
12311 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
12312 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
12313 the screen is to be given to this strip.
12315 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
12316 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
12317 lines from the splits.
12319 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a legal split
12323 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
12324 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
12325 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
12326 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
12327 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
12328 size = number | frame-params
12329 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
12332 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
12333 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
12334 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
12335 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
12337 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
12338 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
12339 @cindex window height
12340 @cindex window width
12341 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
12342 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
12343 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
12344 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
12345 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
12346 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
12348 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
12349 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
12350 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
12351 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
12353 @findex gnus-configure-frame
12354 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
12355 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
12356 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
12357 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
12358 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
12359 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
12360 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
12361 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
12362 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
12363 configuration list.
12366 (gnus-configure-frame
12370 (article 0.3 point))
12378 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
12379 @code{frame} split:
12382 (gnus-configure-frame
12385 (summary 0.25 point)
12387 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
12388 (user-position . t)
12389 (left . -1) (top . 1))
12394 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
12395 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
12396 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
12397 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
12398 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
12399 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
12402 Here's a list of all possible keys for
12403 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
12405 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
12406 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
12407 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
12408 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
12409 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft},
12410 @code{pipe}, @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}.
12412 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
12413 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
12414 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
12418 (message (horizontal 1.0
12419 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
12421 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
12426 @findex gnus-add-configuration
12427 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
12428 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
12429 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
12430 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
12433 (gnus-add-configuration
12434 '(article (vertical 1.0
12436 (summary .25 point)
12440 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
12441 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
12442 Gnus has been loaded.
12444 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
12445 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
12446 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
12447 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
12448 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
12452 @section Compilation
12453 @cindex compilation
12454 @cindex byte-compilation
12456 @findex gnus-compile
12458 Remember all those line format specification variables?
12459 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
12460 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
12461 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
12462 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
12463 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
12466 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
12467 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
12468 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
12469 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
12470 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
12471 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
12472 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
12476 @section Mode Lines
12479 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
12480 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
12481 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
12482 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
12483 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
12484 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
12485 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
12488 @cindex display-time
12490 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
12491 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
12492 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
12493 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
12494 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
12495 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
12496 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
12497 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
12500 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
12502 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
12503 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
12505 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
12506 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
12507 (length display-time-string)))))
12510 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
12511 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either.
12514 @node Highlighting and Menus
12515 @section Highlighting and Menus
12517 @cindex highlighting
12520 @vindex gnus-visual
12521 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the prettifying Gnus
12522 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
12523 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
12526 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
12527 following elements are legal, and are all included by default:
12530 @item group-highlight
12531 Do highlights in the group buffer.
12532 @item summary-highlight
12533 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
12534 @item article-highlight
12535 Do highlights in the article buffer.
12537 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
12539 Create menus in the group buffer.
12541 Create menus in the summary buffers.
12543 Create menus in the article buffer.
12545 Create menus in the browse buffer.
12547 Create menus in the server buffer.
12549 Create menus in the score buffers.
12551 Create menus in all buffers.
12554 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
12555 buffers, you could say something like:
12558 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
12561 If you want only highlighting and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
12564 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
12567 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
12568 in all Gnus buffers.
12570 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
12573 @item gnus-mouse-face
12574 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
12575 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
12576 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
12578 @item gnus-display-type
12579 @vindex gnus-display-type
12580 This variable is symbol indicating the display type Emacs is running
12581 under. The symbol should be one of @code{color}, @code{grayscale} or
12582 @code{mono}. If Gnus guesses this display attribute wrongly, either set
12583 this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or set the resource
12584 @code{Emacs.displayType} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
12586 @item gnus-background-mode
12587 @vindex gnus-background-mode
12588 This is a symbol indicating the Emacs background brightness. The symbol
12589 should be one of @code{light} or @code{dark}. If Gnus guesses this
12590 frame attribute wrongly, either set this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or
12591 set the resource @code{Emacs.backgroundMode} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
12592 `gnus-display-type'.
12595 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
12599 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
12600 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
12601 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
12603 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
12604 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
12605 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
12607 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
12608 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
12609 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
12611 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
12612 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
12613 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
12615 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
12616 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
12617 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
12619 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
12620 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
12621 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
12632 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
12633 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
12634 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
12635 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
12636 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
12640 @vindex gnus-carpal
12641 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
12642 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
12643 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
12648 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12649 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12650 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
12652 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
12653 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
12654 Face used on buttons.
12656 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
12657 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
12658 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
12660 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12661 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12662 Buttons in the group buffer.
12664 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12665 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12666 Buttons in the summary buffer.
12668 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12669 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12670 Buttons in the server buffer.
12672 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12673 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12674 Buttons in the browse buffer.
12677 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
12678 is either a cons cell where the car contains a text to be displayed and
12679 the cdr contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
12687 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
12688 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
12689 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
12690 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
12691 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
12693 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
12694 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
12695 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
12697 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
12698 been idle for thirty minutes:
12701 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12704 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
12708 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
12711 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter works together
12712 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
12713 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12715 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
12716 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
12717 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
12718 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12720 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
12721 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
12722 @var{idle} minutes.
12724 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
12725 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
12728 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
12729 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
12730 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
12732 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
12733 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
12734 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
12735 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
12737 @vindex gnus-use-demon
12738 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
12739 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
12741 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
12742 your @file{.gnus} file:
12744 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
12746 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12749 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
12750 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
12751 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
12752 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
12753 Some ready-made functions to do this has been created:
12754 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
12755 @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just
12756 put those functions in your @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
12758 @findex gnus-demon-init
12759 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
12760 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
12761 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
12762 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
12763 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
12765 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
12766 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
12767 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
12776 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
12777 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
12779 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
12780 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
12781 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
12782 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
12785 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
12786 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
12787 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
12788 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
12790 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
12791 this will make spam disappear.
12793 There are some variables to customize, of course:
12796 @item gnus-use-nocem
12797 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
12798 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
12801 @item gnus-nocem-groups
12802 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
12803 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
12804 default is @code{("alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
12806 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
12807 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
12808 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
12809 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
12810 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
12811 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
12813 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
12816 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
12817 @cindex Chris Lewis
12818 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
12819 usenet abuse than anybody else.
12822 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
12823 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
12824 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
12826 @item jem@@xpat.com;
12828 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
12831 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
12832 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
12833 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
12836 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
12837 ones you want to listen to.
12839 @item gnus-nocem-directory
12840 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
12841 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
12842 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
12844 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12845 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12846 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
12847 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
12848 might then see old spam.
12856 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
12857 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
12858 over your shoulder as you read news.
12861 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
12862 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
12863 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
12864 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
12865 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
12870 @subsection Picon Basics
12872 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
12875 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
12876 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
12877 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
12878 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
12879 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
12880 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
12881 @code{GIF} formats.
12884 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
12885 your Web browser at
12886 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
12888 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12889 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
12890 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
12893 @node Picon Requirements
12894 @subsection Picon Requirements
12896 To use have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
12897 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
12900 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
12902 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12903 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
12904 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
12905 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
12909 @subsection Easy Picons
12911 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
12912 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
12915 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
12916 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12917 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
12918 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
12923 @subsection Hard Picons
12925 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
12926 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
12927 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
12928 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
12929 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
12933 @item gnus-picons-display-where
12934 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12935 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
12936 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
12937 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
12938 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
12939 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
12940 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
12944 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
12945 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
12947 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
12948 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
12949 displayed at the right time.
12951 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
12952 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12954 @item gnus-article-display-picons
12955 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12956 Looks up and display the picons for the author and the author's domain
12957 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to
12958 the @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12960 @item gnus-group-display-picons
12961 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12962 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
12963 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
12964 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
12965 is set to @code{article}.
12967 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
12968 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12969 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
12970 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12974 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
12975 to the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
12978 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12982 @node Picon Configuration
12983 @subsection Picon Configuration
12985 The following variables offer further control over how things are
12986 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
12987 don't need to worry about.
12990 @item gnus-picons-database
12991 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12992 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
12993 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
12994 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
12996 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
12997 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
12998 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
13001 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
13002 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
13003 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
13004 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc/MISC")} is the default.
13006 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
13007 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
13008 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
13009 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
13010 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
13012 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
13013 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
13014 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
13015 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
13016 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
13017 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
13019 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
13020 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
13021 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
13022 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
13024 @item gnus-picons-buffer
13025 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
13026 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
13027 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
13036 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
13037 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
13038 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
13040 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
13041 Gnus---it's all just data that is designed to look nice to the user.
13042 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
13043 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
13044 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
13045 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
13046 @code{undo} function.
13048 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
13049 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
13050 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
13051 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
13052 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
13053 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
13054 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
13055 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
13056 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
13057 never be totally undoable.
13059 @findex gnus-undo-mode
13060 @vindex gnus-use-undo
13062 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
13063 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
13064 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
13065 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
13070 @section Moderation
13073 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
13074 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
13075 @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
13078 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
13082 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
13085 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
13087 If you are the moderation of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
13092 You split your incoming mail by matching on
13093 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
13094 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
13097 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
13098 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
13101 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
13102 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
13106 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
13109 (setq gnus-moderated-list
13110 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
13114 @node XEmacs Enhancements
13115 @section XEmacs Enhancements
13118 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
13119 advantage of that. Relevant variables include:
13122 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
13123 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
13124 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
13125 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
13126 unusual directory structure.
13128 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
13129 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
13130 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
13131 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
13133 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
13134 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
13135 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
13136 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
13137 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
13138 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
13140 @item gnus-use-toolbar
13141 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
13142 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
13143 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
13144 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
13146 @item gnus-group-toolbar
13147 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
13148 The toolbar in the group buffer.
13150 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
13151 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
13152 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
13154 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
13155 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
13156 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
13158 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
13159 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
13160 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
13166 @node Various Various
13167 @section Various Various
13173 @item gnus-directory
13174 @vindex gnus-directory
13175 All Gnus directories will be initialized from this variable, which
13176 defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or @file{~/News/}
13177 if that variable isn't set.
13179 @item gnus-default-directory
13180 @vindex gnus-default-directory
13181 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
13182 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
13183 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
13184 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
13185 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
13186 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
13189 @vindex gnus-verbose
13190 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
13191 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
13192 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
13193 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
13194 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
13196 @item gnus-verbose-backends
13197 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
13198 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
13199 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
13201 @item nnheader-max-head-length
13202 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
13203 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
13204 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
13205 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
13206 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
13207 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
13208 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
13209 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
13212 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
13213 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
13214 This variable says how big a piece of each article to read when doing
13215 the operation described above.
13217 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13218 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13220 @cindex illegal characters in file names
13221 @cindex characters in file names
13222 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
13223 For instance, if @samp{:} is illegal as a file character in file names
13224 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
13227 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13231 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
13232 Windows (phooey) systems.
13234 @item gnus-hidden-properties
13235 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
13236 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
13237 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
13238 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
13240 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
13241 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
13242 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
13243 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
13244 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
13246 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
13247 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
13248 String used to separate to shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
13257 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
13258 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
13260 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
13262 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
13268 Not because of victories @*
13271 but for the common sunshine,@*
13273 the largess of the spring.
13277 but for the day's work done@*
13278 as well as I was able;@*
13279 not for a seat upon the dais@*
13280 but at the common table.@*
13285 @chapter Appendices
13288 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
13289 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
13290 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
13291 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
13292 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
13293 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
13294 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
13302 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
13303 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
13305 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
13306 can point your (feh!) web browser to
13307 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
13308 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
13309 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
13311 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
13312 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
13313 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
13314 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
13315 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
13316 appropriate name, don't you think?)
13318 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
13319 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
13320 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
13321 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
13323 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
13324 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution.
13326 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'') was
13327 released under the name ``Gnus 5.2''.
13329 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun.
13331 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a name that is prefixed --
13332 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Mamey Sapote Gnus''
13333 -- don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
13334 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
13335 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
13339 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
13340 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
13341 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
13342 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
13343 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
13344 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
13345 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
13352 What's the point of Gnus?
13354 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
13355 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
13356 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
13357 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
13358 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
13359 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
13360 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
13361 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
13362 keep track of millions of people who post?
13364 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
13365 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
13366 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
13367 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
13368 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
13369 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
13370 everywhere I could imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one
13371 of you to explore and invent.
13373 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
13376 @node Compatibility
13377 @subsection Compatibility
13379 @cindex compatibility
13380 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
13381 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
13382 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
13387 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
13391 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
13394 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @pxref{Decoding
13397 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
13398 buffers. All variables that are relevant while reading a group are
13399 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
13400 important variables have their values copied into their global
13401 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
13402 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
13404 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
13405 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
13406 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
13407 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
13408 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
13412 @cindex highlighting
13413 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
13414 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
13415 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
13416 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
13417 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
13418 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
13421 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
13422 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
13423 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
13424 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
13426 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
13427 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
13428 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
13429 to stop doing it the old way.
13431 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
13433 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
13435 @cindex reporting bugs
13437 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
13438 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
13439 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
13443 @subsection Conformity
13445 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
13446 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
13453 There are no known breaches of this standard.
13457 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
13459 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13460 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13461 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
13462 the next inspection.
13464 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
13465 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
13466 We do have some breaches to this one.
13471 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
13472 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
13475 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
13476 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
13477 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
13478 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
13479 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
13482 Gnus does line breaking on this header. I infer from RFC1036 that being
13483 conservative in what you output is not creating 5000-character lines, so
13484 it seems like a good idea to me. However, this standard-to-be says that
13485 whitespace in the @code{References} header is to be preserved, so... It
13486 doesn't matter one way or the other to Gnus, so if somebody tells me
13487 what The Way is, I'll change it. Or not.
13492 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliantly with regards to the texts
13493 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
13498 @subsection Emacsen
13504 Gnus should work on :
13509 Emacs 19.32 and up.
13512 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
13515 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
13519 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
13520 reliably, at least.
13522 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
13523 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
13524 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
13529 @subsection Contributors
13530 @cindex contributors
13532 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
13533 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
13534 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
13535 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
13536 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
13537 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
13538 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
13539 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
13540 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
13541 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
13543 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
13549 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
13552 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
13553 well as numerous other things).
13556 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
13559 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
13562 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
13563 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
13566 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
13567 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13570 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
13573 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
13576 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
13579 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
13582 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
13583 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
13586 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
13589 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
13592 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
13595 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
13599 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
13602 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
13605 Ricardo Nassif, Mark Borges, and Jost Krieger---proof-reading.
13608 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
13611 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
13615 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
13624 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
13628 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
13639 Massimo Campostrini,
13643 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
13657 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
13658 Francois Felix Ingrand,
13662 Thor Kristoffersen,
13672 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
13678 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
13686 Randal L. Schwartz,
13703 Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
13706 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
13709 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
13710 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
13714 @subsection New Features
13715 @cindex new features
13718 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
13719 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
13720 * Red Gnus:: The future---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
13723 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
13724 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
13725 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
13729 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
13731 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
13736 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
13737 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
13740 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
13741 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
13744 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
13747 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
13748 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
13749 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
13752 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
13753 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
13754 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
13755 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
13758 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
13759 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13762 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
13763 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
13764 (@pxref{The Active File}).
13767 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
13768 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
13771 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
13772 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
13773 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
13776 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
13777 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
13778 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
13781 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
13782 the @file{.emacs} file.
13785 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
13786 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13789 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
13790 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
13793 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
13794 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13797 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
13798 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
13801 Gnus can fetch articles asynchronously on a second connection to the
13802 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
13805 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
13808 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
13809 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
13812 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
13813 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
13816 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
13817 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
13820 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
13823 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
13824 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
13827 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
13831 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
13835 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
13836 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
13839 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
13845 @node September Gnus
13846 @subsubsection September Gnus
13848 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
13853 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
13854 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
13858 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
13859 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
13863 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
13867 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
13868 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
13871 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
13875 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13878 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
13881 A @code{trn}-line tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
13884 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
13888 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
13889 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
13892 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
13896 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
13900 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
13904 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
13908 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
13911 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
13912 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
13915 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
13919 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
13920 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
13923 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
13926 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
13927 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
13928 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
13931 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
13935 The Gnus cache is much faster.
13938 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
13942 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-address and
13943 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13946 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
13947 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
13950 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
13951 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13954 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
13955 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
13956 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
13959 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
13960 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
13963 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
13966 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
13969 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
13970 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
13974 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
13977 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
13980 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
13981 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
13984 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
13988 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
13991 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
13994 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
13998 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
14001 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
14005 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
14008 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
14011 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
14012 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
14015 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
14016 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
14020 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
14021 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
14024 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
14028 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
14029 buffer to allow easier treatment.
14032 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
14035 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
14039 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
14043 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
14044 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
14047 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
14051 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
14052 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
14055 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
14056 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
14059 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
14063 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
14066 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
14067 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
14071 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
14074 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
14080 @subsubsection Red Gnus
14082 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
14087 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
14090 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
14091 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
14094 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
14095 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
14099 Article washing status can be displayed in the
14100 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
14103 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
14106 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
14107 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
14110 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
14114 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
14115 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}).
14118 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
14119 Server Internals}).
14122 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
14126 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
14129 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
14130 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
14133 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
14134 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
14135 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
14138 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
14139 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
14142 A way to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed when
14143 generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
14146 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
14150 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
14151 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
14154 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
14155 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
14158 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
14162 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
14165 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
14169 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
14170 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
14173 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
14174 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
14177 A new command for reading collections of documents
14178 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
14179 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
14182 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
14186 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
14187 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
14190 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
14191 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
14192 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
14195 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
14196 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
14200 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
14204 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
14208 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
14212 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
14216 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
14217 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
14220 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
14223 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
14229 @node Newest Features
14230 @subsection Newest Features
14233 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
14236 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
14240 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
14242 Really do unbinhexing.
14245 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
14246 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
14248 @file{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/rgnus/todo>} is where the actual
14249 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
14250 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
14255 @section The Manual
14259 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
14260 either @code{texi2dvi}
14262 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
14263 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
14265 to get what you hold in your hands now.
14267 The following conventions have been used:
14272 This is a @samp{string}
14275 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
14278 This is a @file{file}
14281 This is a @code{symbol}
14285 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
14289 (setq flargnoze "yes")
14292 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
14295 (setq flumphel 'yes)
14298 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
14299 ever get them confused.
14303 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
14304 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
14305 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
14306 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
14307 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
14308 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
14309 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
14316 @section Terminology
14318 @cindex terminology
14323 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
14324 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
14325 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
14326 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
14327 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
14331 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
14332 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
14333 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
14334 not posting, and replying is not following up.
14338 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
14342 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
14347 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
14348 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
14349 is all done by the backends.
14353 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
14354 default, way of getting news.
14358 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
14359 These are groups that use different backends for getting news.
14363 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
14364 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
14368 A message that has been posted as news.
14371 @cindex mail message
14372 A message that has been mailed.
14376 A mail message or news article
14380 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
14385 The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
14390 A line from the head of an article.
14394 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
14395 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
14399 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
14400 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
14401 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
14402 normal @sc{head} format.
14406 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
14407 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
14408 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
14409 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
14410 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
14411 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
14413 @item killed groups
14414 @cindex killed groups
14415 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
14416 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
14418 @item zombie groups
14419 @cindex zombie groups
14420 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
14423 @cindex active file
14424 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
14425 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
14426 is rather large, as you might surmise.
14429 @cindex bogus groups
14430 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
14431 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
14432 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
14436 A machine than one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
14438 @item select method
14439 @cindex select method
14440 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
14443 @item virtual server
14444 @cindex virtual server
14445 A named select method. Since a select methods defines all there is to
14446 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the things as a
14447 whole is a virtual server.
14451 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
14452 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
14455 @item ephemeral groups
14456 @cindex ephemeral groups
14457 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
14458 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
14459 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
14462 @cindex solid groups
14463 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
14464 group buffer are solid groups.
14469 @node Customization
14470 @section Customization
14471 @cindex general customization
14473 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
14474 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
14475 for some quite common situations.
14478 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
14479 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
14480 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
14481 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
14485 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
14486 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
14488 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
14489 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
14490 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
14494 @item gnus-read-active-file
14495 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
14496 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
14497 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-news} and
14498 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
14499 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
14501 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
14502 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
14503 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
14504 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
14508 @node Slow Terminal Connection
14509 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
14511 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that
14512 runs Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce the
14513 amount of data that is sent over the wires as much as possible.
14517 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
14518 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
14519 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
14520 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
14521 horizontal and vertical recentering.
14523 @item gnus-visible-headers
14524 Cut down on the headers that are included in the articles to the
14525 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
14526 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
14527 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
14529 @item gnus-article-display-hook
14530 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
14532 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
14533 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
14534 gnus-article-hide-citation))
14537 @item gnus-use-full-window
14538 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
14539 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
14540 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
14541 want to read them anyway.
14543 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
14544 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
14547 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
14548 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
14549 lines, which might save some time.
14553 @node Little Disk Space
14554 @subsection Little Disk Space
14557 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
14558 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
14562 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
14563 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
14564 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
14565 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14568 @item gnus-save-killed-list
14569 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
14570 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
14571 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
14572 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
14578 @subsection Slow Machine
14579 @cindex slow machine
14581 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
14582 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
14584 Set@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
14585 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
14587 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
14588 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
14589 summary buffer faster.
14591 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
14592 processing a bit faster.
14595 @node Troubleshooting
14596 @section Troubleshooting
14597 @cindex troubleshooting
14599 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
14607 Make sure your computer is switched on.
14610 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
14611 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
14615 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
14616 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
14617 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
14618 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
14621 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
14625 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
14626 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
14627 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
14628 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
14629 something like that.
14632 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
14635 @cindex reporting bugs
14637 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
14639 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
14640 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
14641 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
14642 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
14644 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
14645 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
14646 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
14647 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
14650 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
14651 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you send back
14652 just ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
14653 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
14654 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
14655 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
14657 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
14658 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
14659 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
14662 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
14663 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
14665 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
14666 @cindex ding mailing list
14667 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@ifi.uio.no}.
14668 Write to @samp{ding-request@@ifi.uio.no} to subscribe.
14671 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
14672 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
14674 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
14675 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
14676 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
14677 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
14680 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
14681 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
14682 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
14683 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
14684 and general method of operations.
14687 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
14688 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
14689 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
14690 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
14691 * Group Info:: The group info format.
14692 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
14693 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
14697 @node Backend Interface
14698 @subsection Backend Interface
14700 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
14701 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
14702 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
14703 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
14704 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
14705 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
14707 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
14708 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
14709 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
14710 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
14711 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
14712 been opened, the function should fail.
14714 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
14715 name. Take this example:
14719 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
14720 (nntp-port-number 4324))
14723 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
14724 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
14726 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
14727 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
14728 server environments that it pulls down/pushes up when needed.
14730 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
14731 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
14732 always check whether are present before attempting to call.
14734 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
14735 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
14736 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
14737 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
14738 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
14739 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
14742 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
14743 some might be said to not be. The latter are backends that generally
14744 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
14745 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
14748 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
14751 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
14754 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
14755 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
14756 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
14757 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
14758 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
14759 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
14763 @node Required Backend Functions
14764 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
14768 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
14770 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
14771 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
14772 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
14773 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
14775 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
14776 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
14777 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
14778 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
14780 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try to fetch "extra
14781 headers, in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
14782 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
14783 article number in @code{articles}, and fill in the gaps as well. The
14784 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
14785 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
14786 number, do maximum fetches.
14788 Here's an example HEAD:
14791 221 1056 Article retrieved.
14792 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
14793 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
14794 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
14795 Subject: Re: Something very droll
14796 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
14797 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
14799 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
14800 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
14801 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
14805 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
14806 these in the data buffer.
14808 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
14812 head = error / valid-head
14813 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
14814 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
14815 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
14816 header = <text> eol
14819 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
14820 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
14824 nov-buffer = *nov-line
14825 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
14826 field = <text except TAB>
14829 For a closer explanation what should be in those fields,
14833 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
14835 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
14836 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that defines this virtual server.
14838 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
14839 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
14840 server. In fact, it should do so.
14842 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
14843 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
14846 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
14848 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
14849 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
14852 There should be no data returned.
14855 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
14857 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
14858 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
14859 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
14860 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
14862 There should be no data returned.
14865 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
14867 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
14868 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
14869 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
14870 attempt to reconnect to a server that is has lost connection to.
14872 There should be no data returned.
14875 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
14877 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
14879 There should be no data returned.
14882 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
14884 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
14885 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
14886 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
14887 it would be nice if that were possible.
14889 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
14890 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
14891 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
14892 another, and Gnus mainly request articles to be inserted directly into
14893 its article buffer.
14895 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
14896 the car is the group name the article was fetched from, and the cdr is
14897 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
14898 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
14899 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
14900 on successful article retrievement.
14903 @item (nnchoke-open-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14905 Make @var{group} the current group.
14907 There should be no data returned by this function.
14910 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
14912 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
14913 making @var{group} the current group.
14915 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
14918 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
14921 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
14924 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
14925 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
14926 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
14927 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
14928 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
14929 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
14930 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
14931 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
14934 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
14935 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
14936 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
14940 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14942 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
14943 a no-op on most backends.
14945 There should be no data returned.
14948 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
14950 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
14953 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
14956 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
14957 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
14960 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
14961 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
14964 active-file = *active-line
14965 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
14967 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
14970 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
14971 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
14972 (@samp{=other-group} or none of the above (@samp{y}).
14975 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
14977 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
14978 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
14979 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
14980 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
14981 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
14982 clear if the posting could not be completed.
14984 There should be no result data from this function.
14989 @node Optional Backend Functions
14990 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
14994 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
14996 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
14997 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
14998 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
15000 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
15001 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
15002 former is in the same format as the data from
15003 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
15004 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
15007 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
15011 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
15013 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
15014 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
15015 information (as is the case with virtual an imap groups). This function
15016 may alter the info in any manner it sees fit, and should return the
15017 (altered) group info. This function may alter the group info
15018 destructively, so no copying is needed before boogeying.
15020 There should be no result data from this function.
15023 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
15025 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
15026 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
15027 user is following up is news or mail. This function should return
15028 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
15029 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
15030 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
15031 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
15032 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
15034 There should be no result data from this function.
15037 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
15039 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
15040 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
15041 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
15042 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
15043 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
15045 The only use for this that I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
15046 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
15047 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
15050 There should be no result data from this function.
15053 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
15055 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
15056 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
15057 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
15058 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
15059 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
15060 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
15061 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
15063 There should be no result data from this function.
15066 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
15068 The result data from this function should be a description of
15072 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
15074 description = <text>
15077 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
15079 The result data from this function should be the description of all
15080 groups available on the server.
15083 description-buffer = *description-line
15087 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
15089 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
15090 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
15091 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
15094 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
15096 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
15098 There should be no return data.
15101 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
15103 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
15104 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
15105 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
15106 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
15107 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
15110 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
15113 There should be no result data returned.
15116 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
15119 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
15120 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
15122 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
15123 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
15124 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
15125 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
15126 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
15127 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
15129 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
15130 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
15133 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
15134 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
15136 There should be no data returned.
15139 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
15141 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
15142 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
15143 this function in short order.
15145 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
15146 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
15148 There should be no data returned.
15151 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
15153 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
15154 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
15156 There should be no data returned.
15159 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
15161 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
15162 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
15163 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
15165 There should be no data returned.
15168 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
15170 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
15171 articles that are in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
15173 There should be no data returned.
15178 @node Error Messaging
15179 @subsubsection Error Messaging
15181 @findex nnheader-report
15182 @findex nnheader-get-report
15183 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
15184 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
15185 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
15186 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
15187 there are many of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
15188 This function always returns @code{nil}.
15191 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
15193 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
15196 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
15197 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
15198 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
15199 takes one argument---the server symbol.
15201 Internally, these function access @var{backend}@code{-status-string}, so
15202 the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
15203 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
15206 @node Writing New Backends
15207 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
15209 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
15210 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
15211 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
15212 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
15213 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
15216 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
15217 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
15218 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
15220 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
15221 package called @code{nnoo}.
15223 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
15224 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
15231 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
15232 parameters. For instance:
15235 (nnoo-declare nndir
15239 @code{nndir} has here declared that it intends to inherit functions from
15240 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
15243 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
15244 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
15245 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
15247 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
15248 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
15249 a function in those backends.
15252 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15253 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15254 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15257 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
15258 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
15259 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
15261 @item nnoo-define-basics
15262 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
15266 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15270 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
15271 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
15272 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
15274 @item nnoo-map-functions
15275 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
15276 functions from the parent backends.
15279 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15280 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15281 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
15284 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
15285 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
15286 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
15287 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
15290 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
15291 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
15292 haven't already been defined.
15298 nnmh-request-newgroups)
15302 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
15303 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
15304 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
15309 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
15312 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
15313 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
15317 (require 'nnheader)
15321 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
15323 (nnoo-declare nndir
15326 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15327 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15328 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15330 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
15331 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
15334 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
15335 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
15336 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
15338 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
15339 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
15341 ;;; Interface functions.
15343 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15345 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
15346 (setq nndir-directory
15347 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
15349 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
15350 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
15351 (push `(nndir-current-group
15352 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15354 (push `(nndir-top-directory
15355 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15357 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
15359 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15360 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15361 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15362 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
15363 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
15367 nnmh-status-message
15369 nnmh-request-newgroups))
15375 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15376 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15378 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
15379 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
15380 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
15381 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
15383 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
15384 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
15389 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
15392 The abilities can be:
15396 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
15398 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
15400 This backend supports both mail and news.
15402 This is neither a post or mail backend---it's something completely
15405 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
15406 articles and groups.
15408 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
15409 true for almost all backends.
15410 @item prompt-address
15411 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
15412 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
15413 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
15417 @node Mail-like Backends
15418 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
15420 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
15421 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
15422 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
15423 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
15426 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
15427 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
15428 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
15431 It simply just calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will a few parameters,
15432 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
15435 This function takes four parameters.
15439 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
15442 @item exit-function
15443 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
15445 @item temp-directory
15446 Where the temporary files should be stored.
15449 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
15450 performed for one group only.
15453 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
15454 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
15455 find the article number assigned to this article.
15457 The function also uses the following variables:
15458 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
15459 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
15460 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
15461 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
15465 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
15466 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
15470 @node Score File Syntax
15471 @subsection Score File Syntax
15473 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
15474 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
15475 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
15477 Here's a typical score file:
15481 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
15488 BNF definition of a score file:
15491 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
15492 element = rule / atom
15493 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
15494 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
15495 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
15496 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
15498 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
15499 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
15500 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
15501 date-header = "date"
15502 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15503 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15504 score = "nil" / <integer>
15505 date = "nil" / <natural number>
15506 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
15507 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
15508 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
15509 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
15510 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15511 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15512 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
15513 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15514 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
15515 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
15516 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
15517 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
15518 exclude-files / read-only / touched
15519 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
15520 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
15521 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
15522 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
15523 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
15524 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
15525 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
15526 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
15527 adapt = "adapt" [ space "nil" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
15528 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
15529 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
15530 eval = "eval" space <form>
15531 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
15534 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
15537 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
15538 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
15539 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
15540 one looong line, then that's ok.
15542 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
15547 @subsection Headers
15549 Gnus uses internally a format for storing article headers that
15550 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
15551 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
15552 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
15554 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
15555 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
15556 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
15557 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
15558 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
15559 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
15560 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
15562 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
15563 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
15564 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
15565 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
15566 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
15568 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
15575 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
15576 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
15578 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
15579 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
15580 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
15581 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
15583 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
15587 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
15590 is transformed into
15593 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
15596 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
15597 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
15600 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
15603 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
15604 is slightly tricky:
15607 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
15613 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
15616 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
15622 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
15629 and is equal to the previous range.
15631 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
15632 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
15633 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
15637 range = simple-range / normal-range
15638 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
15639 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
15640 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
15641 number *[ " " contents ]
15644 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
15645 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
15646 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
15647 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
15648 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
15653 @subsection Group Info
15655 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
15656 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
15657 describes the group.
15659 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
15660 second is a more complex one:
15663 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
15665 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
15666 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
15668 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
15671 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
15672 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
15673 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
15674 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
15675 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
15676 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
15677 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
15679 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
15680 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
15681 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
15683 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
15686 info = "(" group space level space read
15687 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
15688 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15689 group = quote <string> quote
15690 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
15692 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
15693 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
15694 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
15695 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
15698 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
15699 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
15703 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
15704 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
15708 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
15709 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
15710 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
15712 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
15713 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
15714 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
15715 Gnus, that's very useful.
15717 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
15718 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
15719 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
15720 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
15721 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
15722 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
15723 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
15724 following function:
15727 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
15731 (,function ,@@args))
15735 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
15736 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
15737 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
15740 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
15741 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
15742 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
15745 @node Various File Formats
15746 @subsection Various File Formats
15749 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
15750 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
15754 @node Active File Format
15755 @subsubsection Active File Format
15757 The active file lists all groups that are available on the server in
15758 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
15761 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
15764 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
15765 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
15766 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
15767 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
15768 no.general 1000 900 y
15771 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
15774 active = *group-line
15775 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
15776 group = <non-white-space string>
15778 high-number = <non-negative integer>
15779 low-number = <positive integer>
15780 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
15784 @node Newsgroups File Format
15785 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
15787 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
15788 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
15789 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
15792 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
15793 Here's the definition:
15797 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
15798 group = <non-white-space string>
15800 description = <string>
15804 @node Emacs for Heathens
15805 @section Emacs for Heathens
15807 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
15808 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
15809 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
15810 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
15811 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
15812 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
15813 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
15817 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
15818 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
15823 @subsection Keystrokes
15827 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
15830 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
15833 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
15834 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
15835 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
15836 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
15837 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
15838 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
15840 The shift key is normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
15841 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
15842 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
15843 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
15844 keyboards. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
15845 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
15846 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
15848 Now, us Emacs people doesn't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
15849 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
15850 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
15851 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
15852 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
15853 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
15854 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
15856 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
15857 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
15858 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
15859 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
15860 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
15866 @subsection Emacs Lisp
15868 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
15869 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
15870 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
15871 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
15873 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
15874 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
15875 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
15876 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
15877 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
15878 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
15879 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
15882 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
15883 write the following:
15886 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
15889 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
15890 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
15891 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
15894 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
15895 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
15896 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
15897 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
15898 previous ``form'', which here is a simple @code{setq} statement.
15900 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
15901 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
15902 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
15906 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
15910 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
15913 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
15914 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
15917 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
15920 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
15921 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
15924 @include gnus-faq.texi