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10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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268 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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277 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
278 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
281 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
282 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
283 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
284 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
285 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
286 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
287 License'' in the Emacs manual.
289 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
290 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
291 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
293 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
294 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
295 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
296 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
304 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
306 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
308 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
309 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
310 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
311 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
312 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
313 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
314 License'' in the Emacs manual.
316 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
317 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
318 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
320 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
321 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
322 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
323 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
331 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
334 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
335 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
337 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
338 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
339 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
340 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
341 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
342 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
343 License'' in the Emacs manual.
345 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
346 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
347 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
349 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
350 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
351 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
352 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
361 @top The Gnus Newsreader
365 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
366 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
367 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
370 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v.
381 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
382 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
384 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
385 being accused of plagiarism:
387 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
388 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
389 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
390 can even read news with it!
392 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
393 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
394 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
395 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
396 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
402 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
403 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
404 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
405 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
406 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
407 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
408 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
409 * Various:: General purpose settings.
410 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
411 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
412 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
413 * Key Index:: Key Index.
416 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
420 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
421 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
422 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
423 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
424 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
425 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
426 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
427 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
428 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
429 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
430 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
434 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
435 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
436 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
440 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
441 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
442 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
443 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
444 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
445 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
446 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
447 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
448 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
449 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
450 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
451 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
452 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
453 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
454 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
455 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
456 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
460 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
461 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
462 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
466 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
467 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
468 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
469 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
470 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
474 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
475 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
476 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
477 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
481 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
482 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
483 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
484 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
485 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
487 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
488 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
489 * Threading:: How threads are made.
490 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
491 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
492 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
493 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
494 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
495 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
496 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
497 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
498 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
499 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
500 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
501 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
502 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
503 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
504 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
505 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
506 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
507 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
508 or reselecting the current group.
509 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
510 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
511 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
512 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
514 Summary Buffer Format
516 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
517 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
518 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
519 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
523 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
524 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
526 Reply, Followup and Post
528 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
529 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
530 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
531 * Canceling and Superseding::
535 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
536 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
537 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
539 * Generic Marking Commands::
540 * Setting Process Marks::
544 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
545 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
546 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
550 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
551 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
553 Customizing Threading
555 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
556 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
557 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
558 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
562 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
563 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
564 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
565 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
566 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
567 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
571 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
572 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
573 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
577 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
578 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
579 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
580 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
581 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
582 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
583 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
584 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
586 Alternative Approaches
588 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
589 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
591 Various Summary Stuff
593 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
594 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
595 * Summary Generation Commands::
596 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
600 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
601 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
602 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
603 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
604 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
608 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
609 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
610 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
611 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
612 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
613 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
614 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
615 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
619 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
620 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
621 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
622 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
623 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
624 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
625 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
626 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
630 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
631 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
632 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
633 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
634 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
635 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
636 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
640 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
641 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
645 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
646 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
647 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
651 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
652 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
653 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
654 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
655 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
656 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
657 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
658 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
659 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
660 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
661 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
662 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
663 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
664 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
668 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
669 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
670 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
672 Choosing a Mail Back End
674 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
675 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
676 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
677 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
678 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
679 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
683 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
684 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
685 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
686 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
687 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
688 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
692 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
693 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
694 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
698 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
699 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
700 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
701 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
702 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
706 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
710 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
711 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
712 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
716 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
717 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
721 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
722 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
723 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
724 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
725 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
726 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
727 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
728 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
729 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
730 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
734 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
735 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
736 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
740 * Group Agent Commands::
741 * Summary Agent Commands::
742 * Server Agent Commands::
746 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
747 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
748 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
749 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
750 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
751 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
752 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
753 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
754 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
755 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
756 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
757 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
758 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
759 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
760 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
761 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
762 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
766 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
767 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
768 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
769 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
773 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
774 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
775 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
779 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
780 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
781 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
782 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
783 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
784 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
785 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
786 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
787 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
788 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
789 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
790 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
791 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
792 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
793 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
794 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
795 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
796 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
800 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
801 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
802 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
803 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
804 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
805 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
806 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
807 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
811 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
812 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
813 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
814 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
818 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
819 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
820 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
821 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
822 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
826 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
827 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
828 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
829 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
830 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
831 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
832 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
836 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
837 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
838 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
839 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
840 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
841 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
842 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
843 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
844 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
848 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
849 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
850 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
851 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
852 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
856 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
857 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
858 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
859 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
863 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
864 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
865 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
866 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
867 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
868 * Group Info:: The group info format.
869 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
870 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
871 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
875 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
876 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
877 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
878 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
879 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
880 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
884 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
885 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
889 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
890 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
896 @chapter Starting Gnus
901 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
902 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
905 @findex gnus-other-frame
906 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
907 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
908 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
910 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
911 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
912 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
914 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
915 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
918 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
919 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
920 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
921 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
922 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
923 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
924 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
925 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
926 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
927 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
928 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
932 @node Finding the News
933 @section Finding the News
936 @vindex gnus-select-method
938 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
939 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
940 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
941 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
944 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
945 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
948 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
951 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
954 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
957 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
958 certainly be much faster.
960 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
962 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
963 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
964 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
965 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
966 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
967 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
969 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
970 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
971 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
972 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
974 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
975 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
976 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
977 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
978 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
979 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
980 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
981 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
982 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
985 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
987 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
988 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
989 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
990 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
991 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
992 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
994 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
996 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
997 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
998 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
999 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1000 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1001 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1004 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1005 you would typically set this variable to
1008 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1012 @node The First Time
1013 @section The First Time
1014 @cindex first time usage
1016 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1017 be subscribed by default.
1019 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1020 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1021 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1022 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1025 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1026 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1027 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1029 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1030 help you with most common problems.
1032 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1033 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1037 @node The Server is Down
1038 @section The Server is Down
1039 @cindex server errors
1041 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1042 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1043 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1045 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1046 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1047 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1048 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1049 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1050 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1051 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1053 @findex gnus-no-server
1054 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1056 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1057 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1058 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1059 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1060 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1061 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1062 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1066 @section Slave Gnusae
1069 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1070 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1071 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1072 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1074 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1075 @code{.newsrc} file.
1077 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1078 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1079 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1080 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1081 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1082 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1083 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1085 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1086 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1087 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1088 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1089 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1090 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1091 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1092 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1094 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1095 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1098 @node Fetching a Group
1099 @section Fetching a Group
1100 @cindex fetching a group
1102 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1103 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1104 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1105 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1106 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1107 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1113 @cindex subscription
1115 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1116 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1117 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1118 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1119 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1120 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1121 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1122 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1123 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1126 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1127 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1128 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1132 @node Checking New Groups
1133 @subsection Checking New Groups
1135 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1136 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1137 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1138 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1139 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1140 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1141 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1142 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1143 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1144 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1146 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1147 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1148 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1149 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1150 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1151 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1152 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1153 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1154 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1155 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1156 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1158 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1159 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1160 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1161 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1162 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1163 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1166 @node Subscription Methods
1167 @subsection Subscription Methods
1169 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1170 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1171 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1173 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1174 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1176 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1180 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1181 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1182 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1183 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1184 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1186 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1187 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1188 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1189 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1191 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1192 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1193 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1195 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1196 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1197 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1198 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1199 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1200 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1201 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1202 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1203 up. Or something like that.
1205 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1206 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1207 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1208 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1209 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1211 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1212 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1213 Kill all new groups.
1215 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1216 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1217 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1218 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1219 topic parameter that looks like
1225 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1228 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1233 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1234 A closely related variable is
1235 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1236 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1237 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1238 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1241 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1242 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1243 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1244 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1247 @node Filtering New Groups
1248 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1250 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1251 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1252 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1255 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1258 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1259 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1260 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1261 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1262 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1263 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1264 subscribing these groups.
1265 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1266 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1268 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1269 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1270 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1271 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1272 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1273 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1274 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1275 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1277 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1278 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1279 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1280 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1281 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1282 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1283 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1284 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1285 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1286 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1288 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1289 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1292 @node Changing Servers
1293 @section Changing Servers
1294 @cindex changing servers
1296 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1297 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1298 very flaky and you want to use another.
1300 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1301 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1305 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1306 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1307 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1308 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1311 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1312 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1313 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1314 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1316 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1317 @findex gnus-change-server
1318 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1319 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1320 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1321 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1322 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1324 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1325 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1326 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1327 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1328 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1330 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1331 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1332 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1333 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1334 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1335 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1337 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1338 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1339 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1343 @section Startup Files
1344 @cindex startup files
1349 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1350 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1352 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1353 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1354 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1355 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1356 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1357 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1358 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1360 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1361 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1362 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1363 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1364 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1365 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1367 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1368 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1369 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1370 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1371 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1372 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1373 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1374 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1375 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1376 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1378 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1379 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1380 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1381 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1382 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1383 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1384 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1385 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1386 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1387 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1388 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1389 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1391 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1392 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1393 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1394 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1396 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1397 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1398 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1399 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1400 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1401 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1402 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1403 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1404 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1405 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1408 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1409 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1411 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1412 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1415 @vindex gnus-init-file
1416 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1417 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1418 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1419 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1420 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1421 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1422 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1423 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1424 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1430 @cindex dribble file
1433 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1434 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1435 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1436 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1437 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1440 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1441 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1444 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1445 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1446 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1448 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1449 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1450 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1451 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1452 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1453 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1455 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1456 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1457 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1460 @node The Active File
1461 @section The Active File
1463 @cindex ignored groups
1465 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1466 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1467 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1469 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1470 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1471 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1472 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1473 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1474 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1475 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1478 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1479 @c if you set it to anything else.
1481 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1483 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1484 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1485 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1487 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1488 you actually subscribe to.
1490 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1491 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1492 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1493 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1495 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1496 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1497 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1498 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1499 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1500 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1502 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1503 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1504 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1507 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1508 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1509 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1510 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1511 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1512 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1514 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1515 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1517 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1518 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1520 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1521 secondary select methods.
1524 @node Startup Variables
1525 @section Startup Variables
1529 @item gnus-load-hook
1530 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1531 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1532 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1533 times you start Gnus.
1535 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1536 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1537 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1539 @item gnus-startup-hook
1540 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1541 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1543 @item gnus-started-hook
1544 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1545 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1548 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1549 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1550 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1551 generating the group buffer.
1553 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1554 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1555 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1556 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1557 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1558 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1559 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1560 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1562 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1563 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1564 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1565 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1566 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1567 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1569 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1570 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1571 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1573 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1574 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1575 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1577 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1578 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1579 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1580 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1586 @chapter Group Buffer
1587 @cindex group buffer
1589 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1591 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1592 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1593 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1594 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1595 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1596 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1597 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1598 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1599 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1600 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1601 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1602 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1603 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1604 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1605 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1606 @c human rights at 9...
1609 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1610 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1611 long as Gnus is active.
1615 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1616 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1617 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1618 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1619 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1620 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1621 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1622 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1628 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1629 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1630 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1631 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1632 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1633 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1634 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1635 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1636 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1637 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1638 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1639 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1640 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1641 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1642 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1643 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1644 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1648 @node Group Buffer Format
1649 @section Group Buffer Format
1652 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1653 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1654 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1658 @node Group Line Specification
1659 @subsection Group Line Specification
1660 @cindex group buffer format
1662 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1663 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1665 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1668 25: news.announce.newusers
1669 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1674 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1675 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1676 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1677 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1679 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1680 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1681 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1682 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1683 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1684 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1686 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1688 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1689 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1690 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1691 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1694 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1695 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1696 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1698 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1703 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1706 Whether the group is subscribed.
1709 Level of subscribedness.
1712 Number of unread articles.
1715 Number of dormant articles.
1718 Number of ticked articles.
1721 Number of read articles.
1724 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1725 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1727 Gnus uses this estimation because the NNTP protocol provides efficient
1728 access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting the true
1729 unread message count is not possible efficiently. For hysterical
1730 raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of unread
1731 messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1732 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the
1733 back end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1734 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1737 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1740 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1749 Newsgroup description.
1752 @samp{m} if moderated.
1755 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1764 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1768 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1771 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1772 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1773 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1774 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1775 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1778 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1780 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1784 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1787 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1791 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1792 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1793 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1794 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1795 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1796 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1801 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1802 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1803 group, or a bogus native group.
1806 @node Group Modeline Specification
1807 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1808 @cindex group modeline
1810 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1811 The mode line can be changed by setting
1812 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1813 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1817 The native news server.
1819 The native select method.
1823 @node Group Highlighting
1824 @subsection Group Highlighting
1825 @cindex highlighting
1826 @cindex group highlighting
1828 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1829 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1830 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1831 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1832 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1834 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1838 (cond (window-system
1839 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1840 (defface my-group-face-1
1841 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1842 (defface my-group-face-2
1843 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1844 (defface my-group-face-3
1845 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1846 (defface my-group-face-4
1847 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1848 (defface my-group-face-5
1849 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1851 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1852 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1853 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1854 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1855 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1856 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1859 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1861 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1868 The number of unread articles in the group.
1872 Whether the group is a mail group.
1874 The level of the group.
1876 The score of the group.
1878 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1880 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1881 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1883 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1884 topic being inserted.
1887 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1888 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1889 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1891 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1892 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1893 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1894 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1895 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1898 @node Group Maneuvering
1899 @section Group Maneuvering
1900 @cindex group movement
1902 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1903 expected, hopefully.
1909 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1910 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1911 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1917 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1918 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1919 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1923 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1924 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1928 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1929 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1933 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1934 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1935 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1939 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1940 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1941 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1944 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1950 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1951 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1952 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1957 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1958 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1959 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1963 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1964 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1965 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1968 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1969 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1970 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1971 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1975 @node Selecting a Group
1976 @section Selecting a Group
1977 @cindex group selection
1982 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1983 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1984 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1985 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1986 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1987 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1988 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1989 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1990 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1991 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1993 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
1994 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
1995 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
1997 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
1998 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2003 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2004 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2005 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2006 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2007 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2011 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2012 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2013 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2014 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2015 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2016 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2017 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2018 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2019 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2020 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2023 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2024 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2025 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2026 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2027 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2030 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
2031 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2032 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2033 doing any processing of its contents
2034 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2035 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2036 manner will have no permanent effects.
2040 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2041 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2042 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2043 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2044 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2045 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2046 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2047 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2050 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2051 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2052 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
2053 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2058 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2059 full summary buffer.
2062 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2065 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2070 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2071 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2072 Useful functions include:
2075 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2076 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2077 don't select the article.
2079 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2080 Select the first unread article.
2082 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2083 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2087 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2088 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2089 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2093 @node Subscription Commands
2094 @section Subscription Commands
2095 @cindex subscription
2103 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2104 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2105 Toggle subscription to the current group
2106 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2112 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2113 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2114 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2115 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2121 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2122 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2123 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2129 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2130 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2133 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2134 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2135 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2136 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2137 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2143 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2144 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2148 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2149 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2152 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2153 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2154 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2155 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2156 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2157 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2158 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2159 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2160 @file{.newsrc} file.
2164 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2174 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2175 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2176 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2177 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2178 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2179 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2184 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2185 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2186 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2190 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2191 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2192 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2194 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2195 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2196 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2197 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2198 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2199 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2206 @section Group Levels
2210 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2211 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2212 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2213 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2214 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2216 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2222 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2223 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2224 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2225 prompted for a level.
2228 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2229 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2230 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2231 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2232 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2233 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2234 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2235 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2236 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2237 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2238 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2239 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2240 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2241 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2242 reasons of efficiency.
2244 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2245 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2247 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2248 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2249 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2250 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2251 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2252 groups are hidden, in a way.
2254 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2255 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2256 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2257 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2258 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2259 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2261 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2262 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2263 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2264 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2265 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2266 list of killed groups.)
2268 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2269 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2270 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2272 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2273 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2274 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2275 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2276 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2277 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2278 relevant valid ranges.
2280 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2281 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2282 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2283 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2284 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2285 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2288 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2289 one with the best level.
2291 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2292 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2293 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2296 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2297 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2298 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2299 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2302 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2303 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2304 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2305 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2307 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2308 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2309 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2310 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2311 to 5. The default is 6.
2315 @section Group Score
2320 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2321 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2322 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2325 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2326 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2327 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2328 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2329 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2330 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2331 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2332 least significant part.))
2334 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2335 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2336 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2337 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2338 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2339 action after each summary exit, you can add
2340 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2341 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2342 slow things down somewhat.
2345 @node Marking Groups
2346 @section Marking Groups
2347 @cindex marking groups
2349 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2350 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2351 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2352 bidding on those groups.
2354 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2355 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2356 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2364 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2365 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2371 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2372 Remove the mark from the current group
2373 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2377 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2378 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2382 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2383 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2387 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2388 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2392 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2393 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2394 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2397 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2399 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2400 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2401 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2402 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2403 the command to be executed.
2406 @node Foreign Groups
2407 @section Foreign Groups
2408 @cindex foreign groups
2410 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2411 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2412 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2413 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2420 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2421 @cindex making groups
2422 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2423 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2424 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2428 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2429 @cindex renaming groups
2430 Rename the current group to something else
2431 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2432 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2438 @findex gnus-group-customize
2439 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2443 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2444 @cindex renaming groups
2445 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2446 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2450 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2451 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2452 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2456 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2457 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2458 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2462 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2464 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2465 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2470 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2471 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2475 @cindex (ding) archive
2476 @cindex archive group
2477 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2478 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2479 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2480 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2481 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2482 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2483 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2487 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2489 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2490 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2491 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2492 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2496 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2498 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2499 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2500 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2504 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2505 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2507 Make a group based on some file or other
2508 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2509 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2510 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2511 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2512 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2513 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2514 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2518 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2519 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2520 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2521 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2525 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2530 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2531 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2532 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2533 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2534 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2535 @xref{Web Searches}.
2537 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2538 to a particular group by using a match string like
2539 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2542 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2543 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2544 This function will delete the current group
2545 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2546 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2547 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2548 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2549 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2553 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2554 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2555 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2559 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2560 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2561 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2564 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2567 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2568 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2569 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2570 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2571 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2572 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2576 @node Group Parameters
2577 @section Group Parameters
2578 @cindex group parameters
2580 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2581 Here's an example group parameter list:
2584 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2588 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2589 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2590 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2591 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2593 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2594 is an alist of regexps and values.
2596 The following group parameters can be used:
2601 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2604 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2607 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2608 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2609 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2610 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2611 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2613 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2614 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2615 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2616 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2617 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2618 list address instead.
2620 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2624 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2627 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2630 It is totally ignored
2631 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2632 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2634 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2635 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2636 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2637 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2638 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2640 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2641 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2642 sending the message.
2644 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2645 @cindex Mail List Groups
2646 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2647 entering summary buffer.
2649 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2653 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2654 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2655 of whether it has any unread articles.
2657 @item broken-reply-to
2658 @cindex broken-reply-to
2659 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2660 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2661 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2662 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2663 broken behavior. So there!
2667 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2668 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2672 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2673 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2674 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2679 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2680 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2681 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2682 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2683 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2684 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2685 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2689 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2690 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2691 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2693 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2696 @cindex total-expire
2697 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2698 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2699 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2700 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2703 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2707 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2708 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2709 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2710 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2711 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2712 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2715 @cindex score file group parameter
2716 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2717 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2718 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2721 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2722 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2723 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2724 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2727 @cindex admin-address
2728 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2729 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2730 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2731 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2735 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2736 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2740 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2743 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2747 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2749 Here are some examples:
2753 Display only read articles.
2756 Display everything except expirable articles.
2758 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2759 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2763 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2764 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2765 @code{read}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2766 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2767 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{seen} and @code{recent}.
2771 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2772 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2773 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2777 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2778 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2779 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2784 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2785 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2786 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2788 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2790 @item ignored-charsets
2791 @cindex ignored-charset
2792 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2793 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2794 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2796 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2799 @cindex posting-style
2800 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2801 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2802 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2803 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2804 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2806 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2807 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2808 like this in the group parameters:
2813 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2818 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2819 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2823 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2824 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2825 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2826 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2827 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2829 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2830 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2831 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2832 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2833 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2834 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2835 @code{eval}ed there.
2837 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2838 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2839 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2840 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2841 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2845 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2846 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2847 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2848 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2849 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2851 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2852 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2856 (setq gnus-parameters
2858 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2859 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2860 (gnus-summary-line-format
2861 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2865 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2869 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2873 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2876 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2877 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2880 @node Listing Groups
2881 @section Listing Groups
2882 @cindex group listing
2884 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2892 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2893 List all groups that have unread articles
2894 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2895 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2896 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2897 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2904 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2905 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2906 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2907 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2908 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2909 unsubscribed groups).
2913 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2914 List all unread groups on a specific level
2915 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2916 with no unread articles.
2920 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2921 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2922 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2923 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2928 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2929 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2933 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2934 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2935 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2939 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2940 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2944 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2945 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2946 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2947 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2948 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2949 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2950 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2951 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2955 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2956 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2957 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2961 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2962 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2963 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2967 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2968 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2972 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2973 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2977 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
2978 List groups limited within the current selection
2979 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
2983 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
2984 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
2988 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
2989 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
2993 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2994 @cindex visible group parameter
2995 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2996 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2997 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2998 get the same effect.
3000 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3001 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3002 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3003 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3004 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3007 @node Sorting Groups
3008 @section Sorting Groups
3009 @cindex sorting groups
3011 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3012 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3013 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3014 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3015 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3016 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3021 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3022 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3023 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3025 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3026 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3027 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3029 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3030 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3031 Sort by group level.
3033 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3034 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3035 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3037 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3038 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3039 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3040 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3042 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3043 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3044 Sort by number of unread articles.
3046 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3047 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3048 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3050 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3051 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3052 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3057 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3058 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3062 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3063 some sorting criteria:
3067 @kindex G S a (Group)
3068 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3069 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3070 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3073 @kindex G S u (Group)
3074 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3075 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3076 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3079 @kindex G S l (Group)
3080 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3081 Sort the group buffer by group level
3082 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3085 @kindex G S v (Group)
3086 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3087 Sort the group buffer by group score
3088 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3091 @kindex G S r (Group)
3092 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3093 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3094 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3097 @kindex G S m (Group)
3098 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3099 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3100 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3104 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3105 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3107 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3108 commands will sort in reverse order.
3110 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3114 @kindex G P a (Group)
3115 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3116 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3117 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3120 @kindex G P u (Group)
3121 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3122 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3123 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3126 @kindex G P l (Group)
3127 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3128 Sort the groups by group level
3129 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3132 @kindex G P v (Group)
3133 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3134 Sort the groups by group score
3135 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3138 @kindex G P r (Group)
3139 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3140 Sort the groups by group rank
3141 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3144 @kindex G P m (Group)
3145 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3146 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3147 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3151 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3155 @node Group Maintenance
3156 @section Group Maintenance
3157 @cindex bogus groups
3162 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3163 Find bogus groups and delete them
3164 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3168 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3169 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3170 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3171 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3172 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3176 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3177 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3178 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3179 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3180 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3181 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3184 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
3185 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3186 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3187 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3192 @node Browse Foreign Server
3193 @section Browse Foreign Server
3194 @cindex foreign servers
3195 @cindex browsing servers
3200 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3201 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3202 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3203 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3206 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3207 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3208 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3209 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3211 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3216 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3217 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3221 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3222 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3225 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3226 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3227 Enter the current group and display the first article
3228 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3231 @kindex RET (Browse)
3232 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3233 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3237 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3238 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3239 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3245 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3246 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3250 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3251 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3252 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3257 @section Exiting Gnus
3258 @cindex exiting Gnus
3260 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3265 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3266 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3267 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3268 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3272 @findex gnus-group-exit
3273 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3274 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3278 @findex gnus-group-quit
3279 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3280 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3283 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3284 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3285 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3286 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3287 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3292 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3293 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3294 trying to customize meta-variables.
3299 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3300 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3301 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3307 @section Group Topics
3310 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3311 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3312 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3313 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3314 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3315 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3319 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3320 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3331 2: alt.religion.emacs
3334 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3336 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3337 13: comp.sources.unix
3340 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3342 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3343 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3344 is a toggling command.)
3346 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3347 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3348 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3349 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3352 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3353 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3354 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3357 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3361 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3362 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3363 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3364 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3365 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3369 @node Topic Commands
3370 @subsection Topic Commands
3371 @cindex topic commands
3373 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3374 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3375 definitions slightly.
3377 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3378 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3379 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3380 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3381 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3382 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3384 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3391 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3392 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3393 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3397 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3399 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3400 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3401 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3402 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3405 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3406 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3407 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3408 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3412 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3413 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3414 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3415 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3421 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3422 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3423 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3427 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3428 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3429 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3432 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3433 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3434 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3435 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3436 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3438 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3439 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3443 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3444 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3451 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3453 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3454 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3455 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3456 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3457 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3458 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3462 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3468 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3469 Move the current group to some other topic
3470 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3471 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3475 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3476 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3480 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3481 Copy the current group to some other topic
3482 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3483 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3487 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3488 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3489 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3493 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3494 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3495 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3499 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3500 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3501 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3502 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3503 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3504 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3505 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3508 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3509 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3513 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3514 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3515 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3519 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3520 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3521 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3525 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3526 Toggle hiding empty topics
3527 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3531 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3532 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3533 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3536 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3537 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3538 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3539 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3542 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3543 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3544 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3545 expiry process (if any)
3546 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3550 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3551 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3554 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3555 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3556 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3560 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3561 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3562 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3566 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3567 @cindex group parameters
3568 @cindex topic parameters
3570 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3571 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3576 @node Topic Variables
3577 @subsection Topic Variables
3578 @cindex topic variables
3580 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3581 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3583 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3584 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3585 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3598 Number of groups in the topic.
3600 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3602 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3605 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3606 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3607 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3610 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3611 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3613 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3614 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3615 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3619 @subsection Topic Sorting
3620 @cindex topic sorting
3622 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3628 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3629 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3630 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3631 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3634 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3635 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3636 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3637 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3640 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3641 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3642 Sort the current topic by group level
3643 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3646 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3647 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3648 Sort the current topic by group score
3649 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3652 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3653 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3654 Sort the current topic by group rank
3655 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3658 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3659 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3660 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3661 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3665 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3668 @node Topic Topology
3669 @subsection Topic Topology
3670 @cindex topic topology
3673 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3679 2: alt.religion.emacs
3682 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3684 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3685 13: comp.sources.unix
3688 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3689 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3690 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3695 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3696 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3700 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3701 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3702 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3703 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3704 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3705 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3707 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3708 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3709 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3712 @node Topic Parameters
3713 @subsection Topic Parameters
3714 @cindex topic parameters
3716 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3717 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3718 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3720 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3725 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3726 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3727 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3732 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3733 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3734 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3735 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3741 2: alt.religion.emacs
3745 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3747 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3748 13: comp.sources.unix
3752 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3753 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3754 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3755 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3756 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3757 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3759 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3760 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3761 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3762 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3763 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3765 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3766 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3767 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3768 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3769 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3770 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3771 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3772 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3775 @node Misc Group Stuff
3776 @section Misc Group Stuff
3779 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3780 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3781 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3782 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3789 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3790 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3791 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3795 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3796 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3797 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3801 @findex gnus-group-mail
3802 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3806 Variables for the group buffer:
3810 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3811 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3812 is called after the group buffer has been
3815 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3816 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3817 is called after the group buffer is
3818 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3821 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3822 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3823 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3824 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3826 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3827 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3828 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3829 whether they are empty or not.
3831 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3832 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3833 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3834 non-ASCII group names.
3838 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3839 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3842 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3843 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3844 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3845 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3849 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3850 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3855 @node Scanning New Messages
3856 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3857 @cindex new messages
3858 @cindex scanning new news
3864 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3865 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3866 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3867 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3868 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3869 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3874 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3875 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3876 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3877 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3878 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3879 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3880 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3882 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3883 @cindex activating groups
3885 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3886 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3891 @findex gnus-group-restart
3892 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3893 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3894 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3898 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3899 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3901 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3902 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3906 @node Group Information
3907 @subsection Group Information
3908 @cindex group information
3909 @cindex information on groups
3916 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3917 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3920 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3921 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3922 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3923 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3924 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3925 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3926 for fetching the file.
3928 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3929 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3933 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3935 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3936 @cindex describing groups
3937 @cindex group description
3938 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3939 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3940 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3944 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3945 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3946 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3953 @findex gnus-version
3954 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3958 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3959 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3962 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3965 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3966 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3970 @node Group Timestamp
3971 @subsection Group Timestamp
3973 @cindex group timestamps
3975 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3976 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3977 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3980 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3983 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3985 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3986 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3989 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3990 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3993 This will result in lines looking like:
3996 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3997 0: custom 19961002T012713
4000 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4001 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4005 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4006 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4011 @subsection File Commands
4012 @cindex file commands
4018 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4019 @vindex gnus-init-file
4020 @cindex reading init file
4021 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4022 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4026 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4027 @cindex saving .newsrc
4028 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4029 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4030 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4033 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4034 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4035 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4040 @node Summary Buffer
4041 @chapter Summary Buffer
4042 @cindex summary buffer
4044 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4045 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4047 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4048 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4050 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4053 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4054 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4055 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4056 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4057 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4058 * Delayed Articles::
4059 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4060 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4061 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4062 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4063 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4064 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4065 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4066 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4067 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4068 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4069 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4070 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4071 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4072 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4073 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4074 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4075 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4076 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4077 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4078 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4079 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4080 or reselecting the current group.
4081 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4082 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4083 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4084 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4088 @node Summary Buffer Format
4089 @section Summary Buffer Format
4090 @cindex summary buffer format
4094 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4095 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4096 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4102 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4103 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4104 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4105 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4108 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4109 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4110 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4111 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4112 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4113 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4114 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4115 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4116 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4117 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4118 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4121 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4122 'mail-extract-address-components)
4125 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4126 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4127 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4128 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4131 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4132 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4134 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4135 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4136 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4137 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4138 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4140 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4141 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4142 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4143 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4144 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4146 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%) %s\n}.
4148 The following format specification characters are understood:
4154 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4155 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4157 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4158 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4159 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4161 Full @code{From} header.
4163 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4165 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4166 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4168 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4169 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4170 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4171 may be more thorough.
4173 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4176 Number of lines in the article.
4178 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4179 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4181 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4183 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4186 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4187 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4189 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4190 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4192 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4193 for adopted articles.
4195 One space for each thread level.
4197 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4202 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4203 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4207 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4209 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4210 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4211 default level. If the difference between
4212 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4213 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4221 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4223 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4229 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4230 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4232 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4233 article has any children.
4239 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4240 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4241 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4242 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4243 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4244 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4247 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4248 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4249 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4250 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4251 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4252 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4254 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4255 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4257 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4260 @node To From Newsgroups
4261 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4265 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4266 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4267 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4268 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4269 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4273 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4274 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4275 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4279 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4280 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4283 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4284 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4287 @findex gnus-extra-header
4288 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4289 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4290 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4293 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4297 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4298 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4299 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4300 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4301 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4302 headers are used instead.
4306 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4307 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4308 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4309 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4312 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4313 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4314 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4315 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4317 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4321 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4323 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4324 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4325 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4326 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4330 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4331 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4338 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4339 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4342 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4343 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4345 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4346 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4347 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4348 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4350 Here are the elements you can play with:
4356 Unprefixed group name.
4358 Current article number.
4360 Current article score.
4364 Number of unread articles in this group.
4366 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4369 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4370 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4371 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4372 and no unselected ones.
4374 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4375 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4377 Subject of the current article.
4379 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4381 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4383 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4385 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4387 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4389 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4393 @node Summary Highlighting
4394 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4398 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4399 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4400 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4401 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4402 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4404 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4405 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4406 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4407 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4409 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4410 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4411 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4412 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4414 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4415 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4416 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4417 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4418 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4419 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4422 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4423 ((> score default) . bold))
4425 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4426 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4430 @node Summary Maneuvering
4431 @section Summary Maneuvering
4432 @cindex summary movement
4434 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4435 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4437 None of these commands select articles.
4442 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4443 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4444 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4445 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4446 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4450 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4451 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4452 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4453 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4454 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4457 @kindex G g (Summary)
4458 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4459 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4460 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4463 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4464 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4465 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4466 to the group buffer.
4468 Variables related to summary movement:
4472 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4473 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4474 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4475 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4476 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4477 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4478 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4479 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4480 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4481 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4482 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4483 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4484 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4485 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4487 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4488 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4489 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4490 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4491 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4492 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4493 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4495 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4497 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4498 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4499 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4500 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4501 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4503 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4504 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4505 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4506 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4507 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4508 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4509 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4510 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4513 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4514 the given number of lines from the top.
4519 @node Choosing Articles
4520 @section Choosing Articles
4521 @cindex selecting articles
4524 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4525 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4529 @node Choosing Commands
4530 @subsection Choosing Commands
4532 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4533 and they all select and display an article.
4535 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4536 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4540 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4541 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4542 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4543 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4548 @kindex G n (Summary)
4549 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4550 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4551 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4556 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4557 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4558 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4563 @kindex G N (Summary)
4564 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4565 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4570 @kindex G P (Summary)
4571 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4572 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4575 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4576 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4577 Go to the next article with the same subject
4578 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4581 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4582 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4583 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4584 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4588 @kindex G f (Summary)
4590 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4591 Go to the first unread article
4592 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4596 @kindex G b (Summary)
4598 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4599 Go to the article with the highest score
4600 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4605 @kindex G l (Summary)
4606 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4607 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4610 @kindex G o (Summary)
4611 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4613 @cindex article history
4614 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4615 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4616 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4617 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4618 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4619 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4624 @kindex G j (Summary)
4625 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4626 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4627 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4632 @node Choosing Variables
4633 @subsection Choosing Variables
4635 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4638 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4639 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4640 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4641 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4642 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4643 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4645 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4646 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4647 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4648 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4650 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4651 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4652 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4653 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4654 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4655 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4656 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4657 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4658 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4659 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4660 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4661 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4662 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4663 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4668 @node Paging the Article
4669 @section Scrolling the Article
4670 @cindex article scrolling
4675 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4676 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4677 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4678 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4679 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4682 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4683 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4684 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4687 @kindex RET (Summary)
4688 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4689 Scroll the current article one line forward
4690 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4693 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4694 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4695 Scroll the current article one line backward
4696 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4700 @kindex A g (Summary)
4702 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4703 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4704 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4705 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4706 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4707 the way it came from the server.
4709 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4710 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4711 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4714 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4719 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4724 @kindex A < (Summary)
4725 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4726 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4727 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4732 @kindex A > (Summary)
4733 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4734 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4738 @kindex A s (Summary)
4740 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4741 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4742 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4746 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4747 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4752 @node Reply Followup and Post
4753 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4756 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4757 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4758 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4759 * Canceling and Superseding::
4763 @node Summary Mail Commands
4764 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4766 @cindex composing mail
4768 Commands for composing a mail message:
4774 @kindex S r (Summary)
4776 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4777 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4778 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4779 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4780 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4785 @kindex S R (Summary)
4786 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4787 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4788 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4789 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4790 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4793 @kindex S w (Summary)
4794 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4795 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4796 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4797 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4798 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4801 @kindex S W (Summary)
4802 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4803 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4804 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4805 the process/prefix convention.
4808 @kindex S v (Summary)
4809 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
4810 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
4811 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
4812 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4813 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
4814 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
4818 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4819 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4820 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4821 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4822 Forward the current article to some other person
4823 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4824 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4825 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4826 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4827 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4828 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4829 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4830 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4831 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4836 @kindex S m (Summary)
4837 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4838 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4839 Send a mail to some other person
4840 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4843 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4844 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4845 @cindex bouncing mail
4846 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4847 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4848 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4849 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4850 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4851 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4852 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4853 very well fail, though.
4856 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4857 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4858 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4859 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4860 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4861 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4862 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4863 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4864 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4865 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4867 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4868 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4869 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4870 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4871 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4873 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4874 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4877 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4878 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4879 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4880 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4881 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4884 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4885 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4886 @cindex crossposting
4887 @cindex excessive crossposting
4888 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4889 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4891 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4892 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4893 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4894 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4895 command understands the process/prefix convention
4896 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4900 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
4901 Manual}, for more information.
4904 @node Summary Post Commands
4905 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4907 @cindex composing news
4909 Commands for posting a news article:
4915 @kindex S p (Summary)
4916 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4917 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4918 Post an article to the current group
4919 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4924 @kindex S f (Summary)
4925 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4926 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4927 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4931 @kindex S F (Summary)
4933 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4934 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4935 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4936 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4937 process/prefix convention.
4940 @kindex S n (Summary)
4941 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4942 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4943 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4946 @kindex S N (Summary)
4947 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4948 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4949 message through mail and include the original message
4950 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4951 the process/prefix convention.
4954 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4955 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4956 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4957 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
4958 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
4959 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
4960 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4961 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4962 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4963 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4964 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4965 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4966 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4969 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4970 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4972 @cindex making digests
4973 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4974 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4975 process/prefix convention.
4978 @kindex S u (Summary)
4979 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4980 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4981 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4982 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4985 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
4986 Manual}, for more information.
4989 @node Summary Message Commands
4990 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4994 @kindex S y (Summary)
4995 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4996 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4997 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4998 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4999 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5004 @node Canceling and Superseding
5005 @subsection Canceling Articles
5006 @cindex canceling articles
5007 @cindex superseding articles
5009 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5010 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5012 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5014 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5016 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5017 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5018 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5019 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5020 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5021 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5023 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5024 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5027 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5028 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5029 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5031 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5032 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5033 your original article.
5035 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5037 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5038 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5039 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5042 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5043 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5044 have posted almost the same article twice.
5046 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5047 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5048 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5049 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5050 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5051 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5052 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5053 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5054 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5055 canceled/superseded.
5057 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5059 @node Delayed Articles
5060 @section Delayed Articles
5061 @cindex delayed sending
5062 @cindex send delayed
5064 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5065 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5066 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5067 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5070 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5073 @findex gnus-delay-article
5074 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5075 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5076 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5077 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5081 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5082 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5083 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5084 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5087 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5088 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5089 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5092 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5093 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5094 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5095 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5096 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5097 that means a time tomorrow.
5100 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5101 couple of variables:
5104 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5105 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5106 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5107 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5109 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5110 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5111 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5112 formats described above.
5114 @item gnus-delay-group
5115 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5116 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5117 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5118 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5120 @item gnus-delay-header
5121 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5122 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5123 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5124 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5127 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5128 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5129 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5130 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5131 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5133 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5134 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts}
5135 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5136 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5137 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5138 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} function.
5141 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5142 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5143 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5144 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} in
5145 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5146 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5147 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5148 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5150 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5151 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5152 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5153 forget to set that up :-)
5157 @node Marking Articles
5158 @section Marking Articles
5159 @cindex article marking
5160 @cindex article ticking
5163 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5165 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5166 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5167 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5169 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5172 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5173 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5174 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5178 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5182 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5183 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5184 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5188 @node Unread Articles
5189 @subsection Unread Articles
5191 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5196 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5197 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5199 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5200 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5201 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5202 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5203 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5204 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5205 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5208 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5209 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5211 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5212 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5213 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5214 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5218 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5219 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5221 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5226 @subsection Read Articles
5227 @cindex expirable mark
5229 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5234 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5235 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5236 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5239 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5240 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5243 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5244 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5245 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5248 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5249 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5252 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5253 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5256 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5257 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5260 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5261 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5264 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5265 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5268 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5269 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5272 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5273 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5277 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5278 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5279 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5283 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5284 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5286 One more special mark, though:
5290 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5291 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5293 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5294 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5295 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5296 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5302 @subsection Other Marks
5303 @cindex process mark
5306 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5312 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5313 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5314 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5315 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5316 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5319 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5320 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5321 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5322 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5324 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5325 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5326 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5328 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5329 Articles that are ``recently'' arrived in the group will be marked
5330 with an @samp{N} in the second column (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Most
5331 back end doesn't support the mark, in which case it's not shown.
5334 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5335 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5336 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5339 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5340 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5341 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5342 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5345 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5346 Articles that according to the back end haven't been seen by the user
5347 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5348 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all back ends support this
5349 mark, in which case it simply never appear.
5352 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5353 Articles that haven't been seen by the user before are marked with a
5354 @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5357 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5358 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5359 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5360 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5361 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5364 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5365 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5366 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5367 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5368 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5369 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5373 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5374 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5375 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5377 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5378 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5379 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5383 @subsection Setting Marks
5384 @cindex setting marks
5386 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5391 @kindex M c (Summary)
5392 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5393 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5394 @cindex mark as unread
5395 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5396 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5402 @kindex M t (Summary)
5403 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5404 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5405 @xref{Article Caching}.
5410 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5411 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5412 Mark the current article as dormant
5413 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5417 @kindex M d (Summary)
5419 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5420 Mark the current article as read
5421 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5425 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5426 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5427 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5432 @kindex M k (Summary)
5433 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5434 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5435 and then select the next unread article
5436 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5440 @kindex M K (Summary)
5441 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5442 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5443 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5444 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5447 @kindex M C (Summary)
5448 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5449 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5450 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5453 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5454 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5455 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5456 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5459 @kindex M H (Summary)
5460 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5461 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5462 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5465 @kindex M h (Summary)
5466 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5467 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5468 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5471 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5472 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5473 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5474 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5477 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5478 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5479 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5480 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5484 @kindex M e (Summary)
5486 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5487 Mark the current article as expirable
5488 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5491 @kindex M b (Summary)
5492 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5493 Set a bookmark in the current article
5494 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5497 @kindex M B (Summary)
5498 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5499 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5500 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5503 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5504 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5505 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5506 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5509 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5510 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5511 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5512 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5515 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5516 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5517 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5518 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5519 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5522 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5523 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5524 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5525 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5526 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5527 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5528 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5529 The default is @code{t}.
5532 @node Generic Marking Commands
5533 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5535 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5536 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5537 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5538 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5539 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5542 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5543 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5546 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5547 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5548 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5549 to list in this manual.
5551 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5552 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5553 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5554 article, you could say something like:
5557 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5558 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5559 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5565 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5566 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5570 @node Setting Process Marks
5571 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5572 @cindex setting process marks
5579 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5580 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5581 Mark the current article with the process mark
5582 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5583 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5587 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5588 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5589 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5590 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5593 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5594 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5595 Remove the process mark from all articles
5596 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5599 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5600 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5601 Invert the list of process marked articles
5602 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5605 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5606 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5607 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5608 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5611 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5612 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5613 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5614 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5617 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5618 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5619 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5622 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5623 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5624 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5625 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5628 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5629 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5630 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5631 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5634 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5635 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5636 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5637 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5640 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5641 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5642 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5645 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5646 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5647 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5648 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5651 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5652 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5653 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5656 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5657 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5658 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5659 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5662 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5663 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5664 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5665 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5668 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5669 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5670 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5671 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5674 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5675 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5676 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5677 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5681 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5682 set process marks based on article body contents.
5689 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5690 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5691 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5694 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5695 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5696 additional articles.
5702 @kindex / / (Summary)
5703 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5704 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5705 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5708 @kindex / a (Summary)
5709 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5710 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5711 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5714 @kindex / x (Summary)
5715 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5716 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5717 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5718 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5722 @kindex / u (Summary)
5724 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5725 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5726 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5727 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5728 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5731 @kindex / m (Summary)
5732 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5733 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5734 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5737 @kindex / t (Summary)
5738 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5739 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5740 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5741 articles younger than that number of days.
5744 @kindex / n (Summary)
5745 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5746 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5747 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5748 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5751 @kindex / w (Summary)
5752 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5753 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5754 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5758 @kindex / v (Summary)
5759 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5760 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5761 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5764 @kindex / p (Summary)
5765 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter
5766 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
5767 group parameter predicate
5768 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter}). See @pxref{Group
5769 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
5773 @kindex M S (Summary)
5774 @kindex / E (Summary)
5775 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5776 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5777 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5780 @kindex / D (Summary)
5781 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5782 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5783 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5786 @kindex / * (Summary)
5787 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5788 Include all cached articles in the limit
5789 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5792 @kindex / d (Summary)
5793 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5794 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5795 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5798 @kindex / M (Summary)
5799 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5800 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5803 @kindex / T (Summary)
5804 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5805 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5808 @kindex / c (Summary)
5809 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5810 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5811 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5814 @kindex / C (Summary)
5815 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5816 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5817 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5818 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5826 @cindex article threading
5828 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5829 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5830 hierarchical fashion.
5832 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5833 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5834 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5835 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
5836 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5837 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5838 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5840 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5844 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5847 A tree-like article structure.
5850 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5853 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5854 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5855 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5856 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5857 called loose threads.
5859 @item thread gathering
5860 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5862 @item sparse threads
5863 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5864 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5870 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5871 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5875 @node Customizing Threading
5876 @subsection Customizing Threading
5877 @cindex customizing threading
5880 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5881 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5882 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5883 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5888 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5891 @cindex loose threads
5894 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5895 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5896 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5897 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5898 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5899 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5901 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
5902 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
5903 There are four possible values:
5907 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5908 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5909 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5910 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5911 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5916 @cindex adopting articles
5921 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5922 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5923 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5924 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5927 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5928 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5929 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5930 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5931 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5932 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5933 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5936 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5937 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5938 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5942 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5943 display them after one another.
5946 Don't gather loose threads.
5949 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5950 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5951 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5952 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
5953 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5954 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5955 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5956 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5957 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5958 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
5959 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5961 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5962 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
5963 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5966 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5967 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5968 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5969 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5970 simplification is used.
5972 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5973 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5974 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5975 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5977 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5979 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5985 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5986 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5987 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5988 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5993 (mapconcat 'identity
5994 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5996 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5999 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6002 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6003 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6004 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6005 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6006 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6007 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6009 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6012 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6013 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6014 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6016 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6017 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6020 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6021 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6022 Remove excessive whitespace.
6025 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6028 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6029 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6030 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6031 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6032 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6033 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6034 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6035 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6037 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6038 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6039 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6040 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6041 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6042 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6043 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6044 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6045 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6049 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6050 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6051 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6052 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6054 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6055 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6056 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6059 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6063 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6064 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6070 @node Filling In Threads
6071 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6074 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6075 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6076 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6077 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6078 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6079 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6080 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6081 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6082 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6083 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
6084 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
6085 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
6087 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6088 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6089 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6091 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6092 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6093 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6094 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6095 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6096 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6097 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6098 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6099 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6100 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6101 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6102 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6103 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6104 @code{nil} by default.
6106 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6107 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6108 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6109 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6110 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6111 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6112 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6114 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6115 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6116 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6121 @node More Threading
6122 @subsubsection More Threading
6125 @item gnus-show-threads
6126 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6127 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6128 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6129 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6130 slower and more awkward.
6132 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6133 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6134 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6137 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6138 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6139 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6140 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6141 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6142 threads are expunged.
6144 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6145 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6146 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6149 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6150 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6151 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6152 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6153 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6154 result in a new thread.
6156 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6157 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6158 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6161 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6162 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6163 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6164 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6165 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6166 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6167 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6168 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6169 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6170 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6171 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6176 @node Low-Level Threading
6177 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6181 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6182 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6183 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6185 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6186 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6187 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6188 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6189 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6190 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6191 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6192 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6193 meaningful. Here's one example:
6196 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6198 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6199 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6201 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6203 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6210 @node Thread Commands
6211 @subsection Thread Commands
6212 @cindex thread commands
6218 @kindex T k (Summary)
6219 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
6220 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6221 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6222 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6223 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6228 @kindex T l (Summary)
6229 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
6230 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6231 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6232 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6235 @kindex T i (Summary)
6236 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6237 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6238 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6241 @kindex T # (Summary)
6242 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6243 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6244 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6247 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6248 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6249 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6250 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6253 @kindex T T (Summary)
6254 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6255 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6258 @kindex T s (Summary)
6259 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6260 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6261 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6264 @kindex T h (Summary)
6265 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6266 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6269 @kindex T S (Summary)
6270 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6271 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6274 @kindex T H (Summary)
6275 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6276 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6279 @kindex T t (Summary)
6280 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6281 Re-thread the current article's thread
6282 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6283 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6286 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6287 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6288 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6289 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6293 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6294 understand the numeric prefix.
6299 @kindex T n (Summary)
6301 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
6303 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6304 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6305 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6308 @kindex T p (Summary)
6310 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
6312 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6313 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6314 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6317 @kindex T d (Summary)
6318 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6319 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6322 @kindex T u (Summary)
6323 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6324 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6327 @kindex T o (Summary)
6328 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6329 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6332 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6333 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6334 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6335 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6336 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6337 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6338 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6339 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6340 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6341 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6342 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6343 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6347 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6348 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6350 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6351 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6352 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6353 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6354 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6355 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6356 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6357 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6358 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6359 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6360 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6362 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6363 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6364 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6365 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
6366 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6368 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6369 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6370 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6372 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6373 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6374 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6375 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6376 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6377 ascending article order.
6379 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6380 by number, you could do something like:
6383 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6384 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6385 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6386 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6389 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6390 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6391 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6392 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6393 which the articles arrived.
6395 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6399 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6401 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6402 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6405 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6406 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6407 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6408 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6411 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6412 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6413 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6414 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6415 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6416 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6417 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6418 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6419 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6420 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6421 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6422 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6423 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6425 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6429 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6430 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6431 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6436 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6437 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6438 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6439 @cindex article pre-fetch
6442 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6443 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6444 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6445 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6446 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6448 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6449 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6451 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6452 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6453 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6454 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6455 connection is blocked.
6457 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6458 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6459 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6460 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6462 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6463 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6464 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6465 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6468 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6471 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6472 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6473 happen automatically.
6475 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6476 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6477 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6478 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6479 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6480 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6481 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6483 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6484 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6485 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6486 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6487 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6488 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6489 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6490 data structure as the only parameter.
6492 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6495 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6496 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6497 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6498 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6501 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6504 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6505 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6506 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6508 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6509 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6510 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6511 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6515 Remove articles when they are read.
6518 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6521 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6523 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6524 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6525 @c from the next group.
6528 @node Article Caching
6529 @section Article Caching
6530 @cindex article caching
6533 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6534 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6535 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6536 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6537 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6539 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6541 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6542 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6543 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6544 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6545 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6546 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6547 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6548 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6550 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6551 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6552 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6553 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6554 as dormant, and don't worry.
6556 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6558 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6559 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6560 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6561 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6562 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6563 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6564 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6565 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6566 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6567 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6569 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6570 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6571 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6572 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6573 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6574 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6575 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6576 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6577 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6578 not then be downloaded by this command.
6580 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6581 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6582 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6583 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6584 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6585 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6587 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6588 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6589 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6590 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6591 variables, the group is not cached.
6593 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6594 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6595 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6596 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6597 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6598 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6599 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6600 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6601 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6605 @node Persistent Articles
6606 @section Persistent Articles
6607 @cindex persistent articles
6609 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6610 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6611 useful in my opinion.
6613 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6614 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6615 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6616 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6617 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6618 the expiry going on at the news server.
6620 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6621 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6622 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6628 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6629 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6632 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6633 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6634 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6635 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6639 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6641 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6642 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6643 interested in persistent articles:
6646 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6650 @node Article Backlog
6651 @section Article Backlog
6653 @cindex article backlog
6655 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6656 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6657 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6658 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6659 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6660 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6661 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6662 increase memory usage some.
6664 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6665 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6666 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6667 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6668 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6669 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6670 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6672 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6675 @node Saving Articles
6676 @section Saving Articles
6677 @cindex saving articles
6679 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6680 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6681 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6682 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6683 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6685 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6686 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6687 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6689 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6690 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6691 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6692 deleted before saving.
6698 @kindex O o (Summary)
6700 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6701 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6702 Save the current article using the default article saver
6703 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6706 @kindex O m (Summary)
6707 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6708 Save the current article in mail format
6709 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6712 @kindex O r (Summary)
6713 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6714 Save the current article in rmail format
6715 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6718 @kindex O f (Summary)
6719 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6720 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6721 Save the current article in plain file format
6722 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6725 @kindex O F (Summary)
6726 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6727 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6728 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6731 @kindex O b (Summary)
6732 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6733 Save the current article body in plain file format
6734 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6737 @kindex O h (Summary)
6738 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6739 Save the current article in mh folder format
6740 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6743 @kindex O v (Summary)
6744 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6745 Save the current article in a VM folder
6746 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6750 @kindex O p (Summary)
6752 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6753 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6754 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6757 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6758 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6759 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6760 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6761 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6762 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6763 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6764 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6765 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6766 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6767 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6768 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6772 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6773 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6774 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6775 functions below, or you can create your own.
6779 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6780 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6781 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6782 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6783 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6784 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6785 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6787 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6788 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6789 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6790 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6791 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6792 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6794 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6795 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6796 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6797 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6798 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6799 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6800 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6802 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6803 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6804 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6805 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6806 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6808 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6809 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6810 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6811 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6812 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6815 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6816 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6817 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6818 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6819 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6821 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6822 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6823 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6824 reader to use this setting.
6827 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6828 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6829 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6830 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6833 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6834 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6835 available functions that generate names:
6839 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6840 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6841 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6843 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6844 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6845 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6847 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6848 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6849 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6851 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6852 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6853 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6855 @item gnus-sender-save-name
6856 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
6857 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
6860 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6861 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6862 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6863 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6864 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6868 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6869 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6870 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6871 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6874 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6875 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6876 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6877 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6878 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6879 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6880 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6881 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6882 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6884 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6885 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6886 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6887 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6889 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6890 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6891 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6894 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6895 lots of mail groups called things like
6896 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6897 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6898 following will do just that:
6901 (defun my-save-name (group)
6902 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6903 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6905 (setq gnus-split-methods
6906 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6911 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6912 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6913 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6914 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6915 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6916 all the files in the top level directory
6917 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6918 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6919 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6920 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6922 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6923 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6924 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6925 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6926 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6929 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6933 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6934 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
6935 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6938 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6939 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6940 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6941 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6944 @node Decoding Articles
6945 @section Decoding Articles
6946 @cindex decoding articles
6948 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6949 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6952 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6953 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6954 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6955 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6956 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6957 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6961 @cindex article series
6962 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6963 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6964 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6965 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6966 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6968 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6969 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6970 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6972 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
6973 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6974 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6976 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6977 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6978 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6981 @node Uuencoded Articles
6982 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6984 @cindex uuencoded articles
6989 @kindex X u (Summary)
6990 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6991 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6992 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6995 @kindex X U (Summary)
6996 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6997 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6998 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7001 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7002 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7003 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7006 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7007 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7008 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7009 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7013 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7014 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7015 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7016 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7017 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7019 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7020 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7021 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7022 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7025 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7026 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7027 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7028 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7029 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7030 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7034 @node Shell Archives
7035 @subsection Shell Archives
7037 @cindex shell archives
7038 @cindex shared articles
7040 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7041 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7042 some commands to deal with these:
7047 @kindex X s (Summary)
7048 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7049 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7052 @kindex X S (Summary)
7053 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7054 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7057 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7058 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7059 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7062 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7063 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7064 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7065 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7069 @node PostScript Files
7070 @subsection PostScript Files
7076 @kindex X p (Summary)
7077 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7078 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7081 @kindex X P (Summary)
7082 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7083 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7084 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7087 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7088 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7089 View the current PostScript series
7090 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7093 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7094 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7095 View and save the current PostScript series
7096 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7101 @subsection Other Files
7105 @kindex X o (Summary)
7106 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7107 Save the current series
7108 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7111 @kindex X b (Summary)
7112 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7113 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7114 doesn't really work yet.
7118 @node Decoding Variables
7119 @subsection Decoding Variables
7121 Adjective, not verb.
7124 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7125 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7126 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7130 @node Rule Variables
7131 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7132 @cindex rule variables
7134 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7135 variables are of the form
7138 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7145 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7146 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7148 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7149 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7152 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7153 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7156 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7157 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7158 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7159 user and default view rules.
7161 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7162 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7163 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7168 @node Other Decode Variables
7169 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7172 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7174 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7175 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7176 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7177 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7178 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7182 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7183 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7186 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7187 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7188 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7191 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7192 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7193 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7194 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7195 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7198 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7199 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7200 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7202 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7203 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7204 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7205 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7206 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7209 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7210 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7211 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7213 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7214 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7215 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7216 looking for files to display.
7218 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7219 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7220 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7223 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7224 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7225 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7228 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7229 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7230 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7233 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7234 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7235 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7238 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7239 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7240 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7241 decoded articles as unread.
7243 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7244 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7245 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7246 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7248 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7249 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7250 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7252 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7253 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7255 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7256 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7257 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7258 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7260 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7261 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7262 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7263 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7264 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7265 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7266 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7267 simply dropped them.
7272 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7273 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7277 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7278 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7279 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7280 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7281 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7282 for you when you post the article.
7284 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7285 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7286 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7287 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7289 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7290 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7291 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7292 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7293 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7294 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7295 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7297 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7298 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7299 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7300 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7301 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7302 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7303 Default is @code{t}.
7309 @subsection Viewing Files
7310 @cindex viewing files
7311 @cindex pseudo-articles
7313 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7314 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7315 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7316 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7317 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7318 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7319 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7321 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7322 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7323 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7324 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7326 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7327 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7328 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7330 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7331 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7332 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7333 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7334 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7336 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7337 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7338 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7339 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7340 a list of parameters to that command.
7342 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7343 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7344 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7346 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7347 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7348 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7351 @node Article Treatment
7352 @section Article Treatment
7354 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7355 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7356 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7357 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7358 these articles easier.
7361 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7362 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7363 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7364 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7365 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7366 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7367 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7368 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7372 @node Article Highlighting
7373 @subsection Article Highlighting
7374 @cindex highlighting
7376 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7377 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7382 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7383 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7384 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7385 Do much highlighting of the current article
7386 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7387 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7390 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7391 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7392 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7393 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7394 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7395 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7396 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7397 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7398 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7399 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7400 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7401 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7404 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7405 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7406 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7408 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7411 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7413 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7414 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7415 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7417 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7418 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7419 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7421 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7422 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7423 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7424 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7425 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7426 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7428 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7429 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7430 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7432 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7433 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7434 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7436 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7437 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7438 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7439 that it's a citation.
7441 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7442 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7443 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7445 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7446 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7447 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7449 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7450 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7451 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7452 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7458 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7459 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7460 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7461 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7462 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7463 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7464 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7465 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7470 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7473 @node Article Fontisizing
7474 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7476 @cindex article emphasis
7478 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7479 @kindex W e (Summary)
7480 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7481 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7482 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7483 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7485 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7486 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7487 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7488 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7489 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7490 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7491 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7492 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7496 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7497 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7498 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7507 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7508 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7509 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7510 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7511 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7512 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7513 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7514 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7515 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7516 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7517 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7518 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7519 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7521 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7522 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7523 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7527 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7530 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7532 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7533 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7534 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7535 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7537 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7540 @node Article Hiding
7541 @subsection Article Hiding
7542 @cindex article hiding
7544 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7545 too much cruft in most articles.
7550 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7551 @findex gnus-article-hide
7552 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7553 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7554 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7557 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7558 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7559 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7563 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7564 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7565 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7566 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7569 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7570 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7571 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7575 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7576 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7577 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7578 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7579 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7580 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7581 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7582 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7586 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7587 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7588 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7589 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7594 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7595 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7596 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7597 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7598 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7599 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7600 articles that have signatures in them do:
7602 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7604 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7606 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7607 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7609 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7612 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7617 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7618 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7619 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7620 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7623 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7624 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7627 @cindex stripping advertisements
7628 @cindex advertisements
7629 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7630 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7631 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7632 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7633 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7634 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7635 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7636 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7637 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7638 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7642 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7643 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7644 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7645 customizing the hiding:
7649 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7650 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7651 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7652 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7653 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7654 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7655 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7660 Starting point of the hidden text.
7662 Ending point of the hidden text.
7664 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7666 Number of lines of hidden text.
7669 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7670 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7671 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7672 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7673 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7678 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7679 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7681 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7682 following two variables:
7685 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7686 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7687 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7688 50), hide the cited text.
7690 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7691 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7692 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7697 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7698 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7699 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7700 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7701 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7702 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7706 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7707 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7708 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7710 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7711 citation customization.
7713 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7717 @node Article Washing
7718 @subsection Article Washing
7720 @cindex article washing
7722 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7723 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7725 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7726 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7729 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7730 articles by default.
7735 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7736 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7740 @kindex W l (Summary)
7741 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7742 Remove page breaks from the current article
7743 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7747 @kindex W r (Summary)
7748 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7749 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7750 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7751 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7752 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7753 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7755 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7756 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7757 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7758 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7762 @kindex W t (Summary)
7764 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7765 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7766 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7769 @kindex W v (Summary)
7770 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7771 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7772 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7775 @kindex W o (Summary)
7776 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7777 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7780 @kindex W d (Summary)
7781 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7782 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7784 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7786 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7787 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7788 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7789 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7792 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7793 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7794 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7795 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7798 @kindex W w (Summary)
7799 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7800 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7802 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7806 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7807 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7808 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7811 @kindex W C (Summary)
7812 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7813 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7814 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7817 @kindex W c (Summary)
7818 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7819 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7820 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7821 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7822 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7825 @kindex W q (Summary)
7826 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7827 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7828 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7829 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7830 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7831 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7832 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7833 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7834 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7837 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7838 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7839 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7840 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7841 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7842 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7843 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7845 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7848 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7849 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7850 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7851 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7852 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7855 @kindex W h (Summary)
7856 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7857 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7858 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7859 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7861 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7864 @kindex W f (Summary)
7866 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7867 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7868 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7869 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7876 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7877 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7878 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7879 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7880 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7881 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7882 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7883 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7884 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7885 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7886 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7887 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7888 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7889 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7890 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7891 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7892 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7893 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7894 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7895 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7899 @kindex W b (Summary)
7900 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7901 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7902 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7905 @kindex W B (Summary)
7906 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7907 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7908 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7911 @kindex W p (Summary)
7912 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
7913 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
7914 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
7915 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
7916 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
7917 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
7918 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
7921 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7922 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7923 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7924 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7927 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7928 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7929 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7930 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7933 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7934 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7935 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7936 lines with a single empty line.
7937 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7940 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7941 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7942 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7943 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7946 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7947 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7948 Do all the three commands above
7949 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7952 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7953 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7954 Remove all blank lines
7955 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7958 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7959 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7960 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7961 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7964 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7965 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7966 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7967 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7971 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7974 @node Article Buttons
7975 @subsection Article Buttons
7978 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7979 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7980 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7981 button on these references.
7983 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7984 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7985 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7990 @item gnus-button-alist
7991 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7992 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7995 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8001 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8002 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8003 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
8006 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8007 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8008 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8011 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8012 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8013 avoid false matches.
8016 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8019 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8020 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8024 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8027 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8030 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8031 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8032 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8033 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8034 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8037 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8040 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8042 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8043 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8044 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8045 default values of the variables above.
8047 @item gnus-article-button-face
8048 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8049 Face used on buttons.
8051 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8052 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8053 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8057 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8061 @subsection Article Date
8063 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8064 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8065 when the article was sent.
8070 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8071 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8072 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8073 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8076 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8077 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8079 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8080 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8083 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8084 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8085 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8088 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8089 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8090 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8091 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8094 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8095 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8096 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8097 @findex format-time-string
8098 Display the date using a user-defined format
8099 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8100 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8101 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8102 for a list of possible format specs.
8105 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8106 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8107 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8108 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8109 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8110 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8113 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8116 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8117 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8120 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8121 into wonderful absurdities.
8123 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8126 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8129 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8130 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8134 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8135 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8136 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8137 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8138 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8139 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8140 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8144 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8145 preferred format automatically.
8148 @node Article Signature
8149 @subsection Article Signature
8151 @cindex article signature
8153 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8154 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8155 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8156 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8157 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8158 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8159 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8160 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8161 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8164 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8165 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8166 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8167 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8168 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8169 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8170 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8171 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8174 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8177 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8178 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8179 signature when displaying articles.
8183 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8186 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8189 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8190 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8192 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8193 in question is not a signature.
8196 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8197 listed above. Here's an example:
8200 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8201 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8204 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8205 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8206 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8207 signature after all.
8210 @node Article Miscellania
8211 @subsection Article Miscellania
8215 @kindex A t (Summary)
8216 @findex gnus-article-babel
8217 Translate the article from one language to another
8218 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8224 @section @sc{mime} Commands
8225 @cindex MIME decoding
8227 @cindex viewing attachments
8229 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8230 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8236 @kindex K v (Summary)
8237 View the @sc{mime} part.
8240 @kindex K o (Summary)
8241 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8244 @kindex K c (Summary)
8245 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8248 @kindex K e (Summary)
8249 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8252 @kindex K i (Summary)
8253 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8256 @kindex K | (Summary)
8257 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8260 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8265 @kindex K b (Summary)
8266 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8267 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8271 @kindex K m (Summary)
8272 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8273 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8274 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8275 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8276 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8279 @kindex X m (Summary)
8280 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8281 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8282 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8283 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8286 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8287 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
8288 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8289 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8292 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8293 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8294 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8297 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8298 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8299 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8301 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8302 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8303 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8304 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
8305 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
8306 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8309 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8310 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8311 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8318 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8319 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8320 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8321 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8324 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8327 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8331 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8332 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8333 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8334 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8335 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8336 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8339 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8340 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8341 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8342 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8343 displayed. This variable overrides
8344 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8346 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8347 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8348 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8350 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8351 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8352 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8353 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8354 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8355 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8356 save all jpegs into some directory).
8358 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8361 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8362 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8364 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8365 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8366 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8367 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8368 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8371 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8372 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8373 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8375 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8376 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8377 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8378 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8380 Ready-made functions include@*
8381 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8382 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8383 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8384 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8385 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8386 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8387 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8388 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8389 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8390 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8391 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8392 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8394 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8395 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8397 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8398 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8399 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8402 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8403 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8404 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8405 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8409 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8418 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8419 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8420 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8421 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8422 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8423 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8424 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8426 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8427 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8428 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8429 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8431 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8432 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8433 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8434 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8435 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8436 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8437 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8438 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8440 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8441 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8442 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8443 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8444 quoted-printable header encoding.
8446 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8447 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8448 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8452 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8455 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8456 means encode all charsets),
8458 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8459 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8460 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8467 @cindex coding system aliases
8468 @cindex preferred charset
8470 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8472 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8473 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8476 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8477 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8480 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8481 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8483 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8486 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8489 This will almost do the right thing.
8491 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8495 (codepage-setup 1251)
8496 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8500 @node Article Commands
8501 @section Article Commands
8508 @kindex A P (Summary)
8509 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8510 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8511 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8512 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8513 run just before printing the buffer.
8518 @node Summary Sorting
8519 @section Summary Sorting
8520 @cindex summary sorting
8522 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8523 can't really see why you'd want that.
8528 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8529 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8530 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8533 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8534 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8535 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8538 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8539 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8540 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8543 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8544 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8545 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8548 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8549 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8550 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8553 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8554 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8555 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8558 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8559 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8560 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8563 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8564 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8565 Sort using the default sorting method
8566 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8569 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8570 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8571 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8572 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8573 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8577 @node Finding the Parent
8578 @section Finding the Parent
8579 @cindex parent articles
8580 @cindex referring articles
8585 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8586 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8587 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8588 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8589 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8590 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8591 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8592 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8593 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8595 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8596 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8597 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8598 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8599 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8603 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8604 @kindex A R (Summary)
8605 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8606 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8609 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8610 @kindex A T (Summary)
8611 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8612 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8613 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8614 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8615 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8616 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8617 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8619 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8620 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8621 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8622 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8623 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8624 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8627 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8628 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8630 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8631 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8632 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8633 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8634 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8635 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8636 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8639 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8640 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8641 by giving this command a prefix.
8643 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8644 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
8645 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8646 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8647 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8648 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8651 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8652 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8653 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8656 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8657 then ask Deja if that fails:
8660 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8662 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8665 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
8666 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox}
8667 and @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8668 @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder} and @code{nnimap}1 are only able to locate
8669 articles that have been posted to the current group. (Anything else
8670 would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at
8674 @node Alternative Approaches
8675 @section Alternative Approaches
8677 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8678 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8681 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8682 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8687 @subsection Pick and Read
8688 @cindex pick and read
8690 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8691 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8692 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8693 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8695 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8696 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8697 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8698 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8699 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8700 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8702 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8707 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8708 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8709 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8710 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8711 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8712 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8713 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8714 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8717 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8718 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8719 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8720 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8724 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8725 Unpick the thread or article
8726 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8727 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8728 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8729 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8730 the thread or article at that line.
8734 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8735 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8736 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8737 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8738 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8739 will still be visible when you are reading.
8743 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8744 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8745 which is mapped to the same function
8746 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8748 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8751 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8754 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8755 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8757 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8758 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8759 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8761 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8762 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8763 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8764 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8765 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8766 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8767 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8771 @subsection Binary Groups
8772 @cindex binary groups
8774 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8775 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8776 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8777 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8778 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8779 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8780 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8783 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8784 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8785 command, when you have turned on this mode
8786 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8788 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8789 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8793 @section Tree Display
8796 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8797 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8798 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8799 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8802 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8805 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8806 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8807 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8809 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8810 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8811 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8812 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8813 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8815 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8816 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8817 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8818 default is @code{modeline}.
8820 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8821 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8822 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8823 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8824 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8825 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8826 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8832 The name of the poster.
8834 The @code{From} header.
8836 The number of the article.
8838 The opening bracket.
8840 The closing bracket.
8845 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8847 Variables related to the display are:
8850 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8851 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8852 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8853 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8854 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8855 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8857 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8858 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8859 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8860 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8864 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8865 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8866 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
8867 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
8868 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8869 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8870 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8871 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8872 other windows displayed next to it.
8874 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8875 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8876 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8877 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8878 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8879 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8880 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8884 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8887 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8897 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8901 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8902 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8904 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8906 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8911 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8912 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8913 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8916 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8917 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8918 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8919 (gnus-add-configuration
8923 (summary 0.75 point)
8928 @xref{Window Layout}.
8931 @node Mail Group Commands
8932 @section Mail Group Commands
8933 @cindex mail group commands
8935 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8936 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8938 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8939 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8944 @kindex B e (Summary)
8945 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8946 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
8947 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
8948 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
8949 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
8952 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8953 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8954 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8955 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8956 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8957 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8960 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8961 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8962 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8963 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8964 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8965 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8968 @kindex B m (Summary)
8970 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8971 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8972 Move the article from one mail group to another
8973 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8974 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8977 @kindex B c (Summary)
8979 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8980 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8981 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8982 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8983 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8986 @kindex B B (Summary)
8987 @cindex crosspost mail
8988 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8989 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8990 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8991 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8992 be properly updated.
8995 @kindex B i (Summary)
8996 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8997 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8998 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8999 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9002 @kindex B r (Summary)
9003 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9004 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9005 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9006 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9007 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9008 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9009 (which is the default).
9013 @kindex B w (Summary)
9015 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9016 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9017 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9018 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9019 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9020 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9023 @kindex B q (Summary)
9024 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9025 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9026 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9027 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9030 @kindex B t (Summary)
9031 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9032 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9033 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9036 @kindex B p (Summary)
9037 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9038 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9039 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9040 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9041 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9042 article from your news server (or rather, from
9043 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9044 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9045 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9046 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9047 just not have arrived yet.
9051 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9052 @cindex moving articles
9053 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9054 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9055 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9056 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9057 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9058 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9059 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9062 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9063 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9064 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9065 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9069 @node Various Summary Stuff
9070 @section Various Summary Stuff
9073 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9074 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9075 * Summary Generation Commands::
9076 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9080 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9081 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9082 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9084 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9085 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9086 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9087 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9088 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9089 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9092 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9093 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9094 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9095 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9096 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9098 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9099 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9100 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9103 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9104 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9105 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9106 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9107 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9108 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9109 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9110 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9111 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9112 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9114 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9115 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9116 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9117 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9118 list of articles to be selected.
9120 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9121 the list in one particular group:
9124 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9125 (if (string= group "some.group")
9126 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9133 @node Summary Group Information
9134 @subsection Summary Group Information
9139 @kindex H f (Summary)
9140 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9141 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9142 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9143 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9144 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9145 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9146 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9147 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9148 be used for fetching the file.
9151 @kindex H d (Summary)
9152 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9153 Give a brief description of the current group
9154 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9155 rereading the description from the server.
9158 @kindex H h (Summary)
9159 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9160 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9161 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9164 @kindex H i (Summary)
9165 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9166 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9170 @node Searching for Articles
9171 @subsection Searching for Articles
9176 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9177 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9178 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9179 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9182 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9183 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9184 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9185 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9189 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9190 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9191 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9192 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9193 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9194 search backward instead.
9196 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9197 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9200 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9201 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9202 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9203 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9206 @node Summary Generation Commands
9207 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9212 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9213 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9214 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9217 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9218 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9219 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9220 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9225 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9226 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9232 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9233 @kindex A D (Summary)
9234 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9235 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9236 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9237 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9238 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9239 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9240 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9241 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9245 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
9246 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9247 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9248 several documents into one biiig group
9249 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9250 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9251 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9252 command understands the process/prefix convention
9253 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9256 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9257 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9258 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9259 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9260 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9261 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9265 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9266 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9267 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9270 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
9271 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9272 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9273 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9276 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
9277 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9278 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9279 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9284 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9285 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9286 @cindex summary exit
9287 @cindex exiting groups
9289 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9290 group and return you to the group buffer.
9296 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9298 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9299 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9300 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9301 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9302 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9303 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9304 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9305 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9306 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9307 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9308 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9312 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9314 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9315 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9316 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9320 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9322 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9323 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9324 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9325 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9328 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9329 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9330 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9331 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9334 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9335 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9336 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9337 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9340 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9341 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9342 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9343 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9344 all articles, both read and unread.
9348 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9349 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9350 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9351 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9352 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9353 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9354 articles, both read and unread.
9357 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9358 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9359 Exit the group and go to the next group
9360 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9363 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9364 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9365 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9366 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9369 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9370 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9371 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9372 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9373 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9374 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9377 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9378 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9379 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9380 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9382 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9383 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9384 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9385 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9386 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9387 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9388 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9389 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9390 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9391 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9392 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9393 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9395 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9397 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9398 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9399 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9400 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9401 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9402 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9403 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9404 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9405 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9408 @node Crosspost Handling
9409 @section Crosspost Handling
9413 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9414 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9415 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9416 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9417 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9418 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9421 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9422 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9423 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9424 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9425 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9427 @cindex cross-posting
9430 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9431 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9432 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9433 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9434 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9435 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9436 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9437 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9438 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9439 the cross reference mechanism.
9441 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9442 @cindex overview.fmt
9443 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9444 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9445 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9446 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9447 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9448 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9451 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9452 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9453 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9458 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9461 @node Duplicate Suppression
9462 @section Duplicate Suppression
9464 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9465 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9466 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9467 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9472 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9473 is evil and not very common.
9476 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9477 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9480 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9481 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9484 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9487 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9488 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9490 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9491 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9492 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9493 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9494 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9495 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9496 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9499 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9500 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9501 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9502 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9503 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9507 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9508 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9509 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9511 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9512 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9513 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9514 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9515 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9516 session are suppressed.
9518 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9519 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9520 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9521 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9523 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9524 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9525 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9526 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9529 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9530 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9531 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9532 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9533 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9534 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9535 to you to figure out, I think.
9540 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
9541 The formats that are supported are PGP and S/MIME, however you need
9542 some external programs to get things to work:
9546 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9547 gpg.el as well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG). @xref{Using GPG}.
9550 To verify or decrypt S/MIME message, you need to install OpenSSL.
9551 OpenSSL 0.9.6 or newer is recommended.
9555 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
9556 manual. @xref{Security, ,Security, message, The Message Manual}.
9559 @item mm-verify-option
9560 @vindex mm-verify-option
9561 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9562 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9563 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9565 @item mm-decrypt-option
9566 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9567 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9568 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9569 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9574 @section Mailing List
9576 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
9577 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
9578 possibly using @kbd{A M} in the summary buffer, or say:
9581 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
9584 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
9589 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
9590 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
9591 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
9594 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
9595 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
9596 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
9599 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
9600 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
9601 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
9605 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
9606 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
9607 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
9610 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
9611 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9612 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
9615 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
9616 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9617 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
9621 @node Article Buffer
9622 @chapter Article Buffer
9623 @cindex article buffer
9625 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9626 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9627 tell Gnus otherwise.
9630 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9631 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9632 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9633 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9634 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9638 @node Hiding Headers
9639 @section Hiding Headers
9640 @cindex hiding headers
9641 @cindex deleting headers
9643 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9644 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9646 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9647 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9648 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9649 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9650 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9651 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9652 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9653 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9654 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9656 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9660 @item gnus-visible-headers
9661 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9662 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9663 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9664 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9666 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9667 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9670 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9673 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9676 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9677 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9678 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9679 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9680 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9681 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9683 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9684 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9687 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9690 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9693 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9694 variable will have no effect.
9698 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9699 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9700 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9701 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9702 the headers are to be displayed.
9704 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9705 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9708 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9711 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9712 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9714 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9715 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9716 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9717 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9718 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9719 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9720 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9723 These conditions are:
9726 Remove all empty headers.
9728 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9729 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9731 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9734 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9737 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
9738 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
9740 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9743 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9745 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9748 To include these three elements, you could say something like;
9751 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9752 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9755 This is also the default value for this variable.
9759 @section Using @sc{mime}
9762 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9763 while people stand around yawning.
9765 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9766 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9768 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9769 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9770 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9772 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9773 @findex gnus-display-mime
9774 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9775 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9776 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9777 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9779 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9783 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9785 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9786 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9787 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9789 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9790 @item M-RET (Article)
9792 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9793 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9795 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9797 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9798 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9800 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
9802 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9803 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
9805 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9807 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9808 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9810 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
9812 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
9813 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
9814 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
9815 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
9816 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
9817 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
9819 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9821 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9822 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9824 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9826 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9827 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
9828 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
9829 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
9830 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
9833 @findex gnus-mime-internalize-part
9835 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
9836 viewer is available, use an external viewer
9837 (@code{gnus-mime-internalize-part}).
9839 @findex gnus-mime-externalize-part
9841 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
9842 (@code{gnus-mime-externalize-part}).
9844 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
9846 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
9848 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
9850 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
9851 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
9855 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
9856 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
9859 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
9860 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
9861 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
9862 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
9863 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
9864 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
9865 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
9866 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
9867 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
9869 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9871 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9874 @node Customizing Articles
9875 @section Customizing Articles
9876 @cindex article customization
9878 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9879 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9880 called automatically when you select the articles.
9882 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9883 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9884 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9885 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9887 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9888 for sensible values.
9892 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9895 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9898 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9901 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9904 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9908 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9909 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9910 regexps in the list.
9913 A list where the first element is not a string:
9915 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9916 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9917 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9921 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9926 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9927 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9928 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9929 considered to contain just a single part.
9931 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9932 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9933 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9934 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9935 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9936 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9937 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9939 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9940 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9941 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9942 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9945 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9946 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9947 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9948 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9949 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9950 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9951 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9952 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9953 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9954 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9955 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
9956 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9957 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
9958 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9959 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9960 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9961 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9962 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9963 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9964 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
9965 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9966 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9967 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
9968 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
9969 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9970 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9971 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9972 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9973 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9974 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9975 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9976 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9977 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9978 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9979 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9980 @item gnus-treat-translate
9983 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9984 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9985 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9986 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9987 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9991 @node Article Keymap
9992 @section Article Keymap
9994 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9995 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9996 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9997 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10000 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10005 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10006 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10007 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10010 @kindex DEL (Article)
10011 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10012 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10015 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10016 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10017 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10018 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10019 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10022 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10023 @findex gnus-article-mail
10024 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10025 given a prefix, include the mail.
10028 @kindex s (Article)
10029 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10030 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10031 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10034 @kindex ? (Article)
10035 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10036 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10037 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10040 @kindex TAB (Article)
10041 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10042 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10043 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10046 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10047 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10048 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10054 @section Misc Article
10058 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10059 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10060 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10061 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10064 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10065 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10067 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10068 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10070 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10071 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10072 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10073 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10074 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10075 the contents of the article buffer.
10077 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10078 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10079 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10081 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10082 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10083 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10084 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10086 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10087 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10088 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10089 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10090 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10095 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10096 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10099 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10102 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10104 @item gnus-break-pages
10105 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10106 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10107 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10108 paging will not be done.
10110 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10111 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10112 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10117 @node Composing Messages
10118 @chapter Composing Messages
10119 @cindex composing messages
10122 @cindex sending mail
10128 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10129 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10130 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10131 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
10132 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10133 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10136 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10137 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
10138 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10139 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10140 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10141 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10142 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10143 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
10146 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10147 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10153 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10156 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10157 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10158 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10159 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10161 @item gnus-add-to-list
10162 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10163 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10164 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10169 @node Posting Server
10170 @section Posting Server
10172 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10173 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10175 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10177 @vindex gnus-post-method
10179 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
10180 select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
10181 you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
10182 However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
10183 just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
10184 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
10185 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10188 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10191 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10192 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10193 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10194 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10196 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10197 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10199 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10200 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10203 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10204 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
10207 @node Mail and Post
10208 @section Mail and Post
10210 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10214 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10215 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10216 @cindex mailing lists
10218 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10219 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10220 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10221 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10222 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10223 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10224 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10225 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10226 still a pain, though.
10230 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10231 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10232 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10235 @findex ispell-message
10237 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10240 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10241 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10244 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10248 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10249 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10251 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10254 Modify to suit your needs.
10257 @node Archived Messages
10258 @section Archived Messages
10259 @cindex archived messages
10260 @cindex sent messages
10262 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10263 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10264 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10265 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10268 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10269 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
10270 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10273 (nnfolder "archive"
10274 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10275 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10276 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10277 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10280 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10281 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10282 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10283 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10286 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10287 '(nnfolder "archive"
10288 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10289 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10290 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10293 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10295 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10296 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10297 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10299 This variable can be used to do the following:
10303 Messages will be saved in that group.
10305 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10306 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10307 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10308 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10309 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10310 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10311 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10312 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10314 @item a list of strings
10315 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10316 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10317 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10319 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10324 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10326 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10329 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10331 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10334 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10336 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10337 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10338 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10339 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10342 More complex stuff:
10344 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10345 '((if (message-news-p)
10350 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10351 messages in one file per month:
10354 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10355 '((if (message-news-p)
10357 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10360 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10361 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10363 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10364 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10365 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10366 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10367 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10368 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10369 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10370 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10371 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10372 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10374 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10375 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10376 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10377 this will disable archiving.
10380 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10381 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10382 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10383 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10384 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
10387 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
10388 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
10389 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
10392 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
10393 but the latter is the preferred method.
10395 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10396 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10397 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
10402 @node Posting Styles
10403 @section Posting Styles
10404 @cindex posting styles
10407 All them variables, they make my head swim.
10409 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
10410 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
10411 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
10414 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
10415 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
10416 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
10417 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
10418 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
10423 (signature "Peace and happiness")
10424 (organization "What me?"))
10426 (signature "Death to everybody"))
10427 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
10428 (organization "Emacs is it")))
10431 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
10432 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
10433 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
10434 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
10435 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
10436 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
10437 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
10438 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
10440 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
10441 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
10442 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
10443 next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
10444 the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
10445 will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
10446 variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
10447 @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
10448 then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
10450 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
10451 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
10452 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
10453 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
10454 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
10455 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
10456 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
10457 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
10458 result is thrown away.
10460 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
10461 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
10462 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
10463 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
10464 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
10465 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
10467 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
10468 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
10469 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
10471 @findex message-mail-p
10472 @findex message-news-p
10474 So here's a new example:
10477 (setq gnus-posting-styles
10479 (signature-file "~/.signature")
10481 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
10482 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
10484 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
10485 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
10486 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
10488 (signature my-news-signature))
10489 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
10490 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
10491 ((posting-from-work-p)
10492 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
10493 (address "user@@bar.foo")
10494 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
10495 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
10497 (From (save-excursion
10498 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
10499 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
10501 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
10504 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
10505 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
10506 if you fill many roles.
10513 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
10514 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
10515 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
10516 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
10517 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
10519 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
10520 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
10521 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
10522 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
10523 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
10527 @vindex nndraft-directory
10528 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10529 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10530 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10531 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10532 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10533 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10535 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10536 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10539 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10540 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10541 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10542 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10543 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10544 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10545 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10546 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10547 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10548 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10549 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10550 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10551 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10552 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10554 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10555 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10556 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10558 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10559 @kindex D e (Draft)
10560 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10561 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10562 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10564 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10567 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10568 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10569 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10570 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10571 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10572 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10573 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10576 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10577 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10578 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10581 @node Rejected Articles
10582 @section Rejected Articles
10583 @cindex rejected articles
10585 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10586 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10587 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10588 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10590 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
10591 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10592 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10593 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
10594 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10596 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10597 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10598 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10604 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
10605 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
10606 verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
10608 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10609 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10613 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10614 (setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
10617 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10618 to 700, for your own safety.
10620 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10621 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10625 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10628 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10629 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10632 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10635 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security
10636 menu or @kbd{C-c C-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME,
10637 @kbd{C-c C-m s s} to sign your message using S/MIME. There's also
10638 @kbd{C-c C-m c p} to encrypt your message with PGP/MIME and @kbd{C-c
10639 C-m c s} to encrypt using S/MIME. @xref{Security, ,Security, message,
10640 The Message Manual}.
10642 Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
10643 you've typed it correctly.
10645 @node Select Methods
10646 @chapter Select Methods
10647 @cindex foreign groups
10648 @cindex select methods
10650 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10651 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10652 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10653 personal mail group.
10655 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10656 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10657 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10658 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10659 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10660 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
10662 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10663 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
10665 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
10668 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10669 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10670 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10671 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10672 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10674 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10677 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10678 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10679 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10680 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10681 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
10682 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10683 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10684 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10688 @node Server Buffer
10689 @section Server Buffer
10691 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10692 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10693 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10694 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10695 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10696 back end represents a virtual server.
10698 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
10699 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10700 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
10701 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10703 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10704 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10705 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10706 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10707 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10708 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10709 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10711 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10712 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10715 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10716 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10717 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10718 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10719 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10720 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10721 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10724 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10725 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10728 @node Server Buffer Format
10729 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10730 @cindex server buffer format
10732 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10733 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10734 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10735 variable, with some simple extensions:
10740 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
10743 The name of this server.
10746 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10749 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10752 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10753 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10754 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10755 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10765 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10768 @node Server Commands
10769 @subsection Server Commands
10770 @cindex server commands
10776 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10777 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10781 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10782 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10785 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10786 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10787 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10791 @findex gnus-server-exit
10792 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10796 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10797 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10801 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10802 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10806 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10807 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10811 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10812 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10816 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10817 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10818 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10823 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10824 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10825 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10826 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
10831 @node Example Methods
10832 @subsection Example Methods
10834 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10837 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10840 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10846 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10847 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10850 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10851 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10853 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10854 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10858 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10861 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
10862 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10864 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10865 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10866 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10870 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10873 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10876 Here's the method for a public spool:
10880 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10881 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10887 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10888 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10889 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10890 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10891 should probably look something like this:
10895 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
10896 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
10897 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
10898 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10901 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10902 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
10903 configuration to the example above:
10906 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
10909 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
10910 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
10911 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
10915 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
10916 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
10917 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
10918 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10921 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10922 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10923 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10924 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10927 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10928 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10930 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10931 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10933 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10934 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10935 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10937 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10939 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10940 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10941 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10942 will contain the following:
10952 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10953 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10954 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10957 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10958 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10959 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10962 @node Server Variables
10963 @subsection Server Variables
10965 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
10966 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10967 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10968 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10969 won't change the "derived" variables.
10971 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10972 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10973 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10974 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10975 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10976 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10977 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10978 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
10979 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10983 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10984 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10985 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10989 @node Servers and Methods
10990 @subsection Servers and Methods
10992 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10993 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10994 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10995 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10999 @node Unavailable Servers
11000 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11002 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11003 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11004 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11005 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11006 actually the case or not.
11008 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11009 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11010 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11011 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11012 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11013 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11014 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11015 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11017 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11018 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11020 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11021 with the following commands:
11027 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11028 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11029 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11033 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11034 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11035 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11039 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11040 Mark the current server as unreachable
11041 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11044 @kindex M-o (Server)
11045 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11046 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11047 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11050 @kindex M-c (Server)
11051 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11052 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11053 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11057 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11058 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11059 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11065 @section Getting News
11066 @cindex reading news
11067 @cindex news back ends
11069 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11070 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11071 or it can read from a local spool.
11074 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11075 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11080 @subsection @sc{nntp}
11083 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11084 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11085 server as the, uhm, address.
11087 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11088 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11089 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11090 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11092 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11093 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11094 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11096 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11101 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11102 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11103 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11105 @cindex authentification
11106 @cindex nntp authentification
11107 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11108 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11109 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11110 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11111 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11112 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11113 present in this hook.
11115 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11116 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11117 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11118 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11119 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11120 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11121 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11122 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11123 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11124 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11125 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11126 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11130 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11133 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11135 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11136 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11137 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11138 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11139 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11140 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11141 @samp{force} is explained below.
11145 Here's an example file:
11148 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11149 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11152 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11153 have to be first, for instance.
11155 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11156 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11157 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11158 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11159 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11160 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11161 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11163 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11164 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11170 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11171 previously mentioned.
11173 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11175 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11176 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11177 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11178 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11179 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11182 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11183 '(("innd" (ding))))
11186 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11188 The default value is
11191 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11192 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11193 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11196 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11197 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11199 @item nntp-maximum-request
11200 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11201 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11202 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11203 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11204 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11205 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11206 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11208 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11209 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11210 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11211 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11212 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11213 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11214 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11215 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
11216 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11217 no timeouts are done.
11219 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11220 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11221 @c @cindex PPP connections
11222 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11223 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11224 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11225 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11226 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11227 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11228 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11229 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11230 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11231 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11233 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11234 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11235 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11236 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11237 @c described above.
11239 @item nntp-server-hook
11240 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11241 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11244 @item nntp-buggy-select
11245 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11246 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11248 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11249 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
11250 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
11251 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
11254 @item nntp-xover-commands
11255 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
11258 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
11259 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
11263 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
11264 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
11265 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
11266 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
11267 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
11268 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
11269 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
11270 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
11271 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
11272 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
11273 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
11275 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
11276 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
11277 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
11279 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11280 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11281 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
11282 server closes connection.
11284 @item nntp-record-commands
11285 @vindex nntp-record-commands
11286 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
11287 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
11288 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
11289 that doesn't seem to work.
11291 @item nntp-open-connection-function
11292 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
11293 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
11294 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
11295 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
11296 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
11297 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
11298 indirect ones (two pre-made).
11302 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
11303 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
11304 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
11308 @node Direct Functions
11309 @subsubsection Direct Functions
11310 @cindex direct connection functions
11312 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
11313 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
11314 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
11315 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11318 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
11319 @item nntp-open-network-stream
11320 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
11323 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
11324 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
11325 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
11326 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
11327 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
11328 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
11329 define a server as follows:
11332 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
11334 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
11336 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
11337 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
11338 (nntp-port-number "snews")
11339 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
11342 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
11343 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
11344 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
11345 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
11346 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
11347 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
11348 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
11349 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
11353 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11354 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
11355 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
11358 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
11359 session, which is not a good idea.
11363 @node Indirect Functions
11364 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
11365 @cindex indirect connection functions
11367 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
11368 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
11369 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
11370 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
11371 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
11372 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11375 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11376 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11377 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
11378 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
11379 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
11381 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11384 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
11385 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
11386 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
11387 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
11390 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11391 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11392 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
11393 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
11395 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11398 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
11399 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
11400 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
11403 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
11404 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
11405 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
11406 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
11408 @item nntp-via-user-password
11409 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
11410 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
11412 @item nntp-via-envuser
11413 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
11414 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
11415 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
11416 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
11418 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
11419 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
11420 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
11421 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
11428 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
11433 @item nntp-via-user-name
11434 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
11435 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
11437 @item nntp-via-address
11438 @vindex nntp-via-address
11439 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
11444 @node Common Variables
11445 @subsubsection Common Variables
11447 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
11448 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
11453 @item nntp-pre-command
11454 @vindex nntp-pre-command
11455 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
11456 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
11457 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
11458 wrapper for instance.
11461 @vindex nntp-address
11462 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
11464 @item nntp-port-number
11465 @vindex nntp-port-number
11466 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
11468 @item nntp-end-of-line
11469 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
11470 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
11471 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
11472 using a non native connection function.
11474 @item nntp-telnet-command
11475 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
11476 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
11477 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
11478 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
11480 @item nntp-telnet-switches
11481 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
11482 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
11489 @subsection News Spool
11493 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
11494 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
11495 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
11498 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
11499 anything else) as the address.
11501 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
11502 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
11503 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
11504 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
11508 @item nnspool-inews-program
11509 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
11510 Program used to post an article.
11512 @item nnspool-inews-switches
11513 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
11514 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
11516 @item nnspool-spool-directory
11517 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
11518 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
11519 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
11521 @item nnspool-nov-directory
11522 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
11523 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
11524 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
11526 @item nnspool-lib-dir
11527 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
11528 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
11530 @item nnspool-active-file
11531 @vindex nnspool-active-file
11532 The path to the active file.
11534 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
11535 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
11536 The path to the group descriptions file.
11538 @item nnspool-history-file
11539 @vindex nnspool-history-file
11540 The path to the news history file.
11542 @item nnspool-active-times-file
11543 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
11544 The path to the active date file.
11546 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
11547 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
11548 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
11551 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11552 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11554 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
11555 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
11556 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
11562 @section Getting Mail
11563 @cindex reading mail
11566 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
11570 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
11571 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
11572 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
11573 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
11574 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
11575 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
11576 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
11577 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
11578 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
11579 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
11580 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
11581 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
11582 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
11583 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
11587 @node Mail in a Newsreader
11588 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
11590 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
11591 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
11592 of a culture shock.
11594 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
11595 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
11597 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
11598 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
11599 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
11600 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
11602 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
11604 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
11605 deleted? How awful!
11607 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
11608 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
11609 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
11610 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
11613 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
11614 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
11615 they want to treat a message.
11617 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11618 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11619 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11620 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11621 archived somewhere else.
11623 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11624 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11625 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11626 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11627 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11629 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11630 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11631 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11633 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11634 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11637 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11638 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11639 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11640 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11641 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11643 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11644 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11645 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11646 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11647 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11648 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11652 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11653 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11655 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11656 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11657 and things will happen automatically.
11659 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11660 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11663 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11666 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
11667 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11668 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11669 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11670 like any other group.
11672 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11675 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11676 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11677 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11681 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11682 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11683 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11686 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11687 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11688 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11691 @node Splitting Mail
11692 @subsection Splitting Mail
11693 @cindex splitting mail
11694 @cindex mail splitting
11696 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11697 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11698 to be split into groups.
11701 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11702 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11703 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11704 ("mail.other" "")))
11707 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11708 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11709 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11710 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11711 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11712 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11713 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11716 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11719 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11720 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11721 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11722 mail belongs in that group.
11724 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11725 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11726 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11727 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11728 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11729 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11731 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11732 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11733 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11734 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11735 thinks should carry this mail message.
11737 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11738 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11739 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11740 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11742 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11743 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11744 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11745 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11746 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11748 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11751 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11752 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11753 links. If that's the case for you, set
11754 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11755 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11757 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11758 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11759 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11760 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11761 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11762 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11765 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11766 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11767 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11768 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11769 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11770 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11771 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11772 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11773 month's rent money.
11777 @subsection Mail Sources
11779 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11780 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11784 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11785 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11786 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11790 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11791 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11793 @cindex mail server
11796 @cindex mail source
11798 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11799 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11804 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11807 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11808 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11809 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11812 The following mail source types are available:
11816 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11822 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11823 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11826 An example file mail source:
11829 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11832 Or using the default path:
11838 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11839 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11840 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11843 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11847 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11850 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11854 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11857 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11859 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11862 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11866 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11867 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11868 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
11869 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
11870 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
11876 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11880 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11884 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11885 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11886 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11887 predicate are considered.
11891 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11895 An example directory mail source:
11898 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11903 Get mail from a POP server.
11909 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11910 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11913 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11914 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11915 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11916 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
11917 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
11920 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11924 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11928 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
11929 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11932 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11935 The valid format specifier characters are:
11939 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11940 included in this string.
11943 The name of the server.
11946 The port number of the server.
11949 The user name to use.
11952 The password to use.
11955 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11956 corresponding keywords.
11959 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11960 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11963 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11964 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11967 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11968 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11971 @item :authentication
11972 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11973 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11978 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11979 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11981 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11982 default user name, and default fetcher:
11988 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11991 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11992 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11995 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11998 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12002 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12003 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12004 contains exactly one mail.
12010 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12011 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12014 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12015 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12017 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12018 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12019 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12022 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12023 from locking problems).
12027 Two example maildir mail sources:
12030 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12031 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12035 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12040 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12041 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12042 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12043 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12050 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12051 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12054 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12055 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
12058 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12062 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12066 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12067 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12068 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12069 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12071 @item :authentication
12072 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12073 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12074 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12075 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12078 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12079 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12080 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12086 The valid format specifier characters are:
12090 The name of the server.
12093 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12096 The port number of the server.
12099 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12100 corresponding keywords.
12103 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12104 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12107 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12108 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12109 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12110 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
12111 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12112 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
12115 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12116 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12117 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12118 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
12121 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12122 after finishing the fetch.
12126 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12129 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12131 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12135 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
12136 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
12138 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
12141 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12142 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12144 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
12150 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12151 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
12154 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
12158 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
12162 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
12163 folder after finishing the fetch.
12167 An example webmail source:
12170 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
12172 :password "secret")
12177 @item Common Keywords
12178 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
12184 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
12185 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
12189 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
12194 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
12195 useful when you use local mail and news.
12200 @subsubsection Function Interface
12202 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
12203 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
12204 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
12205 consider the following mail-source setting:
12208 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
12209 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
12212 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
12213 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
12214 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
12215 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
12216 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
12218 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
12221 @node Mail Source Customization
12222 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
12224 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
12225 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
12229 @item mail-source-crash-box
12230 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
12231 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
12232 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
12234 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
12235 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
12236 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
12238 @item mail-source-directory
12239 @vindex mail-source-directory
12240 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
12241 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
12242 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
12245 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12246 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12247 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
12248 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
12249 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
12250 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
12252 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
12253 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
12254 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
12259 @node Fetching Mail
12260 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
12262 @vindex mail-sources
12263 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
12264 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
12265 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
12266 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
12268 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
12269 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
12272 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
12273 mail server, you'd say something like:
12278 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12279 :password "secret")))
12282 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
12286 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
12287 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12290 :password "secret")))
12294 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
12295 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
12296 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
12297 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
12298 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
12299 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
12303 @node Mail Back End Variables
12304 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
12306 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
12310 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12311 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12312 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
12313 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
12315 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
12316 @item nnmail-split-hook
12317 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
12318 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
12319 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
12320 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
12321 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
12322 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
12323 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
12324 in the buffer will show up in any files.
12325 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
12328 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12329 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12330 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12331 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12332 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
12333 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
12334 starting to handle the new mail) and
12335 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
12336 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
12337 default file modes the new mail files get:
12340 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12341 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
12343 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12344 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
12347 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
12348 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
12349 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
12350 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
12351 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
12352 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
12353 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
12355 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
12356 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
12357 @findex delete-file
12358 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
12360 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12361 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12362 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
12363 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
12364 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
12369 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
12370 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
12371 @cindex mail splitting
12372 @cindex fancy mail splitting
12374 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
12375 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
12376 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
12377 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
12378 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
12379 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
12381 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
12384 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
12385 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
12386 ;; from real errors.
12387 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
12389 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
12390 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
12391 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
12392 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
12393 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
12394 ;; Other mailing lists...
12395 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
12396 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
12397 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
12398 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
12399 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
12400 ;; message was really cross-posted.
12401 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
12402 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
12404 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
12405 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
12409 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
12410 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
12411 the five possible split syntaxes:
12416 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
12417 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
12421 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
12422 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
12423 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
12424 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
12425 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
12426 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
12427 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
12428 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
12431 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12432 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
12433 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
12434 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
12437 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12438 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
12441 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
12442 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
12445 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
12446 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
12447 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
12448 function should return a @var{split}.
12451 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
12452 body of the messages:
12455 (defun split-on-body ()
12457 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
12458 (goto-char (point-min))
12459 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
12463 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
12464 when the @code{:} function is run.
12467 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12468 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
12469 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
12473 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
12477 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
12478 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
12479 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
12480 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
12481 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
12483 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
12484 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
12485 are expanded as specified by the variable
12486 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
12487 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
12490 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
12491 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
12492 when all this splitting is performed.
12494 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
12495 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
12496 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
12499 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
12502 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
12503 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
12505 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
12506 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
12507 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
12508 groupings 1 through 9.
12510 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
12511 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
12512 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
12513 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
12514 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
12515 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
12516 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
12517 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
12518 it once per thread.
12520 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
12521 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
12522 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
12525 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12526 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
12527 ;; other splits go here
12531 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
12532 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
12533 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
12534 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
12535 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
12536 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
12537 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
12538 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
12539 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
12540 unless the group name matches the regexp
12541 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
12542 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
12543 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
12544 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
12545 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12546 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
12547 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
12548 messages goes into the new group.
12551 @node Group Mail Splitting
12552 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
12553 @cindex mail splitting
12554 @cindex group mail splitting
12556 @findex gnus-group-split
12557 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
12558 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
12559 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
12560 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
12561 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
12562 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
12563 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
12564 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
12566 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
12567 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
12568 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
12569 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
12571 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
12572 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
12573 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
12574 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
12575 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
12576 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
12577 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
12579 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
12580 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
12581 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
12582 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
12583 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
12584 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
12585 @code{gnus-group-split}.
12587 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
12588 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
12589 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
12590 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
12591 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
12592 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
12593 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
12594 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
12595 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
12596 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
12597 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
12598 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
12599 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
12601 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
12606 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
12607 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
12609 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
12610 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
12611 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
12612 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
12614 ((split-spec . catch-all))
12617 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
12618 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
12619 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
12622 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
12623 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
12624 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
12628 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
12629 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
12630 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
12634 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
12637 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
12638 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
12639 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
12640 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
12641 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
12642 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
12643 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
12644 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
12645 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
12647 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
12648 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
12649 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
12650 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
12651 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
12652 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
12653 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
12654 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
12655 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12657 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12658 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12659 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12660 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12661 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12662 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12665 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12668 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12669 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12670 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12671 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12672 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12675 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12676 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12677 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12678 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12680 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12681 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12682 @cindex incorporating old mail
12683 @cindex import old mail
12685 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12686 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12687 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12690 Doing so can be quite easy.
12692 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12693 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12694 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12695 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12696 your @code{nnml} groups.
12702 Go to the group buffer.
12705 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12706 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12709 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12712 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12713 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12716 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12717 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12720 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12721 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12722 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12723 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
12724 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
12726 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
12727 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
12728 using the new mail back end.
12731 @node Expiring Mail
12732 @subsection Expiring Mail
12733 @cindex article expiry
12735 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
12736 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
12737 different approach to mail reading.
12739 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
12740 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
12741 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
12742 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
12743 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
12744 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
12747 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
12748 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
12749 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
12750 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
12751 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
12752 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
12753 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
12754 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
12756 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12757 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
12758 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
12759 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
12760 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
12761 column in the summary buffer.
12763 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
12764 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
12765 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
12766 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
12769 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
12771 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
12772 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
12773 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12776 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
12777 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
12778 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
12779 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
12780 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
12782 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
12783 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
12786 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12787 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
12790 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
12791 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
12793 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
12794 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
12795 don't really mix very well.
12797 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
12798 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
12799 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
12800 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
12803 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
12804 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
12805 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
12806 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
12809 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12811 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12813 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
12815 ((string= group "mail.junk")
12817 ((string= group "important")
12823 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
12824 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
12826 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
12827 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
12828 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
12831 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
12832 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
12834 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
12835 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
12836 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
12837 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
12838 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
12839 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
12840 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
12841 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
12842 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
12843 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
12844 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
12845 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
12848 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
12850 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
12854 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
12855 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
12856 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
12857 easier for procmail users.
12859 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
12860 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
12861 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
12862 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
12863 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
12864 caution. Even more dangerous is the
12865 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
12866 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12867 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12868 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12869 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12870 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12871 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12874 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12876 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12877 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12878 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12879 auto-expire turned on.
12883 @subsection Washing Mail
12884 @cindex mail washing
12885 @cindex list server brain damage
12886 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12888 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12889 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12890 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12891 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12892 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12893 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12895 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12896 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12897 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12900 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12901 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12902 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12903 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12906 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12907 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12908 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12909 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12910 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12913 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12914 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12915 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12916 Emacs running on MS machines.
12920 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12921 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12922 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12923 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12926 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12927 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12928 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12929 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12931 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12932 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12933 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12934 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12935 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12936 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12937 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12940 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12941 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12944 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12945 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12948 This can also be done non-destructively with
12949 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12951 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12952 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12953 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12955 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12956 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12958 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12959 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12960 @code{References} headers.
12964 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12965 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12966 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12970 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12971 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12972 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12979 @subsection Duplicates
12981 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12982 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12983 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12984 @cindex duplicate mails
12985 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12986 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12987 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12988 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12989 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12990 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12991 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12992 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12993 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12994 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12995 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12996 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12997 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12999 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13000 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13001 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13002 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13004 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13007 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13008 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13012 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13013 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13014 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13015 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13016 (any mail "mail.misc")
13023 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13024 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13029 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13030 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13031 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13032 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13033 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13036 @node Not Reading Mail
13037 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13039 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13040 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13041 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13043 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13044 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13045 mail, which should help.
13047 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13048 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13049 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13050 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13051 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13052 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13053 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13054 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13055 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13056 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13057 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13059 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13060 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13064 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13065 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13067 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13068 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13069 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13071 There are five different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13072 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13073 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
13074 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
13077 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13078 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13079 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13080 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13081 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13082 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13086 @node Unix Mail Box
13087 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13089 @cindex unix mail box
13091 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13092 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13093 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
13094 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
13095 which group it belongs in.
13097 Virtual server settings:
13100 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
13101 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
13102 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
13105 @item nnmbox-active-file
13106 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
13107 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
13108 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
13110 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
13111 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13112 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
13113 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
13118 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
13122 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13123 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13124 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
13125 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
13126 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
13128 Virtual server settings:
13131 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
13132 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13133 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
13135 @item nnbabyl-active-file
13136 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13137 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
13138 @file{~/.rmail-active}
13140 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13141 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13142 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
13148 @subsubsection Mail Spool
13150 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
13152 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
13153 format. It should be used with some caution.
13155 @vindex nnml-directory
13156 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
13157 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
13158 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
13159 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
13161 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
13164 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
13165 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
13166 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
13167 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
13168 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
13169 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
13170 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
13171 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
13173 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
13174 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
13175 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
13176 back end when it comes to reading mail.
13178 @cindex self contained nnml servers
13179 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
13180 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13181 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13182 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
13183 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
13184 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
13185 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
13186 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
13189 Virtual server settings:
13192 @item nnml-directory
13193 @vindex nnml-directory
13194 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
13195 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
13198 @item nnml-active-file
13199 @vindex nnml-active-file
13200 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
13201 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
13203 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
13204 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
13205 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13206 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
13208 @item nnml-get-new-mail
13209 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13210 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
13213 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
13214 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
13215 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13216 default is @code{nil}.
13218 @item nnml-nov-file-name
13219 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
13220 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
13222 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13223 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13224 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
13226 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
13227 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
13228 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13229 default is @code{nil}.
13231 @item nnml-marks-file-name
13232 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
13233 The name of the @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
13237 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
13238 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
13239 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
13240 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
13241 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
13242 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
13243 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
13248 @subsubsection MH Spool
13250 @cindex mh-e mail spool
13252 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
13253 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
13254 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
13255 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
13257 Virtual server settings:
13260 @item nnmh-directory
13261 @vindex nnmh-directory
13262 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
13263 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13266 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
13267 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13268 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
13272 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
13273 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
13274 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
13275 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
13276 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
13277 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
13278 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
13283 @subsubsection Mail Folders
13285 @cindex mbox folders
13286 @cindex mail folders
13288 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
13289 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
13290 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
13293 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
13294 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
13295 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
13296 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
13297 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
13298 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
13299 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
13300 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
13301 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
13302 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
13303 @code{nnfolder} directory).
13305 Virtual server settings:
13308 @item nnfolder-directory
13309 @vindex nnfolder-directory
13310 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
13311 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13314 @item nnfolder-active-file
13315 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
13316 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
13318 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13319 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13320 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13321 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
13323 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
13324 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13325 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
13328 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13329 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13330 @cindex backup files
13331 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
13332 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
13333 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
13334 your @file{.emacs} file:
13337 (defun turn-off-backup ()
13338 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
13340 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
13343 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13344 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13345 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
13346 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
13347 extract some information from it before removing it.
13349 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13350 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13351 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13352 default is @code{nil}.
13354 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13355 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
13356 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
13358 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
13359 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
13360 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
13361 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13363 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13364 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
13365 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
13366 default is @code{nil}.
13368 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13369 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
13370 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
13372 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
13373 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
13374 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
13375 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
13380 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
13381 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
13382 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
13383 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
13384 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
13385 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
13388 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
13389 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
13391 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
13392 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
13393 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
13394 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
13395 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
13397 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
13398 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
13399 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
13400 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
13401 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
13402 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
13403 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
13404 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
13407 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
13408 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
13409 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
13410 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
13415 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
13416 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
13417 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
13418 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
13419 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
13420 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
13421 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
13422 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
13423 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
13424 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
13425 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
13426 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
13427 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
13432 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
13433 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
13434 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
13435 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
13436 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
13437 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
13438 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
13439 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
13440 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
13441 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
13442 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
13443 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
13444 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
13445 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
13447 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
13448 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
13453 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
13454 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
13455 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
13456 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
13457 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
13458 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
13459 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
13460 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
13461 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
13462 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
13463 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
13464 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
13465 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
13466 provided by the active file and overviews.
13468 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
13469 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
13470 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
13471 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
13472 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
13475 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
13476 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
13481 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
13482 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
13483 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
13484 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
13485 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
13486 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
13487 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
13491 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
13492 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
13493 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
13494 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
13495 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
13496 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
13497 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
13498 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
13499 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
13501 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
13502 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
13503 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
13504 friendly mail back end all over.
13509 @node Browsing the Web
13510 @section Browsing the Web
13512 @cindex browsing the web
13516 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
13517 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
13518 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
13519 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
13520 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
13521 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
13522 even know what a news group is.
13524 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
13525 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
13526 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
13527 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
13528 you mad in the end.
13530 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
13533 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
13534 interfaces to these sources.
13537 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
13538 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
13539 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
13540 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
13541 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
13542 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
13545 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
13547 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
13548 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
13549 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
13550 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
13551 though, you should be ok.
13553 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
13554 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
13555 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
13556 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
13557 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
13559 @node Archiving Mail
13560 @subsection Archiving Mail
13561 @cindex archiving mail
13562 @cindex backup of mail
13564 Some of the back ends, notably nnml and nnfolder, now actually store
13565 the article marks with each group. For these servers, archiving and
13566 restoring a group while preserving marks is fairly simple.
13568 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
13569 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @code{.newsrc.eld} deity
13572 To archive an entire @code{nnml} or @code{nnfolder} server, take a
13573 recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need to shut down
13574 Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or similar. You
13575 restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and adding a server
13576 definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The @ref{Article
13577 Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things might interfer
13578 with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus before you
13581 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml} or
13582 @code{nnfolder} groups, while preserving marks. For @code{nnml}, you
13583 copy all files in the group's directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need
13584 to copy both the base folder file itself (@code{FOO}, say), and the
13585 marks file (@code{FOO.mrk} in this example). Restoring the group is
13586 done with @kbd{G m} from the Group buffer. The last step makes Gnus
13587 notice the new directory.
13590 @subsection Web Searches
13594 @cindex InReference
13595 @cindex Usenet searches
13596 @cindex searching the Usenet
13598 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
13599 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
13600 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
13601 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
13602 searches without having to use a browser.
13604 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
13605 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
13606 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
13607 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
13608 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
13610 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
13611 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
13612 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
13613 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
13614 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
13615 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
13616 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
13617 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
13618 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
13619 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
13622 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
13623 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
13624 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
13625 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
13626 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
13627 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
13629 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
13630 to use @code{nnweb}.
13632 Virtual server variables:
13637 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
13638 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
13642 @vindex nnweb-search
13643 The search string to feed to the search engine.
13645 @item nnweb-max-hits
13646 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
13647 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
13650 @item nnweb-type-definition
13651 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
13652 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
13653 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
13658 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
13662 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
13665 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
13668 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
13672 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
13679 @subsection Slashdot
13683 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
13684 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
13685 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
13687 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
13688 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
13691 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13692 '((nnslashdot "")))
13695 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
13696 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
13697 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
13698 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
13699 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
13702 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
13703 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13705 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
13706 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
13707 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
13708 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
13709 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
13710 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
13713 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
13716 @item nnslashdot-threaded
13717 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
13718 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
13719 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
13720 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
13721 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
13722 but much, much slower than untreaded.
13724 @item nnslashdot-login-name
13725 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
13726 The login name to use when posting.
13728 @item nnslashdot-password
13729 @vindex nnslashdot-password
13730 The password to use when posting.
13732 @item nnslashdot-directory
13733 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
13734 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
13735 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
13737 @item nnslashdot-active-url
13738 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
13739 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
13740 news articles and comments. The default is
13741 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
13743 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
13744 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
13745 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
13747 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
13749 @item nnslashdot-article-url
13750 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
13751 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
13753 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
13755 @item nnslashdot-threshold
13756 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
13757 The score threshold. The default is -1.
13759 @item nnslashdot-group-number
13760 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
13761 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
13762 updated. The default is 0.
13769 @subsection Ultimate
13771 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
13773 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
13774 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
13775 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
13776 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
13778 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
13779 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
13780 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
13781 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
13782 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
13783 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
13784 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
13786 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
13789 @item nnultimate-directory
13790 @vindex nnultimate-directory
13791 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
13792 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
13797 @subsection Web Archive
13799 @cindex Web Archive
13801 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
13802 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
13803 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
13804 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13807 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
13808 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
13809 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
13810 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
13811 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
13812 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
13813 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
13815 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
13818 @item nnwarchive-directory
13819 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
13820 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
13821 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
13823 @item nnwarchive-login
13824 @vindex nnwarchive-login
13825 The account name on the web server.
13827 @item nnwarchive-passwd
13828 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
13829 The password for your account on the web server.
13837 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
13838 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
13839 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13842 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
13843 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
13846 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
13849 @item nnrss-directory
13850 @vindex nnrss-directory
13851 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
13852 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
13856 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
13857 the summary buffer.
13860 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
13861 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
13863 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
13865 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
13866 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
13869 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
13872 (require 'browse-url)
13874 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
13876 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
13879 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
13880 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
13882 (browse-url (cdr url))
13883 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
13885 (eval-after-load "gnus"
13886 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
13887 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
13888 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
13891 @node Customizing w3
13892 @subsection Customizing w3
13898 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
13899 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
13900 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
13902 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
13903 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
13904 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
13907 (eval-after-load "w3"
13909 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
13910 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
13911 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
13912 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
13914 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
13917 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
13918 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
13926 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13927 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
13928 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
13929 specify the network address of the server.
13931 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
13932 POP can, it can hence be viewed as POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
13933 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
13934 protocol. (@sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp} because news
13935 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.)
13937 If you want to use @sc{imap} as POP++, use an imap entry in
13938 mail-sources. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the @sc{imap}
13939 server and store them on the local disk. This is not the usage
13940 described in this section. @xref{Mail Sources}.
13942 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
13943 entry in gnus-secondary-select-methods. With this, Gnus will
13944 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
13945 usage explained in this section.
13947 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
13948 might look something like this:
13951 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13952 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
13953 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
13955 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13956 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
13957 ; a UW server running on localhost
13959 (nnimap-server-port 143)
13960 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13961 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
13962 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
13963 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
13964 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
13965 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
13966 (nnimap-stream network))
13967 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
13969 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
13970 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
13971 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
13974 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
13979 @item nnimap-address
13980 @vindex nnimap-address
13982 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
13983 server name if not specified.
13985 @item nnimap-server-port
13986 @vindex nnimap-server-port
13987 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
13989 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
13992 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13993 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
13996 @item nnimap-list-pattern
13997 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
13998 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
13999 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14000 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14001 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14002 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14004 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14005 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14006 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14009 Example server specification:
14012 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14013 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14014 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14017 @item nnimap-stream
14018 @vindex nnimap-stream
14019 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14020 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14021 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
14022 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
14024 Example server specification:
14027 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14028 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14031 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14035 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Requires the
14036 @samp{imtest} program.
14038 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14040 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14041 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14044 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the
14045 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
14047 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14049 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14052 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14053 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
14054 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
14055 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
14056 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
14057 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
14058 restrictions on IMAP commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
14059 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
14060 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14063 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14064 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14065 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14066 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
14067 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14068 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14069 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14072 @vindex imap-shell-program
14073 @vindex imap-shell-host
14074 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14075 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14077 @item nnimap-authenticator
14078 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14080 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14081 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14083 Example server specification:
14086 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14087 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14090 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
14094 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
14095 external program @code{imtest}.
14097 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
14100 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
14101 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
14103 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
14105 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
14107 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
14110 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
14112 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
14113 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
14114 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
14115 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
14116 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
14117 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
14120 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
14121 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
14122 running in circles yet?
14124 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
14125 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
14128 The possible options are:
14133 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
14136 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
14137 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
14138 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
14139 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
14141 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
14146 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
14147 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
14149 If non-nil, marks dormant articles as ticked (as well), for other IMAP
14150 clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will naturally still (only) be
14151 marked as ticked. This is to make dormant articles stand out, just
14152 like ticked articles, in other IMAP clients. (In other words, Gnus has
14153 two ``Tick'' marks and IMAP has only one.)
14155 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
14156 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
14159 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
14160 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14161 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
14162 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14165 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
14166 as ticked for other users.
14168 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
14170 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
14172 This variable contain the IMAP search command sent to server when
14173 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
14174 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
14175 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
14177 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
14178 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
14179 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
14180 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
14182 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
14183 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14185 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14186 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14187 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14193 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14194 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14195 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14200 @node Splitting in IMAP
14201 @subsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14202 @cindex splitting imap mail
14204 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14205 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14206 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14207 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14208 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14212 Here are the variables of interest:
14216 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14217 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14219 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14221 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14222 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14224 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14226 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14227 @cindex splitting, inbox
14229 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14231 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14232 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14236 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14237 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14240 No nnmail equivalent.
14242 @item nnimap-split-rule
14243 @cindex Splitting, rules
14244 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14246 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14249 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14250 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14251 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14252 Neither did I, we need examples.
14255 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14257 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14258 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14259 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14262 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14263 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14264 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
14266 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14267 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14271 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14274 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14275 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14276 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14277 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14279 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14280 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14281 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14282 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
14283 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14284 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14286 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14287 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14288 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14290 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14291 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14292 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14294 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
14296 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14297 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14298 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14301 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14302 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14303 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14304 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14305 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14306 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14309 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14310 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14311 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14312 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14313 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14314 group/function elements.
14316 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14318 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14320 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14322 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14323 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14325 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14326 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14327 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14330 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14331 @cindex splitting, fancy
14332 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14333 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14335 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14336 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14337 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14339 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14340 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14341 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14342 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14347 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14348 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14351 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14355 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14356 @subsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14357 @cindex editing imap acls
14358 @cindex Access Control Lists
14359 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14361 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14363 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14364 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14365 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14368 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14369 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14370 editing window with detailed instructions.
14372 Some possible uses:
14376 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14377 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14378 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14380 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14381 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14382 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14386 @node Expunging mailboxes
14387 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
14391 @cindex Manual expunging
14393 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14395 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
14396 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14397 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14399 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14404 @node Other Sources
14405 @section Other Sources
14407 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
14408 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
14412 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
14413 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
14414 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
14415 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
14416 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
14420 @node Directory Groups
14421 @subsection Directory Groups
14423 @cindex directory groups
14425 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
14426 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
14429 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
14430 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
14431 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
14432 back end to read directories. Big deal.
14434 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
14435 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
14436 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
14437 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
14438 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
14440 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
14442 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
14443 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
14444 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
14445 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
14448 @node Anything Groups
14449 @subsection Anything Groups
14452 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
14453 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
14454 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
14457 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
14458 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
14459 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
14460 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
14461 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
14462 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
14463 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
14464 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
14465 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
14466 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
14469 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
14470 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
14471 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
14472 in the article buffer, just as usual.
14474 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
14475 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
14476 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
14477 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
14479 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
14480 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
14481 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
14482 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
14483 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
14484 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
14485 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
14486 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
14491 @item nneething-map-file-directory
14492 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
14493 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
14494 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
14496 @item nneething-exclude-files
14497 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
14498 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
14499 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
14501 @item nneething-include-files
14502 @vindex nneething-include-files
14503 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
14504 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
14506 @item nneething-map-file
14507 @vindex nneething-map-file
14508 Name of the map files.
14512 @node Document Groups
14513 @subsection Document Groups
14515 @cindex documentation group
14518 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
14519 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
14526 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
14531 The standard Unix mbox file.
14533 @cindex MMDF mail box
14535 The MMDF mail box format.
14538 Several news articles appended into a file.
14541 @cindex rnews batch files
14542 The rnews batch transport format.
14543 @cindex forwarded messages
14546 Forwarded articles.
14549 Netscape mail boxes.
14552 MIME multipart messages.
14554 @item standard-digest
14555 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
14558 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
14561 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
14562 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
14563 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
14566 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
14567 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
14568 group. And that's it.
14570 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
14571 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
14572 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
14573 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
14574 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
14575 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
14576 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
14577 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
14578 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
14579 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
14581 Virtual server variables:
14584 @item nndoc-article-type
14585 @vindex nndoc-article-type
14586 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
14587 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
14588 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
14589 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
14591 @item nndoc-post-type
14592 @vindex nndoc-post-type
14593 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
14594 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
14599 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
14603 @node Document Server Internals
14604 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
14606 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
14607 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
14608 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
14609 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
14611 First, here's an example document type definition:
14615 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
14616 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
14619 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
14620 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
14621 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
14622 types can be defined with very few settings:
14625 @item first-article
14626 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
14627 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
14630 @item article-begin
14631 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
14632 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
14634 @item head-begin-function
14635 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
14638 @item nndoc-head-begin
14639 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
14642 @item nndoc-head-end
14643 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
14644 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
14646 @item body-begin-function
14647 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
14651 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
14654 @item body-end-function
14655 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
14659 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
14662 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
14663 regexp will be totally ignored.
14667 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
14668 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
14669 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
14670 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
14671 something that's palatable for Gnus:
14674 @item prepare-body-function
14675 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
14676 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
14677 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
14679 @item article-transform-function
14680 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
14681 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
14682 body of the article.
14684 @item generate-head-function
14685 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
14686 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
14687 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
14688 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
14692 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
14697 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14698 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14699 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
14700 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
14701 (head-end . "^ ?$")
14702 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
14703 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
14704 (subtype digest guess))
14707 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
14708 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
14709 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
14710 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
14711 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
14713 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
14714 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
14715 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
14716 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
14717 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
14718 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
14719 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
14720 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
14721 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
14722 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
14730 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
14731 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
14732 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
14734 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
14735 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
14736 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
14739 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
14740 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
14741 that interested in doing things properly.
14743 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
14744 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
14747 First some terminology:
14752 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
14753 get news and/or mail from.
14756 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
14757 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
14760 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
14764 @item message packets
14765 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
14766 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
14767 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14769 @item response packets
14770 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
14771 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
14772 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14782 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
14783 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
14784 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
14785 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
14788 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
14791 You put the packet in your home directory.
14794 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
14795 the native or secondary server.
14798 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
14799 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
14802 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
14806 You transfer this packet to the server.
14809 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
14812 You then repeat until you die.
14816 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
14817 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
14820 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
14821 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
14822 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
14826 @node SOUP Commands
14827 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
14829 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
14833 @kindex G s b (Group)
14834 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
14835 Pack all unread articles in the current group
14836 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
14837 process/prefix convention.
14840 @kindex G s w (Group)
14841 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
14842 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
14845 @kindex G s s (Group)
14846 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
14847 Send all replies from the replies packet
14848 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
14851 @kindex G s p (Group)
14852 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
14853 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
14856 @kindex G s r (Group)
14857 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
14858 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
14861 @kindex O s (Summary)
14862 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
14863 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
14864 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
14865 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14870 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
14875 @item gnus-soup-directory
14876 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
14877 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
14878 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
14880 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
14881 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
14882 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
14883 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
14885 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
14886 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
14887 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
14888 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
14890 @item gnus-soup-packer
14891 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
14892 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
14893 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
14895 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
14896 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
14897 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
14898 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
14900 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
14901 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
14902 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
14904 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
14905 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
14906 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
14907 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
14913 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
14916 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
14917 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
14918 you can read them at leisure.
14920 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
14924 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
14925 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
14926 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
14927 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
14929 @item nnsoup-directory
14930 @vindex nnsoup-directory
14931 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
14932 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
14934 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
14935 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
14936 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
14937 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
14939 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
14940 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
14941 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
14942 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
14943 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
14945 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
14946 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
14947 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
14948 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
14950 @item nnsoup-active-file
14951 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
14952 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
14953 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
14954 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
14955 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
14957 @item nnsoup-packer
14958 @vindex nnsoup-packer
14959 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
14960 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
14962 @item nnsoup-unpacker
14963 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
14964 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
14965 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
14967 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
14968 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
14969 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
14972 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
14973 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
14974 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
14977 @item nnsoup-always-save
14978 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
14979 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
14985 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
14987 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
14988 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
14989 more for that to happen.
14991 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
14992 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
14993 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
14996 In specific, this is what it does:
14999 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
15000 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
15003 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
15004 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
15005 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
15008 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
15009 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
15010 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
15013 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
15014 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
15015 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
15017 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
15023 @item nngateway-address
15024 @vindex nngateway-address
15025 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
15027 @item nngateway-header-transformation
15028 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
15029 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
15030 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
15031 transformation should be called, and defaults to
15032 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
15033 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
15036 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
15037 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
15038 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
15041 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
15044 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
15047 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
15050 The following pre-defined functions exist:
15052 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15055 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
15056 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15057 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
15059 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15061 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
15062 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
15063 @code{nngateway-address}.
15068 (setq gnus-post-method
15070 "mail2news@@replay.com"
15071 (nngateway-header-transformation
15072 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
15080 So, to use this, simply say something like:
15083 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
15088 @node Combined Groups
15089 @section Combined Groups
15091 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
15095 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
15096 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
15100 @node Virtual Groups
15101 @subsection Virtual Groups
15103 @cindex virtual groups
15104 @cindex merging groups
15106 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
15109 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
15110 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
15111 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
15113 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
15114 regexp to match component groups.
15116 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
15117 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
15118 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
15119 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
15120 the virtual group.)
15122 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
15123 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
15126 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
15129 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
15130 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
15132 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
15133 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
15134 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
15135 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
15138 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
15141 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
15142 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
15143 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
15145 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
15146 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
15147 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
15148 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
15149 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
15151 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
15152 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
15153 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
15155 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
15156 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
15157 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
15158 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15159 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
15160 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
15161 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
15162 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
15163 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
15164 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
15165 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
15167 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
15168 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
15169 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
15170 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
15171 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
15172 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
15173 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
15175 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
15176 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
15180 @node Kibozed Groups
15181 @subsection Kibozed Groups
15185 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
15186 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
15187 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
15188 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
15190 @kindex G k (Group)
15191 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
15194 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
15195 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
15196 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
15197 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
15199 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
15200 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
15201 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
15203 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
15204 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
15205 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
15206 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
15207 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
15208 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
15209 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
15210 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
15212 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
15213 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
15214 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
15215 Stranger things have happened.
15217 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
15218 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
15220 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
15221 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
15222 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
15223 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
15224 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
15225 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
15227 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
15228 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
15231 @node Gnus Unplugged
15232 @section Gnus Unplugged
15237 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
15239 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
15240 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
15241 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
15242 read news. Believe it or not.
15244 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
15245 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
15246 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
15247 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
15248 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
15250 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
15251 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
15252 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
15253 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
15254 reading news on a machine.
15256 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
15260 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
15261 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
15265 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
15266 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15273 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
15275 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
15278 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
15279 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
15280 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
15281 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
15282 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
15283 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
15284 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
15285 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
15286 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
15287 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
15292 @subsection Agent Basics
15294 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
15296 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
15297 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
15298 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
15299 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
15301 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
15302 connected to the net continuously.
15304 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
15305 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
15307 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
15312 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
15313 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
15314 already fetched while in this mode.
15317 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
15318 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
15319 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
15320 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
15321 Source Specifiers}).
15324 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
15325 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
15326 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
15327 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
15328 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
15331 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
15332 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
15333 then you read the news offline.
15336 And then you go to step 2.
15339 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
15345 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
15346 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
15347 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
15348 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
15349 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
15350 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
15353 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
15360 @node Agent Categories
15361 @subsection Agent Categories
15363 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
15364 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
15365 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
15366 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
15367 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
15368 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
15369 you're interested in the articles anyway.
15371 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
15372 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
15373 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
15374 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
15375 managing categories.
15378 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
15379 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
15380 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
15384 @node Category Syntax
15385 @subsubsection Category Syntax
15387 A category consists of two things.
15391 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
15392 are eligible for downloading; and
15395 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
15396 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
15397 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
15400 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
15401 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
15402 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
15403 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
15405 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
15406 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
15407 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
15409 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
15410 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
15411 operators sprinkled in between.
15413 Perhaps some examples are in order.
15415 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
15416 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
15422 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
15423 short (for some value of ``short'').
15425 Here's a more complex predicate:
15434 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
15435 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
15438 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
15439 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
15440 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
15442 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
15443 you want to do, you can write your own.
15447 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
15448 lines; default 100.
15451 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
15452 lines; default 200.
15455 True iff the article has a download score less than
15456 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
15459 True iff the article has a download score greater than
15460 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
15463 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
15464 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
15465 checksum and sees whether articles match.
15474 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
15475 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
15476 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
15479 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
15480 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
15481 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
15482 something along the lines of the following:
15485 (defun my-article-old-p ()
15486 "Say whether an article is old."
15487 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
15488 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
15491 with the predicate then defined as:
15494 (not my-article-old-p)
15497 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
15498 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
15499 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
15500 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
15503 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
15504 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
15505 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
15508 and simply specify your predicate as:
15514 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
15515 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
15516 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
15517 just don't give a damn.
15519 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
15520 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
15521 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
15522 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
15523 parameters like so:
15526 (agent-predicate . short)
15529 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
15530 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
15531 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
15533 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
15536 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
15539 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
15540 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
15541 predicate is assumed to be a list.
15544 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
15545 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
15546 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
15547 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
15548 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
15549 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
15551 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
15552 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
15553 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
15554 if it's to be specific to that group.
15556 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
15563 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
15564 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
15570 Category specification
15574 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15580 Group Parameter specification
15583 (agent-score ("from"
15584 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15589 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
15595 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
15602 Category specification
15605 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
15611 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
15615 Group Parameter specification
15618 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
15621 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
15626 Use @code{normal} score files
15628 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
15629 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
15630 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
15631 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
15633 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
15634 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
15635 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
15636 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
15640 Category Specification
15647 Group Parameter specification
15650 (agent-score . file)
15655 @node Category Buffer
15656 @subsubsection Category Buffer
15658 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
15659 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
15660 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
15662 The following commands are available in this buffer:
15666 @kindex q (Category)
15667 @findex gnus-category-exit
15668 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
15671 @kindex k (Category)
15672 @findex gnus-category-kill
15673 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
15676 @kindex c (Category)
15677 @findex gnus-category-copy
15678 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
15681 @kindex a (Category)
15682 @findex gnus-category-add
15683 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
15686 @kindex p (Category)
15687 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
15688 Edit the predicate of the current category
15689 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
15692 @kindex g (Category)
15693 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
15694 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
15695 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
15698 @kindex s (Category)
15699 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
15700 Edit the download score rule of the current category
15701 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
15704 @kindex l (Category)
15705 @findex gnus-category-list
15706 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
15710 @node Category Variables
15711 @subsubsection Category Variables
15714 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
15715 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
15716 Hook run in category buffers.
15718 @item gnus-category-line-format
15719 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
15720 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
15721 Variables}). Valid elements are:
15725 The name of the category.
15728 The number of groups in the category.
15731 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
15732 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
15733 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
15735 @item gnus-agent-short-article
15736 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
15737 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
15739 @item gnus-agent-long-article
15740 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
15741 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
15743 @item gnus-agent-low-score
15744 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
15745 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
15748 @item gnus-agent-high-score
15749 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
15750 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
15756 @node Agent Commands
15757 @subsection Agent Commands
15759 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
15760 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
15761 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
15765 * Group Agent Commands::
15766 * Summary Agent Commands::
15767 * Server Agent Commands::
15770 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
15771 following incantation:
15773 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15775 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15780 @node Group Agent Commands
15781 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
15785 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
15786 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
15787 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
15788 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
15791 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
15792 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
15793 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
15796 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
15797 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
15798 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
15799 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
15802 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
15803 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
15804 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
15805 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
15808 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
15809 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
15810 Add the current group to an Agent category
15811 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
15812 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15815 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
15816 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
15817 Remove the current group from its category, if any
15818 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
15819 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15822 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
15823 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15824 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
15830 @node Summary Agent Commands
15831 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
15835 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
15836 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
15837 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
15840 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
15841 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
15842 Remove the downloading mark from the article
15843 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
15846 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
15847 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
15848 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
15851 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
15852 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
15853 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
15856 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
15857 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
15858 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
15859 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
15864 @node Server Agent Commands
15865 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
15869 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
15870 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
15871 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
15872 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
15875 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
15876 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
15877 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
15878 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
15884 @subsection Agent Expiry
15886 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
15887 @findex gnus-agent-expire
15888 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
15889 @cindex Agent expiry
15890 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
15893 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
15894 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
15895 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
15896 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
15897 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
15898 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
15900 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
15901 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
15902 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
15903 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
15904 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
15907 @node Agent and IMAP
15908 @subsection Agent and IMAP
15910 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
15911 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
15912 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
15913 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
15915 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
15916 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
15917 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
15918 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
15920 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
15921 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
15922 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
15923 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
15924 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
15926 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15927 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
15928 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
15929 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
15930 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
15931 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
15933 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
15934 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
15935 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
15936 in the group buffer by default.
15938 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
15939 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
15944 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
15947 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
15951 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
15952 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
15953 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
15954 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
15955 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
15956 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
15957 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
15958 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
15961 @node Outgoing Messages
15962 @subsection Outgoing Messages
15964 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
15965 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
15966 after posting, and edit them at will.
15968 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
15969 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
15970 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
15971 messages in the draft group.
15975 @node Agent Variables
15976 @subsection Agent Variables
15979 @item gnus-agent-directory
15980 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
15981 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
15982 @file{~/News/agent/}.
15984 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
15985 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
15986 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
15987 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
15988 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
15991 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15992 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15993 Hook run when connecting to the network.
15995 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15996 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15997 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
16002 @node Example Setup
16003 @subsection Example Setup
16005 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
16006 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
16007 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
16010 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
16011 ;;; from your ISP's server.
16012 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
16014 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
16015 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
16016 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
16018 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
16019 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
16021 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
16025 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
16026 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
16029 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
16030 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
16031 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
16032 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
16033 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
16036 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
16037 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
16038 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
16039 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
16040 back all the killed groups.)
16042 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
16043 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
16044 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
16047 @node Batching Agents
16048 @subsection Batching Agents
16050 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
16051 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
16052 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
16056 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
16060 @node Agent Caveats
16061 @subsection Agent Caveats
16063 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
16064 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
16068 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
16073 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
16074 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
16080 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
16081 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
16088 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
16089 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
16090 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
16093 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
16094 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
16095 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
16096 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
16097 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
16099 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
16100 before generating the summary buffer.
16102 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
16103 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
16104 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
16106 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
16107 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
16108 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
16109 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
16112 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
16113 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
16114 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
16115 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
16116 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
16117 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
16118 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
16119 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
16120 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
16121 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
16122 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
16123 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
16124 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
16125 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
16126 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
16127 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
16128 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
16132 @node Summary Score Commands
16133 @section Summary Score Commands
16134 @cindex score commands
16136 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
16137 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
16138 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
16139 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
16140 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
16142 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
16143 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
16144 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
16145 score file the current one.
16147 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
16152 @kindex V s (Summary)
16153 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
16154 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
16157 @kindex V S (Summary)
16158 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
16159 Display the score of the current article
16160 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
16163 @kindex V t (Summary)
16164 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
16165 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
16166 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
16169 @kindex V R (Summary)
16170 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
16171 Run the current summary through the scoring process
16172 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
16173 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
16174 effect you're having.
16177 @kindex V c (Summary)
16178 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
16179 Make a different score file the current
16180 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
16183 @kindex V e (Summary)
16184 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
16185 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
16186 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
16190 @kindex V f (Summary)
16191 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
16192 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
16193 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
16196 @kindex V F (Summary)
16197 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16198 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
16199 after editing score files.
16202 @kindex V C (Summary)
16203 @findex gnus-score-customize
16204 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
16205 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
16209 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
16214 @kindex V m (Summary)
16215 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
16216 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
16217 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
16220 @kindex V x (Summary)
16221 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
16222 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
16223 expunge all articles below this score
16224 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
16227 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
16228 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
16231 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
16232 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
16236 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
16237 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
16239 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
16240 keys are available:
16244 Score on the author name.
16247 Score on the subject line.
16250 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
16253 Score on the @code{References} line.
16259 Score on the number of lines.
16262 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
16265 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
16266 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
16267 @file{ADAPT} files.)
16276 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
16282 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
16283 what headers you are scoring on.
16295 Substring matching.
16298 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
16327 Greater than number.
16332 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
16333 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
16334 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
16338 Temporary score entry.
16341 Permanent score entry.
16344 Immediately scoring.
16349 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
16350 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
16351 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
16352 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
16354 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
16355 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
16356 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
16357 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
16358 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
16360 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
16361 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
16362 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
16363 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
16364 current score file.
16366 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
16367 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
16368 pretend they are keymaps or not.
16371 @node Group Score Commands
16372 @section Group Score Commands
16373 @cindex group score commands
16375 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
16380 @kindex W f (Group)
16381 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16382 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
16383 all the time. This command will flush the cache
16384 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
16388 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
16390 @findex gnus-batch-score
16391 @cindex batch scoring
16393 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
16397 @node Score Variables
16398 @section Score Variables
16399 @cindex score variables
16403 @item gnus-use-scoring
16404 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
16405 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
16406 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
16408 @item gnus-kill-killed
16409 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
16410 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
16411 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
16412 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
16413 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
16414 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
16415 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
16417 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
16418 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
16419 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
16420 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
16421 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
16423 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
16424 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
16425 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
16426 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
16428 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16429 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16430 @cindex score cache
16431 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
16432 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
16433 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
16434 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
16435 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
16436 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
16439 @item gnus-save-score
16440 @vindex gnus-save-score
16441 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
16442 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
16443 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
16445 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
16446 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
16447 across group visits.
16449 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16450 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16451 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
16452 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
16453 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
16454 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
16455 manually entered data.
16457 @item gnus-summary-default-score
16458 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
16459 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
16461 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
16462 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
16463 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
16464 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
16465 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
16466 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
16468 @item gnus-score-over-mark
16469 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
16470 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
16471 default. Default is @samp{+}.
16473 @item gnus-score-below-mark
16474 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
16475 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
16476 default. Default is @samp{-}.
16478 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16479 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16480 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
16481 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
16483 Predefined functions available are:
16486 @item gnus-score-find-single
16487 @findex gnus-score-find-single
16488 Only apply the group's own score file.
16490 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
16491 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
16492 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
16493 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
16494 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
16495 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
16496 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
16497 then a regexp match is done.
16499 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
16500 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
16502 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
16503 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
16504 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
16505 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
16507 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16508 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16509 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
16510 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
16511 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
16515 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
16516 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
16517 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
16518 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
16519 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
16520 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
16521 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
16524 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
16525 overall score file, you could use the value
16527 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
16528 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
16531 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
16532 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
16533 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
16534 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
16535 are expired. It's 7 by default.
16537 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16538 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16539 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
16540 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
16541 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
16542 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
16543 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
16546 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16547 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16548 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
16550 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
16551 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
16552 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
16553 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
16554 threading---according to the current value of
16555 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
16556 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
16557 simplified in this manner.
16562 @node Score File Format
16563 @section Score File Format
16564 @cindex score file format
16566 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
16567 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
16568 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
16570 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
16574 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
16576 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
16578 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
16580 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
16585 (mark-and-expunge -10)
16589 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
16590 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
16591 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
16592 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
16596 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
16597 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
16599 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
16600 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
16601 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
16603 Six keys are supported by this alist:
16608 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
16609 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
16610 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
16611 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
16612 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
16613 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
16614 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
16615 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
16616 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
16617 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
16618 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
16619 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
16620 to articles that matches these score entries.
16622 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
16623 score entry has one to four elements.
16627 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
16628 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
16632 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
16633 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
16634 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
16635 is successful. If this element is not present, the
16636 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
16637 instead. This is 1000 by default.
16640 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
16641 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
16642 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
16643 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
16644 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
16647 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
16648 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
16649 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
16650 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
16653 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
16654 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
16655 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
16656 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
16657 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
16658 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
16659 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
16660 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
16661 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
16662 instead, if you feel like.
16665 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
16666 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
16668 These predicates are true if
16671 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
16674 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
16675 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
16682 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
16683 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
16684 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
16685 it's not. I think.)
16687 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
16688 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
16689 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
16690 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
16693 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
16694 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
16695 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
16696 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
16697 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
16698 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
16699 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
16703 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
16704 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
16705 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
16706 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
16707 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
16708 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
16709 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
16710 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
16713 @item Head, Body, All
16714 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
16718 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
16719 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
16720 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
16721 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
16722 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
16723 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
16724 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
16728 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
16729 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
16730 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
16731 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
16732 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
16733 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
16734 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
16735 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
16736 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
16737 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
16738 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
16742 @cindex Score File Atoms
16744 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16745 lower than this number will be marked as read.
16748 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16749 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
16751 @item mark-and-expunge
16752 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16753 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
16756 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
16757 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
16758 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
16759 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
16760 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
16763 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
16764 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
16767 @item exclude-files
16768 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
16769 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
16773 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
16774 ignored when handling global score files.
16777 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
16778 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
16779 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
16780 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
16783 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
16784 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
16785 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
16786 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
16788 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
16792 (mark-and-expunge -100)
16795 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
16796 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
16797 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
16798 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
16799 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
16801 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
16802 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
16803 scoring rules exist.
16806 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
16807 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
16808 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
16809 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
16810 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
16811 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
16812 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16813 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
16814 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
16815 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
16816 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
16820 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
16821 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
16822 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
16823 file for a number of groups.
16826 @cindex local variables
16827 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
16828 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
16829 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
16830 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
16831 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
16835 @node Score File Editing
16836 @section Score File Editing
16838 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
16839 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
16840 with a mode for that.
16842 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
16843 additional commands:
16848 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
16849 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
16850 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
16851 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
16854 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
16855 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
16856 Insert the current date in numerical format
16857 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
16858 you were wondering.
16861 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
16862 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
16863 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
16864 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
16865 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
16870 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
16872 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
16873 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
16875 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
16876 e} to begin editing score files.
16879 @node Adaptive Scoring
16880 @section Adaptive Scoring
16881 @cindex adaptive scoring
16883 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
16884 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
16885 stupidity, to be precise.
16887 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
16888 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
16889 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
16890 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
16891 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16892 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
16893 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
16894 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
16895 variable to @code{(word line)}.
16897 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16898 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
16899 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
16900 might look something like this:
16903 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16904 '((gnus-unread-mark)
16905 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
16906 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
16907 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
16908 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
16909 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
16910 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
16911 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
16912 (gnus-ancient-mark)
16913 (gnus-low-score-mark)
16914 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
16917 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
16918 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
16919 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
16920 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
16921 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
16922 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
16925 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
16926 will be applied to each article.
16928 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
16929 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
16930 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
16931 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
16933 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
16934 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
16935 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
16936 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
16938 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
16939 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
16940 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
16941 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
16943 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
16944 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
16945 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
16946 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
16947 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
16948 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
16950 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
16951 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
16952 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
16953 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
16954 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
16955 aspirins afterwards.)
16957 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
16958 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
16959 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
16961 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
16962 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
16963 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
16965 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
16966 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
16967 let you use different rules in different groups.
16969 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
16970 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
16971 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
16974 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
16975 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
16976 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
16977 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
16978 the length of the match is less than
16979 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
16980 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
16983 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16984 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
16985 headers. If you adapt on words, the
16986 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
16987 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
16990 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16991 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
16992 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
16993 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
16994 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
16997 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
16998 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
16999 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
17000 score with 30 points.
17002 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
17003 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
17004 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
17005 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
17006 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
17008 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
17009 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
17010 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
17011 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
17012 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
17014 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
17015 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
17016 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
17017 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
17019 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
17020 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
17021 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
17022 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
17024 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
17025 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
17026 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
17027 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
17028 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
17030 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
17031 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
17032 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
17034 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
17035 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
17036 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
17037 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
17040 @node Home Score File
17041 @section Home Score File
17043 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
17044 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
17045 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
17046 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
17048 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
17049 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
17050 could perhaps use the same home score file.
17052 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
17053 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
17058 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
17062 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
17063 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
17067 A list. The elements in this list can be:
17071 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
17072 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
17075 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
17076 the home score file.
17079 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
17082 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
17087 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
17090 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17091 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
17094 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
17095 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
17097 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
17099 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17100 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
17103 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
17104 Other functions include
17107 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
17108 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
17109 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
17110 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
17114 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
17115 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
17116 their own home score files:
17119 (setq gnus-home-score-file
17120 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
17121 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
17122 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
17123 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
17126 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
17127 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
17128 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
17129 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
17130 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
17132 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
17133 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
17134 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
17135 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
17136 precedence over this variable.
17139 @node Followups To Yourself
17140 @section Followups To Yourself
17142 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
17143 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
17144 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
17145 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
17146 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
17147 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
17151 @item gnus-score-followup-article
17152 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
17153 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
17156 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
17157 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
17158 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
17162 @vindex message-sent-hook
17163 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
17164 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
17166 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
17170 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
17171 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
17175 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17176 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
17179 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
17180 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
17185 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
17189 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
17190 is system-dependent.
17193 @node Scoring On Other Headers
17194 @section Scoring On Other Headers
17195 @cindex scoring on other headers
17197 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
17198 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
17199 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
17200 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
17201 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
17203 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
17204 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
17205 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
17206 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
17207 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
17209 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17212 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
17213 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
17216 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
17217 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
17218 time if you have much mail.
17220 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
17221 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
17227 @section Scoring Tips
17228 @cindex scoring tips
17234 @cindex scoring crossposts
17235 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
17236 the @code{Xref} header.
17238 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
17241 @item Multiple crossposts
17242 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
17243 more than, say, 3 groups:
17246 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
17250 @item Matching on the body
17251 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
17252 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
17253 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
17254 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
17255 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
17256 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
17257 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
17260 @item Marking as read
17261 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
17262 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
17263 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
17267 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
17269 @item Negated character classes
17270 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
17271 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
17272 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
17276 @node Reverse Scoring
17277 @section Reverse Scoring
17278 @cindex reverse scoring
17280 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
17281 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
17282 like this in your score file:
17286 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
17291 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
17292 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
17295 @node Global Score Files
17296 @section Global Score Files
17297 @cindex global score files
17299 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
17300 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
17301 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
17303 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
17304 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
17305 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
17307 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
17308 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
17309 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
17310 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
17311 files are applicable to which group.
17313 To use the score file
17314 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
17315 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
17319 (setq gnus-global-score-files
17320 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
17321 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
17324 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
17326 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
17327 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
17328 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
17329 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
17331 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
17332 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
17334 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
17335 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
17336 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
17337 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
17338 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
17339 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
17341 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
17347 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
17349 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
17351 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
17353 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
17354 lowered out of existence.
17356 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
17357 articles completely.
17360 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
17361 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
17362 old articles for a long time.
17365 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
17366 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
17367 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
17368 holding our breath yet?
17372 @section Kill Files
17375 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
17376 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
17377 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
17379 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
17380 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
17381 files into score files.
17383 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
17384 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
17385 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
17386 that isn't a very good idea.
17388 Normal kill files look like this:
17391 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17392 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
17396 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
17397 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
17399 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
17400 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
17403 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
17408 @kindex M-k (Summary)
17409 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
17410 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
17413 @kindex M-K (Summary)
17414 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
17415 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
17418 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
17423 @kindex M-k (Group)
17424 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
17425 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
17428 @kindex M-K (Group)
17429 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
17430 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
17433 Kill file variables:
17436 @item gnus-kill-file-name
17437 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
17438 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
17439 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
17440 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
17441 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
17442 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
17444 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17445 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17446 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
17447 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
17450 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
17451 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
17452 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
17453 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
17454 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
17455 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
17456 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
17457 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
17458 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
17460 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17461 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17462 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
17467 @node Converting Kill Files
17468 @section Converting Kill Files
17470 @cindex converting kill files
17472 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
17473 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
17474 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
17477 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
17478 You can fetch it from
17479 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
17481 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
17482 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
17483 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
17491 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
17492 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
17493 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
17494 news articles generated every day.
17496 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
17497 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
17498 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
17499 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
17500 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
17501 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
17502 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
17503 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
17506 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
17507 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
17510 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
17511 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
17512 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
17513 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
17517 @node Using GroupLens
17518 @subsection Using GroupLens
17520 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
17522 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
17523 better bit in town at the moment.
17525 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
17529 @item gnus-use-grouplens
17530 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
17531 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
17532 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
17534 @item grouplens-pseudonym
17535 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
17536 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
17537 with the Better Bit Bureau.
17539 @item grouplens-newsgroups
17540 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
17541 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
17545 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
17546 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
17547 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
17548 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
17549 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
17550 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
17553 @node Rating Articles
17554 @subsection Rating Articles
17556 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
17557 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
17558 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
17559 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
17562 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
17567 @kindex r (GroupLens)
17568 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
17569 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
17572 @kindex k (GroupLens)
17573 @findex grouplens-score-thread
17574 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
17575 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
17576 threads in rec.humor.
17580 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
17581 the score of the article you're reading.
17586 @kindex n (GroupLens)
17587 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
17588 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
17591 @kindex , (GroupLens)
17592 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
17593 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
17597 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
17598 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
17601 @node Displaying Predictions
17602 @subsection Displaying Predictions
17604 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
17605 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
17606 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
17607 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
17608 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
17610 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
17611 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
17612 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
17613 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
17614 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
17615 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
17616 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
17617 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
17618 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
17619 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
17620 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
17621 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
17622 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
17624 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
17625 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
17626 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
17627 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
17629 The following are valid values for that variable.
17632 @item prediction-spot
17633 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
17636 @item confidence-interval
17637 A numeric confidence interval.
17639 @item prediction-bar
17640 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
17642 @item confidence-bar
17643 Numerical confidence.
17645 @item confidence-spot
17646 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
17648 @item prediction-num
17649 Plain-old numeric value.
17651 @item confidence-plus-minus
17652 Prediction +/- confidence.
17657 @node GroupLens Variables
17658 @subsection GroupLens Variables
17662 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
17663 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
17664 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
17665 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
17668 @item grouplens-bbb-host
17669 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
17672 @item grouplens-bbb-port
17673 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
17675 @item grouplens-score-offset
17676 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
17677 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
17680 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
17681 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
17682 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
17687 @node Advanced Scoring
17688 @section Advanced Scoring
17690 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
17691 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
17692 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
17693 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
17694 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
17696 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
17700 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
17701 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
17702 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
17706 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
17707 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
17709 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
17710 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
17711 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
17712 non-@code{nil} value.
17714 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
17715 operator, and various match operators.
17722 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17723 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
17724 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
17729 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17730 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
17731 then this operator will return @code{false}.
17736 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
17737 logical negation of the value of its argument.
17741 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
17742 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
17743 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
17744 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
17745 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
17746 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
17747 the ancestry you want to go.
17749 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
17750 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
17751 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
17752 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
17753 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
17756 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
17757 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
17759 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
17760 when he's talking about Gnus:
17764 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17765 ("subject" "Gnus"))
17771 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
17775 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17782 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
17783 really don't want to read what he's written:
17787 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17788 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
17792 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
17793 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
17794 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
17801 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
17802 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
17803 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
17804 ("body" "white.*socks"))
17808 The possibilities are endless.
17811 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
17812 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
17814 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
17815 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
17816 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
17817 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
17818 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
17819 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
17820 @samp{subject}) first.
17822 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
17823 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
17834 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
17835 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
17841 ("subject" "Gnus")))
17848 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
17849 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
17854 @section Score Decays
17855 @cindex score decays
17858 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
17859 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
17860 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
17861 use them in any sensible way.
17863 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
17864 @findex gnus-decay-score
17865 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
17866 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
17867 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
17868 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
17869 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
17870 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
17871 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
17872 definition of that function:
17875 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
17877 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
17878 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
17881 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
17883 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
17885 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
17888 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
17889 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
17890 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
17891 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
17895 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
17898 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
17901 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
17905 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
17906 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
17907 the new score, which should be an integer.
17909 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
17910 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
17917 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
17918 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
17919 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
17920 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
17921 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
17922 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
17923 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
17924 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
17925 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
17926 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
17927 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
17928 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
17929 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
17930 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
17931 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
17932 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
17933 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
17934 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
17938 @node Process/Prefix
17939 @section Process/Prefix
17940 @cindex process/prefix convention
17942 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
17943 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
17945 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
17946 command to be performed on.
17950 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
17951 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
17952 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
17953 with the current one.
17955 @vindex transient-mark-mode
17956 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
17957 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
17959 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
17960 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
17963 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
17964 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
17966 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
17969 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
17970 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
17971 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
17972 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
17974 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
17975 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
17976 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
17977 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
17978 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
17979 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
17980 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
17981 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
17983 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
17984 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
17985 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
17986 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
17987 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
17991 @section Interactive
17992 @cindex interaction
17996 @item gnus-novice-user
17997 @vindex gnus-novice-user
17998 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
17999 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
18000 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
18001 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
18004 @item gnus-expert-user
18005 @vindex gnus-expert-user
18006 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
18007 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
18008 matter how strange.
18010 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
18011 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
18012 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
18013 is @code{t} by default.
18015 @item gnus-interactive-exit
18016 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
18017 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18022 @node Symbolic Prefixes
18023 @section Symbolic Prefixes
18024 @cindex symbolic prefixes
18026 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
18027 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
18028 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
18029 rule of 900 to the current article.
18031 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
18032 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
18033 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
18034 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
18035 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
18036 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
18037 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
18039 @kindex M-i (Summary)
18040 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
18041 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
18042 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
18043 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
18044 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
18045 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
18046 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
18047 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
18049 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
18050 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
18051 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
18053 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
18057 @node Formatting Variables
18058 @section Formatting Variables
18059 @cindex formatting variables
18061 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
18062 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
18063 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
18064 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
18065 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
18068 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
18069 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
18070 lots of percentages everywhere.
18073 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
18074 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
18075 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
18076 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
18077 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
18078 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
18079 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
18080 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
18083 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
18084 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
18085 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
18086 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
18087 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
18088 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
18089 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
18090 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
18092 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
18093 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
18095 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
18096 @findex gnus-update-format
18097 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
18098 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
18099 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
18100 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
18104 @node Formatting Basics
18105 @subsection Formatting Basics
18107 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
18108 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
18109 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
18111 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
18112 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
18113 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
18114 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
18115 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
18118 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
18119 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
18120 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
18121 less than 4 characters wide.
18124 @node Mode Line Formatting
18125 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
18127 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
18128 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
18129 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
18130 with the following two differences:
18135 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
18138 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
18139 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
18140 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
18141 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
18142 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
18143 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
18144 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
18149 @node Advanced Formatting
18150 @subsection Advanced Formatting
18152 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
18153 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
18154 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
18155 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
18157 These are the valid modifiers:
18162 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
18166 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
18171 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
18174 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
18179 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
18182 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
18185 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
18188 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
18192 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
18193 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
18194 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
18195 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
18196 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
18197 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
18198 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
18200 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
18201 last operation, padding.
18203 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
18204 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
18205 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
18206 @xref{Compilation}.
18209 @node User-Defined Specs
18210 @subsection User-Defined Specs
18212 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
18213 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
18214 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
18215 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
18216 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
18217 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
18218 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
18219 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
18220 should protect against that.
18222 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
18223 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
18224 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
18225 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
18229 @node Formatting Fonts
18230 @subsection Formatting Fonts
18232 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
18233 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
18234 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
18235 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
18238 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
18239 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
18240 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
18241 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
18242 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
18243 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
18245 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
18246 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
18247 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
18248 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
18249 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
18250 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
18251 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
18252 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
18254 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
18257 ;; Create three face types.
18258 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
18259 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
18261 ;; We want the article count to be in
18262 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
18263 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
18264 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
18266 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
18267 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
18269 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
18270 (setq gnus-group-line-format
18271 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
18274 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
18275 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
18277 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
18278 mode-line variables.
18280 @node Positioning Point
18281 @subsection Positioning Point
18283 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
18284 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
18285 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
18287 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
18289 @findex gnus-goto-colon
18290 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
18291 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
18293 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
18294 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
18295 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
18300 @subsection Tabulation
18302 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
18303 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
18304 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
18305 about lining up the following text afterwards.
18307 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
18308 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
18310 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18311 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
18312 This is the soft tabulator.
18314 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18315 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
18316 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
18319 @node Wide Characters
18320 @subsection Wide Characters
18322 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
18323 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
18324 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
18326 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
18327 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
18328 these coutries, that's not true.
18330 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
18331 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
18332 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
18333 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
18337 @node Window Layout
18338 @section Window Layout
18339 @cindex window layout
18341 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
18343 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
18344 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
18345 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
18346 @code{t} by default.
18348 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
18349 glitches. Use at your own peril.
18351 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
18352 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
18353 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
18356 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
18357 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
18358 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18362 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
18363 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
18364 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
18365 possible names is listed below.
18367 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
18368 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
18371 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18375 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
18376 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
18377 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
18378 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
18379 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
18380 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
18381 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
18382 size spec per split.
18384 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
18385 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
18386 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
18387 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
18388 present) gets focus.
18390 Here's a more complicated example:
18393 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
18394 (summary 0.25 point)
18395 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
18399 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
18400 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
18401 occupy, not a percentage.
18403 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
18404 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
18405 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
18406 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
18407 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
18410 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
18413 (article (horizontal 1.0
18418 (summary 0.25 point)
18423 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
18424 @code{horizontal} thingie?
18426 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
18427 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
18428 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
18429 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
18430 the screen is to be given to this strip.
18432 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
18433 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
18434 lines from the splits.
18436 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
18440 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
18441 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
18442 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
18443 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
18444 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
18445 size = number | frame-params
18446 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
18449 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
18450 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
18451 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
18452 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
18454 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
18455 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
18456 @cindex window height
18457 @cindex window width
18458 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
18459 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
18460 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
18461 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
18462 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
18463 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
18465 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
18466 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
18467 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
18468 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
18470 @findex gnus-configure-frame
18471 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
18472 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
18473 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
18474 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
18475 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
18476 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
18477 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
18478 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
18479 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
18480 configuration list.
18483 (gnus-configure-frame
18487 (article 0.3 point))
18495 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
18496 @code{frame} split:
18499 (gnus-configure-frame
18502 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
18504 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
18505 (user-position . t)
18506 (left . -1) (top . 1))
18511 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
18512 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
18513 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
18514 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
18515 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
18516 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
18517 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
18518 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
18520 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
18521 be found in its default value.
18523 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
18524 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
18525 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
18529 (message (horizontal 1.0
18530 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
18532 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
18537 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
18538 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
18539 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
18544 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
18545 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
18546 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
18547 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
18548 (name . "Message"))
18549 (message 1.0 point))))
18552 @findex gnus-add-configuration
18553 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
18554 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
18555 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
18556 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
18559 (gnus-add-configuration
18560 '(article (vertical 1.0
18562 (summary .25 point)
18566 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
18567 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
18568 Gnus has been loaded.
18570 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
18571 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
18572 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
18573 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
18574 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
18576 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
18577 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
18578 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
18581 @subsection Example Window Configurations
18585 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
18586 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
18601 (gnus-add-configuration
18604 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18606 (summary 0.16 point)
18609 (gnus-add-configuration
18612 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18613 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
18619 @node Faces and Fonts
18620 @section Faces and Fonts
18625 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
18626 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
18627 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
18632 @section Compilation
18633 @cindex compilation
18634 @cindex byte-compilation
18636 @findex gnus-compile
18638 Remember all those line format specification variables?
18639 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
18640 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
18641 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
18642 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
18643 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
18646 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
18647 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
18648 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
18649 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
18650 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
18651 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
18652 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
18656 @section Mode Lines
18659 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
18660 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
18661 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
18662 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
18663 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
18664 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
18665 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
18668 @cindex display-time
18670 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
18671 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
18672 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
18673 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
18674 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
18675 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
18676 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
18677 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
18680 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
18682 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
18683 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
18685 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
18686 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
18687 (length display-time-string)))))
18690 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
18691 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
18692 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
18693 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
18694 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
18697 @node Highlighting and Menus
18698 @section Highlighting and Menus
18700 @cindex highlighting
18703 @vindex gnus-visual
18704 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
18705 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
18706 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
18709 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
18710 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
18713 @item group-highlight
18714 Do highlights in the group buffer.
18715 @item summary-highlight
18716 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
18717 @item article-highlight
18718 Do highlights in the article buffer.
18720 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
18722 Create menus in the group buffer.
18724 Create menus in the summary buffers.
18726 Create menus in the article buffer.
18728 Create menus in the browse buffer.
18730 Create menus in the server buffer.
18732 Create menus in the score buffers.
18734 Create menus in all buffers.
18737 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
18738 buffers, you could say something like:
18741 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
18744 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
18747 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
18750 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
18751 in all Gnus buffers.
18753 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
18756 @item gnus-mouse-face
18757 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
18758 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
18759 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
18763 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
18767 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
18768 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
18769 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
18771 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
18772 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
18773 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
18775 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
18776 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
18777 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
18779 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
18780 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
18781 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
18783 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
18784 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
18785 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
18787 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
18788 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
18789 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
18800 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
18801 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
18802 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
18803 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
18804 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
18808 @vindex gnus-carpal
18809 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
18810 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
18811 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
18816 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18817 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18818 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
18820 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
18821 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
18822 Face used on buttons.
18824 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
18825 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
18826 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
18828 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18829 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18830 Buttons in the group buffer.
18832 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18833 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18834 Buttons in the summary buffer.
18836 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18837 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18838 Buttons in the server buffer.
18840 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18841 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18842 Buttons in the browse buffer.
18845 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
18846 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
18847 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
18855 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
18856 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
18857 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
18858 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
18859 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
18861 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
18862 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
18863 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
18865 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
18866 been idle for thirty minutes:
18869 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
18872 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
18876 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
18879 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
18880 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
18881 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18883 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
18884 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
18885 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
18886 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18888 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
18889 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
18890 @var{idle} minutes.
18892 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
18893 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
18896 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
18897 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
18898 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
18900 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
18901 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
18902 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
18903 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
18905 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
18906 your @file{.gnus} file:
18908 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
18910 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
18913 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
18914 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
18915 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
18916 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
18917 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
18918 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
18919 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
18920 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
18921 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
18922 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
18923 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
18925 @findex gnus-demon-init
18926 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
18927 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
18928 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
18929 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
18930 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
18932 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
18933 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
18934 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
18943 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
18944 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
18946 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
18947 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
18948 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
18949 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
18952 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
18953 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
18954 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
18955 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
18957 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
18958 this will make spam disappear.
18960 There are some variables to customize, of course:
18963 @item gnus-use-nocem
18964 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
18965 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
18968 @item gnus-nocem-groups
18969 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
18970 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
18971 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
18972 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
18974 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
18975 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
18976 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
18977 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
18978 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
18979 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
18981 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
18982 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
18984 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
18985 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
18986 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
18987 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
18988 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
18989 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
18990 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
18991 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
18992 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
18993 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
18995 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
18996 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
18999 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
19002 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
19003 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
19006 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
19009 The specs are applied left-to-right.
19012 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
19013 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
19015 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
19016 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
19017 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
19018 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
19020 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
19021 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
19024 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
19026 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
19034 This might be dangerous, though.
19036 @item gnus-nocem-directory
19037 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
19038 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
19039 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
19041 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19042 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
19043 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
19044 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
19045 might then see old spam.
19047 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
19048 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
19049 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
19050 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
19051 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
19054 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19055 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
19056 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
19057 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
19061 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
19062 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
19063 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
19064 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
19071 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
19072 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
19073 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
19075 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
19076 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
19077 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
19078 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
19079 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
19080 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
19081 @code{undo} function.
19083 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
19084 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
19085 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
19086 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
19087 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
19088 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
19089 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
19090 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
19091 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
19092 never be totally undoable.
19094 @findex gnus-undo-mode
19095 @vindex gnus-use-undo
19097 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
19098 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
19099 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
19100 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
19105 @section Moderation
19108 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
19109 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
19110 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
19113 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
19117 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
19120 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
19122 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
19127 You split your incoming mail by matching on
19128 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
19129 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
19132 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
19133 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
19136 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
19137 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
19141 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
19144 (setq gnus-moderated-list
19145 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
19149 @node XEmacs Enhancements
19150 @section XEmacs Enhancements
19153 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
19157 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
19158 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
19159 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
19160 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
19173 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
19174 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
19175 over your shoulder as you read news.
19178 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
19179 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
19180 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
19181 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
19182 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
19187 @subsubsection Picon Basics
19189 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
19198 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
19199 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
19200 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
19201 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
19202 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
19203 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
19204 @code{GIF} formats.
19207 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19208 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
19209 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
19210 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
19211 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
19213 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19214 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
19215 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
19216 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
19217 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
19218 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19221 @node Picon Requirements
19222 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
19224 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
19225 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
19226 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
19227 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
19229 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19230 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
19231 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
19232 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
19233 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
19237 @subsubsection Easy Picons
19239 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
19240 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
19243 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
19244 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
19247 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
19248 containing the Picons databases.
19250 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
19253 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19254 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
19259 @subsubsection Hard Picons
19267 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
19268 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
19269 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
19270 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
19271 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
19276 @item gnus-picons-database
19277 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19278 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
19279 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
19280 subdirectories. This is only useful if
19281 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
19282 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
19284 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19285 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19286 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
19287 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
19288 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
19289 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
19290 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19292 @item gnus-picons-display-where
19293 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19294 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
19295 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
19296 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
19297 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
19298 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
19299 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
19301 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19302 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19303 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
19308 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
19309 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
19311 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
19312 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
19315 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19317 @item gnus-article-display-picons
19318 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19319 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
19320 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
19322 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
19323 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19324 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
19330 @node Picon Useless Configuration
19331 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
19339 The following variables offer further control over how things are
19340 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
19341 don't need to worry about.
19345 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
19346 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
19347 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19348 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
19350 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
19351 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
19352 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
19353 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
19355 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
19356 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
19357 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19358 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
19359 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
19361 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19362 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19363 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
19364 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
19365 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
19366 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
19367 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
19369 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19370 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19371 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
19372 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
19374 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19375 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19376 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
19377 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
19378 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
19379 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
19380 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
19382 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19383 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19384 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
19385 Defaults to @code{nil}.
19387 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
19388 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
19389 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
19390 Defaults to @code{t}.
19392 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19393 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19394 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
19395 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
19397 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
19398 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
19399 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
19401 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19402 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19403 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
19404 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
19406 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
19407 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
19409 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19410 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19411 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
19412 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
19413 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
19414 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
19415 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
19416 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
19427 @subsection Smileys
19432 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
19437 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
19438 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
19440 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
19441 @file{.gnus.el} file:
19444 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
19447 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
19448 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
19449 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
19450 text and maps that to file names.
19452 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
19453 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
19454 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
19455 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
19456 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
19457 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
19459 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
19460 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
19462 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
19463 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
19464 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
19466 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
19467 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
19471 @item smiley-data-directory
19472 @vindex smiley-data-directory
19473 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
19475 @item smiley-flesh-color
19476 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
19477 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
19479 @item smiley-features-color
19480 @vindex smiley-features-color
19481 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19483 @item smiley-tongue-color
19484 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
19485 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
19487 @item smiley-circle-color
19488 @vindex smiley-circle-color
19489 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19491 @item smiley-mouse-face
19492 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
19493 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
19499 @subsection Toolbar
19509 @item gnus-use-toolbar
19510 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
19511 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
19512 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
19513 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
19515 @item gnus-group-toolbar
19516 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
19517 The toolbar in the group buffer.
19519 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
19520 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
19521 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
19523 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19524 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19525 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
19531 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
19534 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19535 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19536 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
19537 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
19538 unusual directory structure.
19540 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19541 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19542 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
19543 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
19545 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19546 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19547 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
19548 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
19549 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
19550 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
19552 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19553 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19554 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
19568 @node Fuzzy Matching
19569 @section Fuzzy Matching
19570 @cindex fuzzy matching
19572 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
19573 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
19575 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
19576 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
19577 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
19579 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
19580 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
19581 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
19582 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
19583 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
19586 @node Thwarting Email Spam
19587 @section Thwarting Email Spam
19591 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
19593 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
19594 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
19595 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
19596 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
19597 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
19598 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
19599 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
19600 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
19603 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
19604 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
19605 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
19606 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
19607 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
19608 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
19612 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
19613 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
19615 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
19616 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
19617 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
19618 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
19619 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
19620 part of the mail address.)
19623 (setq message-default-news-headers
19624 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
19627 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
19628 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
19633 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
19634 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
19635 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
19641 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
19642 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
19643 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
19644 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
19646 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
19647 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
19648 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
19649 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
19650 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
19651 your fancy split rule in this way:
19656 (to "larsi" "misc")
19660 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
19661 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
19662 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
19663 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
19664 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
19666 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
19667 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
19668 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
19669 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
19670 cosmic balance somewhat.
19672 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
19673 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
19674 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
19675 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
19678 @node Various Various
19679 @section Various Various
19685 @item gnus-home-directory
19686 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
19687 defaults to @file{~/}.
19689 @item gnus-directory
19690 @vindex gnus-directory
19691 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
19692 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
19693 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
19695 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
19696 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
19697 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
19698 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
19700 @item gnus-default-directory
19701 @vindex gnus-default-directory
19702 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
19703 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
19704 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
19705 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
19706 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
19707 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
19710 @vindex gnus-verbose
19711 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
19712 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
19713 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
19714 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
19715 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
19717 @item gnus-verbose-backends
19718 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
19719 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
19720 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
19722 @item nnheader-max-head-length
19723 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
19724 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
19725 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
19726 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
19727 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
19728 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
19729 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
19730 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
19731 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
19733 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
19734 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
19735 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
19736 read when doing the operation described above.
19738 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19739 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19741 @cindex invalid characters in file names
19742 @cindex characters in file names
19743 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
19744 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
19745 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
19748 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19752 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
19753 Windows (phooey) systems.
19755 @item gnus-hidden-properties
19756 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
19757 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
19758 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
19759 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
19761 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
19762 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
19763 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
19764 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
19765 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
19767 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
19768 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
19769 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
19771 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19772 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19774 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
19775 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
19776 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
19777 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
19780 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
19789 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
19790 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
19792 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
19794 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
19800 Not because of victories @*
19803 but for the common sunshine,@*
19805 the largess of the spring.
19809 but for the day's work done@*
19810 as well as I was able;@*
19811 not for a seat upon the dais@*
19812 but at the common table.@*
19817 @chapter Appendices
19820 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
19821 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
19822 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
19823 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
19824 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
19825 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
19826 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
19827 * Frequently Asked Questions::
19835 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
19836 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
19838 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
19839 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
19840 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
19841 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
19842 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
19844 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
19845 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
19846 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
19847 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
19848 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
19849 appropriate name, don't you think?)
19851 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
19852 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
19853 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
19854 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
19857 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
19858 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
19859 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
19860 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
19861 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
19862 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
19863 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
19864 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
19865 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
19869 @node Gnus Versions
19870 @subsection Gnus Versions
19871 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
19873 @cindex September Gnus
19874 @cindex Quassia Gnus
19876 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
19877 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
19878 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
19880 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
19881 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
19883 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
19884 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
19886 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
19887 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
19889 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
19890 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
19893 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
19895 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
19896 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
19897 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
19898 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
19899 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
19900 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
19903 @node Other Gnus Versions
19904 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
19907 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
19908 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
19909 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
19910 @sc{mime} capabilities.
19912 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
19913 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
19914 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
19915 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
19922 What's the point of Gnus?
19924 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
19925 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
19926 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
19927 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
19928 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
19929 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
19930 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
19931 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
19932 keep track of millions of people who post?
19934 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
19935 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
19936 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
19937 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
19938 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
19939 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
19940 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
19941 every one of you to explore and invent.
19943 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
19944 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
19947 @node Compatibility
19948 @subsection Compatibility
19950 @cindex compatibility
19951 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
19952 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
19953 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
19958 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
19962 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
19965 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
19968 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
19969 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
19970 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
19971 important variables have their values copied into their global
19972 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
19973 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
19975 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
19976 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
19977 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
19978 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
19979 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
19983 @cindex highlighting
19984 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
19985 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
19986 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
19987 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
19988 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
19989 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
19992 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
19993 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
19994 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
19995 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
19997 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
19998 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
19999 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
20000 to stop doing it the old way.
20002 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
20004 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
20006 @cindex reporting bugs
20008 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
20009 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
20010 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
20012 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
20013 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
20014 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
20015 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
20020 @subsection Conformity
20022 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
20023 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
20030 There are no known breaches of this standard.
20034 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
20036 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
20037 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
20038 We do have some breaches to this one.
20044 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
20045 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
20046 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
20047 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
20048 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
20053 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
20054 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
20055 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
20056 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
20060 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
20061 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
20066 @subsection Emacsen
20072 Gnus should work on :
20080 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
20084 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
20085 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
20088 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
20089 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
20090 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
20094 @node Gnus Development
20095 @subsection Gnus Development
20097 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
20098 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
20099 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
20100 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
20101 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
20102 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
20103 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
20104 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
20106 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
20107 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
20108 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
20109 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
20110 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
20113 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
20114 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
20115 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
20116 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
20117 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
20119 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
20120 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
20121 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
20122 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
20123 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
20124 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
20125 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
20126 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
20127 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
20128 can't be assumed to do so.
20133 @subsection Contributors
20134 @cindex contributors
20136 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
20137 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
20138 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
20139 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
20140 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
20141 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
20142 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
20143 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
20144 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
20145 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
20147 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
20153 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
20156 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
20157 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
20158 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
20159 functionality and stuff.
20162 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
20163 well as numerous other things).
20166 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
20169 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
20172 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
20175 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
20178 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
20179 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
20182 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
20185 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
20186 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20189 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
20192 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
20195 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
20198 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
20201 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
20202 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
20205 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
20208 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
20211 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
20214 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
20218 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
20221 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
20224 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
20227 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
20228 well as autoconf support.
20232 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
20233 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
20235 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
20244 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
20248 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
20258 Alexei V. Barantsev,
20273 Massimo Campostrini,
20278 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
20279 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
20283 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
20286 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
20292 Michael Welsh Duggan,
20297 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
20301 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
20309 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
20311 Michelangelo Grigni,
20315 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
20317 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
20319 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
20326 François Felix Ingrand,
20327 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
20328 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
20330 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
20341 Peter Skov Knudsen,
20342 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
20344 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
20345 Thor Kristoffersen,
20348 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
20366 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
20367 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
20374 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
20379 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
20383 John McClary Prevost,
20389 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
20394 Christian von Roques,
20397 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
20404 Philippe Schnoebelen,
20406 Randal L. Schwartz,
20420 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
20425 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
20441 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
20446 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
20447 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
20448 (550kB and counting).
20450 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
20453 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
20454 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
20458 @subsection New Features
20459 @cindex new features
20462 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
20463 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
20464 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
20465 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
20466 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
20469 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
20470 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
20471 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
20474 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
20476 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
20481 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
20482 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
20485 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
20486 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
20489 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
20492 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
20493 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
20494 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
20497 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
20498 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
20499 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
20500 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20503 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
20504 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20507 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
20508 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
20509 (@pxref{The Active File}).
20512 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
20513 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
20516 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
20517 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
20518 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20521 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
20522 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
20523 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
20526 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
20527 the @file{.emacs} file.
20530 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
20531 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
20534 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
20535 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
20538 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
20539 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20542 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
20543 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
20546 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
20547 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20550 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
20553 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
20554 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
20557 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
20558 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
20561 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
20562 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
20565 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
20568 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
20569 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20572 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
20576 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
20580 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
20581 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
20584 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
20590 @node September Gnus
20591 @subsubsection September Gnus
20595 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september.ps,height=20cm}}
20599 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
20604 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
20605 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
20609 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
20610 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
20614 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
20618 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
20619 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
20622 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
20626 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20629 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
20632 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
20635 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
20639 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
20640 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
20643 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
20647 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
20651 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
20655 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
20659 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
20662 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
20663 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
20666 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
20670 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
20671 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
20674 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
20677 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
20678 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
20679 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20682 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
20686 The Gnus cache is much faster.
20689 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
20693 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
20694 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
20697 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
20698 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
20701 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
20702 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20705 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
20706 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
20707 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
20710 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
20711 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
20714 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
20717 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20720 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
20723 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
20726 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
20727 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
20730 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
20734 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
20737 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
20742 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
20745 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
20749 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20752 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
20756 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
20759 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
20762 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
20763 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20766 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
20767 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
20771 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
20772 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
20775 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
20779 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
20780 buffer to allow easier treatment.
20783 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
20786 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
20790 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
20794 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
20795 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
20798 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
20802 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
20803 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20806 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
20807 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20810 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
20814 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20817 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
20820 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
20826 @subsubsection Red Gnus
20828 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
20832 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red.ps,height=20cm}}
20839 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
20842 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
20843 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20846 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
20847 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
20851 Article washing status can be displayed in the
20852 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
20855 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
20858 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
20859 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
20862 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
20866 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
20867 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
20871 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
20872 Server Internals}).
20875 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
20879 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
20882 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
20883 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
20886 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
20887 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
20888 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
20891 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
20892 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20895 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
20896 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
20899 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
20903 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
20904 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20907 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
20908 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20911 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
20915 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
20918 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
20922 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
20923 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20926 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
20927 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20930 A new command for reading collections of documents
20931 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
20932 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
20935 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
20939 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
20940 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
20943 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
20944 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
20945 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
20948 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
20949 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
20953 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
20957 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
20961 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
20966 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
20970 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
20974 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
20975 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
20978 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
20984 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
20986 New features in Gnus 5.6:
20991 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
20992 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
20993 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
20996 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
20997 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
20998 group, which is created automatically.
21001 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
21005 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
21008 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
21009 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
21012 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
21016 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
21019 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
21020 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
21023 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
21026 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
21027 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
21030 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
21031 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
21034 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
21035 control over simplification.
21038 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
21041 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
21045 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
21048 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
21051 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
21052 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
21053 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
21056 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
21057 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
21060 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
21064 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
21065 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
21068 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
21069 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
21072 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
21076 A history of where mails have been split is available.
21079 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
21082 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
21083 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
21086 A new function for citing in Message has been
21087 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
21090 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
21093 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
21097 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
21098 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
21101 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
21102 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
21105 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
21108 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
21112 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
21113 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
21115 New features in Gnus 5.8:
21119 @item The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
21120 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
21122 If you used procmail like in
21125 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
21126 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
21127 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
21128 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
21131 this now has changed to
21135 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
21139 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
21140 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
21142 @item Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
21143 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
21145 @item Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
21146 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
21148 @item @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
21149 called to position point.
21151 @item The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
21152 summary buffers and NOV files.
21154 @item @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
21155 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
21157 @item The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
21158 subtly different manner.
21160 @item New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
21161 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
21162 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
21164 @item Gnus can now read IMAP mail via @code{nnimap}.
21172 @section The Manual
21176 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21177 either @code{texi2dvi}
21179 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21180 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21182 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21184 The following conventions have been used:
21189 This is a @samp{string}
21192 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21195 This is a @file{file}
21198 This is a @code{symbol}
21202 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21206 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21209 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21212 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21215 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21216 ever get them confused.
21220 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21221 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21222 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21223 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21224 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21225 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21226 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21232 @node On Writing Manuals
21233 @section On Writing Manuals
21235 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21236 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21237 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21238 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21239 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21240 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21243 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21244 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21245 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21248 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21249 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21254 @section Terminology
21256 @cindex terminology
21261 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21262 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21263 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21264 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21265 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21269 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21270 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21271 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21272 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21276 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21280 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21285 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of back ends, both news and mail
21286 back ends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21287 is all done by the back ends.
21291 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
21292 default, way of getting news.
21296 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21297 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
21302 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21303 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21307 A message that has been posted as news.
21310 @cindex mail message
21311 A message that has been mailed.
21315 A mail message or news article
21319 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21324 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21329 A line from the head of an article.
21333 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21334 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21338 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
21339 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21340 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21341 normal @sc{head} format.
21345 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21346 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21347 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21348 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21349 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21350 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21352 @item killed groups
21353 @cindex killed groups
21354 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21355 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21357 @item zombie groups
21358 @cindex zombie groups
21359 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21362 @cindex active file
21363 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21364 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21365 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21368 @cindex bogus groups
21369 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21370 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21371 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21374 @cindex activating groups
21375 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21376 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21377 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21381 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21383 @item select method
21384 @cindex select method
21385 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
21388 @item virtual server
21389 @cindex virtual server
21390 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21391 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21392 whole is a virtual server.
21396 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21397 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21400 @item ephemeral groups
21401 @cindex ephemeral groups
21402 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21403 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21404 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21407 @cindex solid groups
21408 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21409 group buffer are solid groups.
21411 @item sparse articles
21412 @cindex sparse articles
21413 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21414 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21418 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21419 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21423 @cindex thread root
21424 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21425 articles in the thread.
21429 An article that has responses.
21433 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21437 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21438 specified by RFC 1153.
21444 @node Customization
21445 @section Customization
21446 @cindex general customization
21448 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21449 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21450 for some quite common situations.
21453 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21454 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21455 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21456 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21460 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21461 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21463 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21464 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21465 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21469 @item gnus-read-active-file
21470 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21471 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21472 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21473 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21474 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21476 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21477 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21478 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21479 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21483 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21484 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21486 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21487 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21488 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21492 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21493 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21494 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21495 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21496 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21498 @item gnus-visible-headers
21499 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21500 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21501 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21502 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21504 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21506 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21507 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21508 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21511 @item gnus-use-full-window
21512 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21513 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21514 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21515 want to read them anyway.
21517 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21518 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21521 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21522 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21523 lines, which might save some time.
21527 @node Little Disk Space
21528 @subsection Little Disk Space
21531 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21532 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21536 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21537 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21538 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21539 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21542 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21543 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21544 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21545 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21548 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21549 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21550 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21551 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21552 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21558 @subsection Slow Machine
21559 @cindex slow machine
21561 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21562 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21564 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21565 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21567 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21568 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21569 summary buffer faster.
21573 @node Troubleshooting
21574 @section Troubleshooting
21575 @cindex troubleshooting
21577 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21585 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21588 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21589 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21593 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21594 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21595 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21596 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21599 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21603 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21604 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21605 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21606 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21607 something like that.
21610 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21613 @cindex reporting bugs
21615 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21617 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21618 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21619 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21620 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21622 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21623 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21624 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21625 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21628 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21629 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21630 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21631 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21632 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21633 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21635 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21636 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21637 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21641 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
21642 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
21644 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21645 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21647 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21648 @cindex ding mailing list
21649 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21650 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21654 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21655 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21657 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21658 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21659 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21660 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21663 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21664 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21665 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21666 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21667 and general methods of operation.
21670 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21671 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21672 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21673 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21674 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21675 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21676 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21677 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21678 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21682 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21683 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21684 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21685 @cindex utility functions
21687 @cindex internal variables
21689 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21690 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21691 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21695 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21696 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21697 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21699 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21700 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21701 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21703 @item gnus-group-real-name
21704 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21705 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21708 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21709 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21710 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21711 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21713 @item gnus-get-info
21714 @findex gnus-get-info
21715 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21717 @item gnus-group-unread
21718 @findex gnus-group-unread
21719 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21723 @findex gnus-active
21724 The active entry for @var{group}.
21726 @item gnus-set-active
21727 @findex gnus-set-active
21728 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21730 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21731 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21732 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21735 @item gnus-continuum-version
21736 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21737 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21738 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21741 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21742 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21743 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21745 @item gnus-news-group-p
21746 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21747 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
21749 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21750 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21751 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21753 @item gnus-server-to-method
21754 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21755 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21757 @item gnus-server-equal
21758 @findex gnus-server-equal
21759 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21761 @item gnus-group-native-p
21762 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21763 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21765 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21766 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21767 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21769 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21770 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21771 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21773 @item group-group-find-parameter
21774 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21775 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21776 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21778 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21779 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21780 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21782 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21783 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21784 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21786 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21787 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21788 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
21789 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21792 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21796 @item gnus-read-method
21797 @findex gnus-read-method
21798 Prompts the user for a select method.
21803 @node Back End Interface
21804 @subsection Back End Interface
21806 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21807 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21808 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
21809 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21810 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21811 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21813 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
21814 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21815 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
21816 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21817 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21818 been opened, the function should fail.
21820 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21821 name. Take this example:
21825 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21826 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21829 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21830 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21832 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21833 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21834 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21836 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21837 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21838 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21840 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21841 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21842 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21843 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21844 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21845 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21848 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
21849 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
21850 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21851 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21854 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
21855 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
21856 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
21857 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
21858 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
21859 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
21860 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
21861 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
21862 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
21863 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
21865 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
21866 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
21867 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
21868 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
21869 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
21870 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
21871 of numbers as long as possible.
21873 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
21876 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21879 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21880 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21881 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21882 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
21883 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21884 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
21888 @node Required Back End Functions
21889 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
21893 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21895 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21896 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
21897 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
21898 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21900 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21901 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21902 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21903 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21905 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21906 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21907 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21908 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21909 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
21910 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21911 number, do maximum fetches.
21913 Here's an example HEAD:
21916 221 1056 Article retrieved.
21917 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
21918 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
21919 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
21920 Subject: Re: Something very droll
21921 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
21922 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
21924 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
21925 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
21926 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
21930 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
21931 these in the data buffer.
21933 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
21937 head = error / valid-head
21938 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
21939 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
21940 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
21941 header = <text> eol
21944 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
21945 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
21949 nov-buffer = *nov-line
21950 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
21951 field = <text except TAB>
21954 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
21958 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
21960 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
21961 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
21963 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
21964 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
21965 server. In fact, it should do so.
21967 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
21968 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
21971 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
21973 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
21974 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
21977 There should be no data returned.
21980 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
21982 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
21983 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
21984 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
21985 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
21987 There should be no data returned.
21990 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
21992 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
21993 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
21994 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
21995 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
21997 There should be no data returned.
22000 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
22002 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
22004 There should be no data returned.
22007 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
22009 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
22010 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
22011 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
22012 it would be nice if that were possible.
22014 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
22015 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
22016 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22017 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22018 into its article buffer.
22020 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22021 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22022 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22023 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22024 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22025 on successful article retrieval.
22028 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22030 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22031 making @var{group} the current group.
22033 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22036 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22039 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22042 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22043 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22044 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22045 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22046 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22047 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22048 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22049 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22052 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22053 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22054 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22058 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22060 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22061 a no-op on most back ends.
22063 There should be no data returned.
22066 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22068 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22071 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22074 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22075 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22078 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22079 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22082 active-file = *active-line
22083 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22085 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22088 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22089 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22090 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22093 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22095 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22096 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22097 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22098 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22099 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22100 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22102 There should be no result data from this function.
22107 @node Optional Back End Functions
22108 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
22112 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22114 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22115 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22116 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22118 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22119 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22120 former is in the same format as the data from
22121 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22122 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22125 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22129 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22131 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
22132 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
22133 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22134 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22135 should return the (altered) group info.
22137 There should be no result data from this function.
22140 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22142 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22143 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22144 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22145 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22146 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22147 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22148 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22149 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22151 There should be no result data from this function.
22154 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22156 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22157 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22158 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22159 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22160 propagate the mark information to the server.
22162 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22165 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22168 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
22169 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
22170 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
22171 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
22172 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
22173 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
22174 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
22175 possible, not limit itself to these.
22177 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22178 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22179 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22180 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22182 An example action list:
22185 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22186 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22187 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22190 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22191 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22193 There should be no result data from this function.
22195 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22197 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
22198 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22199 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22200 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
22201 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22203 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22204 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22205 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22208 There should be no result data from this function.
22211 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22213 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22214 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
22215 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
22216 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22217 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
22218 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22219 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22221 There should be no result data from this function.
22224 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22226 The result data from this function should be a description of
22230 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22232 description = <text>
22235 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22237 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22238 groups available on the server.
22241 description-buffer = *description-line
22245 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22247 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22248 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
22249 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
22250 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
22251 in the active buffer format.
22253 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
22254 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
22255 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
22256 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
22257 many groups, so nnml and the like are probably safe. But for back ends
22258 like nntp, where the groups have been created by the server, it is quite
22259 likely that there can be many groups.
22262 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22264 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22266 There should be no return data.
22269 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22271 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22272 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22273 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
22274 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22275 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22278 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22281 There should be no result data returned.
22284 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22287 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22288 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22290 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22291 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22292 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22293 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22294 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22295 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22297 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22298 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22301 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22302 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22304 There should be no data returned.
22307 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22309 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22310 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22311 this function in short order.
22313 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22314 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22316 There should be no data returned.
22319 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22321 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22322 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22324 There should be no data returned.
22327 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22329 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22330 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22331 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22333 There should be no data returned.
22336 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22338 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22339 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22341 There should be no data returned.
22346 @node Error Messaging
22347 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22349 @findex nnheader-report
22350 @findex nnheader-get-report
22351 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22352 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22353 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
22354 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22355 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22356 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22359 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22361 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22364 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22365 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22366 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
22367 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22369 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
22370 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
22371 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22374 @node Writing New Back Ends
22375 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
22377 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22378 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22379 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22380 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22381 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22384 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22385 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22386 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22388 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22389 package called @code{nnoo}.
22391 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
22392 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
22398 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22399 parameters. For instance:
22402 (nnoo-declare nndir
22406 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22407 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22410 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22411 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22412 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22414 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22415 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
22416 a function in those back ends.
22419 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22420 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22421 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22424 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22425 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22426 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22428 @item nnoo-define-basics
22429 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
22433 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22437 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22438 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22439 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
22441 @item nnoo-map-functions
22442 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
22443 functions from the parent back ends.
22446 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22447 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22448 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22451 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22452 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22453 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22454 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22457 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
22458 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22459 haven't already been defined.
22465 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22469 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22470 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22471 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22476 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
22479 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22480 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22484 (require 'nnheader)
22488 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22490 (nnoo-declare nndir
22493 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22494 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22495 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22497 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22498 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22501 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
22503 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22504 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22505 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22507 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22508 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22510 ;;; Interface functions.
22512 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22514 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22515 (setq nndir-directory
22516 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22518 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22519 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22520 (push `(nndir-current-group
22521 ,(file-name-nondirectory
22522 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22524 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22525 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22527 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22529 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22530 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22531 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22532 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22533 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22537 nnmh-status-message
22539 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22545 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22546 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
22548 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22549 @findex gnus-declare-backend
22550 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
22551 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22552 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22554 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
22555 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22560 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22563 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
22565 The abilities can be:
22569 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22571 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
22573 This back end supports both mail and news.
22575 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
22578 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22579 articles and groups.
22581 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22582 true for almost all back ends.
22583 @item prompt-address
22584 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22585 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
22586 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22590 @node Mail-like Back Ends
22591 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
22593 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
22594 back ends is the heavy dependence by the mail back ends on common
22595 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22596 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22599 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22600 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22601 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22604 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22605 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22608 This function takes four parameters.
22612 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
22615 @item exit-function
22616 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22618 @item temp-directory
22619 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22622 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22623 performed for one group only.
22626 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
22627 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22628 find the article number assigned to this article.
22630 The function also uses the following variables:
22631 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22632 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
22633 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22634 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22638 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22639 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22643 @node Score File Syntax
22644 @subsection Score File Syntax
22646 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22647 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22648 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22650 Here's a typical score file:
22654 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22661 BNF definition of a score file:
22664 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22665 element = rule / atom
22666 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22667 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22668 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22669 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22671 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22672 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22673 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22674 date-header = "date"
22675 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22676 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22677 score = "nil" / <integer>
22678 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22679 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22680 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22681 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22682 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22683 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22684 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22685 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22686 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22687 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22688 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22689 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22690 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22691 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22692 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22693 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22694 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22695 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22696 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22697 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22698 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22699 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22700 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22701 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22702 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22703 eval = "eval" space <form>
22704 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22707 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22710 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22711 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22712 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22713 one looong line, then that's ok.
22715 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22716 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22720 @subsection Headers
22722 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22723 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22724 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22725 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22727 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22728 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22729 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22730 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22731 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22732 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22733 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22735 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22736 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22737 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22738 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22739 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22741 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22742 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22748 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22749 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22751 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22752 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22753 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22754 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22756 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22760 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22763 is transformed into
22766 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22769 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22770 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22773 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22776 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22777 is slightly tricky:
22780 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22786 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22789 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22795 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22802 and is equal to the previous range.
22804 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22805 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22806 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22810 range = simple-range / normal-range
22811 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22812 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22813 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22814 number *[ " " contents ]
22817 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22818 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22819 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22820 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22821 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22826 @subsection Group Info
22828 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22829 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22830 describes the group.
22832 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22833 second is a more complex one:
22836 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22838 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22839 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22841 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22844 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22845 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22846 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22847 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22848 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22849 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22850 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22851 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22852 this section is about.
22854 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22855 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22856 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22858 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22861 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22862 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22863 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22864 group = quote <string> quote
22865 ralevel = rank / level
22866 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22867 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22868 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22870 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22871 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22872 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22873 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22876 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22877 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22880 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22881 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22884 @item gnus-info-group
22885 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22886 @findex gnus-info-group
22887 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22888 Get/set the group name.
22890 @item gnus-info-rank
22891 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22892 @findex gnus-info-rank
22893 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22894 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22896 @item gnus-info-level
22897 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22898 @findex gnus-info-level
22899 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22900 Get/set the group level.
22902 @item gnus-info-score
22903 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22904 @findex gnus-info-score
22905 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22906 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22908 @item gnus-info-read
22909 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22910 @findex gnus-info-read
22911 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22912 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22914 @item gnus-info-marks
22915 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
22916 @findex gnus-info-marks
22917 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
22918 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
22920 @item gnus-info-method
22921 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
22922 @findex gnus-info-method
22923 @findex gnus-info-set-method
22924 Get/set the group select method.
22926 @item gnus-info-params
22927 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
22928 @findex gnus-info-params
22929 @findex gnus-info-set-params
22930 Get/set the group parameters.
22933 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
22934 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
22936 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
22937 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
22938 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
22939 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
22942 @node Extended Interactive
22943 @subsection Extended Interactive
22944 @cindex interactive
22945 @findex gnus-interactive
22947 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
22948 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
22949 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
22952 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
22953 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
22958 The best thing to do would have been to implement
22959 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
22960 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
22961 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
22962 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
22963 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
22964 @code{interactive}.
22966 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
22971 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
22972 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
22976 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
22977 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
22978 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
22981 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
22985 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
22989 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
22995 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
22996 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
23000 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
23001 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
23002 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
23004 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
23005 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
23006 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
23007 Gnus, that's very useful.
23009 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
23010 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
23011 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
23012 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
23013 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
23014 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
23015 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
23016 following function:
23019 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
23023 (,function ,@@args))
23027 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
23028 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
23029 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23032 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23033 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23034 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23036 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23037 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23038 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23041 @node Various File Formats
23042 @subsection Various File Formats
23045 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23046 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23050 @node Active File Format
23051 @subsubsection Active File Format
23053 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23054 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23057 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23060 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23061 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23062 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23063 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23064 no.general 1000 900 y
23067 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23070 active = *group-line
23071 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
23072 group = <non-white-space string>
23074 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23075 low-number = <positive integer>
23076 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23079 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23080 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23083 @node Newsgroups File Format
23084 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23086 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23087 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23088 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23091 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23092 Here's the definition:
23096 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23097 group = <non-white-space string>
23099 description = <string>
23104 @node Emacs for Heathens
23105 @section Emacs for Heathens
23107 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23108 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23109 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
23110 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23111 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23112 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23113 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23117 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23118 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23123 @subsection Keystrokes
23127 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23130 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23133 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23134 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23135 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23136 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23137 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23138 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23140 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23141 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23142 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23143 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23144 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23145 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23146 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23148 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23149 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
23150 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23151 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23152 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23153 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23154 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23156 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23157 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23158 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23159 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23160 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23166 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23168 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23169 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23170 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23171 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23173 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23174 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23175 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23176 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23177 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23178 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23179 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23182 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23183 write the following:
23186 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23189 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23190 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23191 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23194 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23195 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23196 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23197 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23198 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23200 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23201 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23202 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23206 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23210 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23213 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23214 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23217 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23220 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23221 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23224 @include gnus-faq.texi
23245 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
23246 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
23247 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
23248 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
23249 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref