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4 @settitle Quassia Gnus 0.25 Manual
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259 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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268 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
270 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
271 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
272 are preserved on all copies.
274 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
275 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
276 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
277 permission notice identical to this one.
279 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
280 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
289 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
291 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
293 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
294 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
295 are preserved on all copies.
298 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
299 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
300 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
301 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
304 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
305 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
306 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
307 permission notice identical to this one.
309 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
310 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
316 @title Quassia Gnus 0.25 Manual
318 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
321 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
322 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
324 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
325 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
326 are preserved on all copies.
328 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
329 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
330 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
331 permission notice identical to this one.
333 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
334 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
343 @top The Gnus Newsreader
347 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
348 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
349 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
352 This manual corresponds to Quassia Gnus 0.25.
363 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
364 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
366 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
367 being accused of plagiarism:
369 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
370 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
371 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
372 even read news with it!
374 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
375 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
376 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
377 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
378 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
385 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
386 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
387 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
388 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
389 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
390 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
391 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
392 * Various:: General purpose settings.
393 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
394 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
395 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
396 * Key Index:: Key Index.
400 @chapter Starting Gnus
405 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
406 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
409 @findex gnus-other-frame
410 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
411 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
412 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
414 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
415 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
416 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
418 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
419 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
422 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
423 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
424 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
425 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
426 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
427 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
428 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
429 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
430 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
431 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
432 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
436 @node Finding the News
437 @section Finding the News
440 @vindex gnus-select-method
442 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
443 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
444 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
445 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
448 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
449 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
452 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
455 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
458 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
461 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
462 certainly be much faster.
464 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
466 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
467 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
468 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
469 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
470 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
471 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
473 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
474 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
475 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
476 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
478 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
479 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
480 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
481 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
482 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
483 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
485 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
487 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
488 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
489 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
490 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
491 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
492 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
494 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
496 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
497 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
498 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
499 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
500 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
501 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
504 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
505 would typically set this variable to
508 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
513 @section The First Time
514 @cindex first time usage
516 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
517 be subscribed by default.
519 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
520 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
521 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
522 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
525 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
526 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
527 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
529 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
530 help you with most common problems.
532 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
533 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
537 @node The Server is Down
538 @section The Server is Down
539 @cindex server errors
541 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
542 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
543 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
545 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
546 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
547 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
548 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
549 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
550 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
551 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
553 @findex gnus-no-server
554 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
556 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
557 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
558 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
559 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
560 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
561 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
566 @section Slave Gnusae
569 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
570 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
571 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
572 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
574 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
577 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
578 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
579 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
580 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
581 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
582 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
583 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
585 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
586 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
587 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
588 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
589 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
590 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
591 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
592 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
594 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
595 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
598 @node Fetching a Group
599 @section Fetching a Group
600 @cindex fetching a group
602 @findex gnus-fetch-group
603 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
604 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
605 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
606 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
607 It takes the group name as a parameter.
615 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
616 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
617 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
618 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
619 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
620 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
621 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
622 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
623 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
626 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
627 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
628 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
632 @node Checking New Groups
633 @subsection Checking New Groups
635 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
636 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
637 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
638 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
639 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
640 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
641 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
642 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
643 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
644 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
646 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
647 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
648 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
649 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
650 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
651 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
652 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
653 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
654 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
655 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
656 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
658 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
659 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
660 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
661 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
662 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
663 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
666 @node Subscription Methods
667 @subsection Subscription Methods
669 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
670 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
671 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
673 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
674 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
676 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
680 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
681 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
682 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
683 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
684 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
686 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
687 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
688 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
689 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
691 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
692 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
693 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
695 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
696 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
697 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
698 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
699 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
700 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
701 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
702 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
703 up. Or something like that.
705 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
706 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
707 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
708 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
709 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
711 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
712 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
717 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
718 A closely related variable is
719 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
720 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
721 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
722 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
725 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
726 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
727 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
728 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
731 @node Filtering New Groups
732 @subsection Filtering New Groups
734 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
735 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
736 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
739 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
742 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
743 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
744 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
745 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
746 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
747 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
748 subscribing these groups.
749 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
750 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
752 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
753 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
754 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
755 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
756 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
757 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
758 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
759 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
761 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
762 Yet another variable that meddles here is
763 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
764 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
765 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
766 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
767 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
768 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
769 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
770 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
772 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
773 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
776 @node Changing Servers
777 @section Changing Servers
778 @cindex changing servers
780 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
781 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
782 very flaky and you want to use another.
784 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
785 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
789 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
790 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
791 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
792 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
795 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
796 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
797 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
798 functions more than absolutely necessary.
800 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
801 @findex gnus-change-server
802 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
803 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
804 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
805 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
806 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
808 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
809 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
810 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
811 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
812 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
814 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
815 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
816 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
817 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
818 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
819 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
823 @section Startup Files
824 @cindex startup files
829 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
830 information is traditionally stored in this file.
832 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
833 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
834 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
835 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
836 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
837 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
838 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
840 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
841 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
842 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
843 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
844 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
845 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
847 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
848 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
849 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
850 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
851 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
852 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
854 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
855 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
856 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
857 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
858 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
859 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
860 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
861 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
862 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
863 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
864 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
865 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
867 @vindex gnus-startup-file
868 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
869 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
870 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
872 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
873 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
874 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
875 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
876 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
877 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
878 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
879 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
880 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
881 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
884 (defun turn-off-backup ()
885 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
887 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
888 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
891 @vindex gnus-init-file
892 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
893 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
894 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
895 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
896 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
897 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
898 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
899 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
900 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
909 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
910 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
911 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
912 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
913 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
916 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
917 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
920 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
921 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
922 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
924 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
925 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
926 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
927 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
928 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
929 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
932 @node The Active File
933 @section The Active File
935 @cindex ignored groups
937 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
938 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
939 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
941 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
942 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
943 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
944 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
945 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
946 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
947 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
950 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
951 @c if you set it to anything else.
953 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
955 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
956 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
957 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
959 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
960 you actually subscribe to.
962 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
963 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
964 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
965 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
967 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
968 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
969 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
970 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
971 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
972 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
974 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
975 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
976 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
977 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
978 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
979 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
981 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
982 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
984 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
985 secondary select methods.
988 @node Startup Variables
989 @section Startup Variables
994 @vindex gnus-load-hook
995 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
996 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
997 times you start Gnus.
999 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1000 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1001 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1003 @item gnus-startup-hook
1004 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1005 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1007 @item gnus-started-hook
1008 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1009 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1012 @item gnus-started-hook
1013 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1014 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1015 generating the group buffer.
1017 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1018 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1019 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1020 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1021 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1022 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1023 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1024 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1026 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1027 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1028 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1029 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1030 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1031 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1033 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1034 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1035 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1037 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1038 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1039 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1041 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1042 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1043 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1044 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1049 @node The Group Buffer
1050 @chapter The Group Buffer
1051 @cindex group buffer
1053 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1054 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1055 long as Gnus is active.
1059 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1060 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1061 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1062 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1063 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1064 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1065 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1066 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1072 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1073 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1074 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1075 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1076 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1077 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1078 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1079 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1080 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1081 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1082 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1083 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1084 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1085 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1086 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1087 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1088 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1092 @node Group Buffer Format
1093 @section Group Buffer Format
1096 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1097 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1098 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1102 @node Group Line Specification
1103 @subsection Group Line Specification
1104 @cindex group buffer format
1106 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1107 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1109 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1112 25: news.announce.newusers
1113 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1118 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1119 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1120 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1121 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1123 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1124 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1125 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1126 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1127 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1128 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1130 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1132 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1133 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1134 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1135 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1138 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1139 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1140 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1142 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1147 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1150 Whether the group is subscribed.
1153 Level of subscribedness.
1156 Number of unread articles.
1159 Number of dormant articles.
1162 Number of ticked articles.
1165 Number of read articles.
1168 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1169 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1172 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1175 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1184 Newsgroup description.
1187 @samp{m} if moderated.
1190 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1199 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1203 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1206 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1207 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1208 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1209 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1210 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1213 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1215 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1219 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1223 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1224 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1225 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1226 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1227 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1228 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1233 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1234 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1235 group, or a bogus native group.
1238 @node Group Modeline Specification
1239 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1240 @cindex group modeline
1242 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1243 The mode line can be changed by setting
1244 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1245 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1249 The native news server.
1251 The native select method.
1255 @node Group Highlighting
1256 @subsection Group Highlighting
1257 @cindex highlighting
1258 @cindex group highlighting
1260 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1261 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1262 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1263 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1264 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1266 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1270 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1271 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1272 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1273 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1274 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1276 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1277 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1278 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1279 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1280 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1281 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1283 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1284 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1285 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1287 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1289 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1291 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))))
1292 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1295 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1297 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1304 The number of unread articles in the group.
1308 Whether the group is a mail group.
1310 The level of the group.
1312 The score of the group.
1314 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1316 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1317 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1319 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1320 topic being inserted.
1323 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1324 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1325 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1327 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1328 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1329 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1330 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1331 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1334 @node Group Maneuvering
1335 @section Group Maneuvering
1336 @cindex group movement
1338 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1339 expected, hopefully.
1345 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1346 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1347 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1353 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1354 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1355 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1359 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1360 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1364 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1365 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1369 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1370 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1371 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1375 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1376 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1377 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1380 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1386 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1387 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1388 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1393 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1394 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1395 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1399 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1400 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1401 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1404 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1405 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1406 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1407 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1411 @node Selecting a Group
1412 @section Selecting a Group
1413 @cindex group selection
1418 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1419 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1420 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1421 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1422 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1423 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1424 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1425 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1426 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1427 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1431 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1432 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1433 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1434 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1435 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1439 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1440 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1441 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1442 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1443 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1444 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1445 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1446 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1447 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1448 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1451 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1452 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1453 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1454 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1455 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1458 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1459 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1460 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1461 doing any processing of its contents
1462 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1463 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1464 manner will have no permanent effects.
1468 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1469 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1470 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1471 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1472 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1473 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1474 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1475 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1478 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1479 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1480 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1481 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1486 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1487 full summary buffer.
1490 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1493 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1497 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1498 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1499 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1503 @node Subscription Commands
1504 @section Subscription Commands
1505 @cindex subscription
1513 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1514 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1515 Toggle subscription to the current group
1516 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1522 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1523 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1524 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1525 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1531 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1532 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1533 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1539 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1540 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1543 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1544 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1545 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1546 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1547 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1553 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1554 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1558 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1559 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1562 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1563 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1564 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1565 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1566 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1567 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1568 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1569 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1570 @file{.newsrc} file.
1574 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1584 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1585 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1586 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1587 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1588 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1589 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1594 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1595 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1596 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1600 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1601 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1602 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1604 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1605 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1606 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1607 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1608 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1609 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1616 @section Group Levels
1620 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1621 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1622 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1623 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1624 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1626 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1632 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1633 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1634 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1635 prompted for a level.
1638 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1639 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1640 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1641 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1642 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1643 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1644 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1645 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1646 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1647 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1648 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1649 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1650 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1651 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1652 reasons of efficiency.
1654 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1655 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1657 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1658 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1659 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1661 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1662 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1663 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1664 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1665 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1666 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1667 relevant valid ranges.
1669 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1670 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1671 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1672 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1673 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1674 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1677 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1678 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1679 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1682 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1683 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1684 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1685 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1688 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1689 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1690 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1691 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1693 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1694 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1695 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1696 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1697 to 5. The default is 6.
1701 @section Group Score
1706 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1707 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1708 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1711 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1712 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1713 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1714 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1715 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1716 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1717 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1719 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1720 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1721 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1722 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1723 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1724 action after each summary exit, you can add
1725 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1726 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1727 slow things down somewhat.
1730 @node Marking Groups
1731 @section Marking Groups
1732 @cindex marking groups
1734 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1735 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1736 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1737 bidding on those groups.
1739 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1740 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1741 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1749 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1750 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1756 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1757 Remove the mark from the current group
1758 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1762 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1763 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1767 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1768 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1772 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1773 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1777 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1778 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1779 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1782 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1784 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1785 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1786 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1787 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1788 the command to be executed.
1791 @node Foreign Groups
1792 @section Foreign Groups
1793 @cindex foreign groups
1795 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1796 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1797 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1798 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1805 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1806 @cindex making groups
1807 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1808 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1809 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1813 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1814 @cindex renaming groups
1815 Rename the current group to something else
1816 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1817 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1823 @findex gnus-group-customize
1824 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1828 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1829 @cindex renaming groups
1830 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1831 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1835 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1836 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1837 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1841 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1842 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1843 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1847 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1849 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1850 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1855 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1856 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1860 @cindex (ding) archive
1861 @cindex archive group
1862 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1863 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1864 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1865 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1866 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1867 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1868 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1872 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1874 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1875 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1876 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1877 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1881 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1883 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1884 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1885 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1889 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1890 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1892 Make a group based on some file or other
1893 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1894 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1895 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1896 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1897 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1898 this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
1899 @xref{Document Groups}.
1903 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1908 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1909 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1910 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1911 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1912 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1913 @xref{Web Searches}.
1916 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1917 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1918 This function will delete the current group
1919 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1920 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1921 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1922 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1923 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1927 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1928 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1929 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1933 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1934 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1935 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1938 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1941 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1942 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1943 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1944 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1945 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1948 @node Group Parameters
1949 @section Group Parameters
1950 @cindex group parameters
1952 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1957 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1958 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1959 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1960 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1961 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1962 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1963 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1964 copies of your followups.
1966 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1967 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1968 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1969 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1970 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1971 list address instead.
1975 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1976 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1977 doing a @kbd{a} in that group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1978 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1979 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1981 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
1982 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
1983 sending the message.
1987 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
1988 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
1989 of whether it has any unread articles.
1991 @item broken-reply-to
1992 @cindex broken-reply-to
1993 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1994 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1995 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1996 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1997 broken behavior. So there!
2001 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2002 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2006 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, Gnus will treat
2007 all responses as if they were responses to news articles. This can be
2008 useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a news group.
2012 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
2013 @code{t}, newly composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
2014 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
2015 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
2016 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence
2017 over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later). @xref{Archived
2022 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2023 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2024 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2027 @cindex total-expire
2028 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2029 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2030 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2031 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2036 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2037 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2038 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2039 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2040 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2041 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2044 @cindex score file group parameter
2045 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2046 @file{file} into the current adaptive score file for the group in
2047 question. All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2050 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2051 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2052 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2053 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2056 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2057 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2058 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2059 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2062 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2063 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2067 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2070 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2075 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2076 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2077 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2080 @item @var{(variable form)}
2081 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2082 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2083 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2084 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2085 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2086 @code{eval}ed there.
2088 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2089 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2090 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2091 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2092 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2096 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
2098 @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
2100 Here's an example group parameter list:
2103 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2108 @node Listing Groups
2109 @section Listing Groups
2110 @cindex group listing
2112 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2120 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2121 List all groups that have unread articles
2122 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2123 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2124 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2125 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2132 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2133 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2134 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2135 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2136 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2137 unsubscribed groups).
2141 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2142 List all unread groups on a specific level
2143 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2144 with no unread articles.
2148 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2149 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2150 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2151 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2156 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2157 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2161 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2162 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2163 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2167 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2168 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2172 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2173 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2174 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2175 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2176 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2177 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2178 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2179 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2183 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2184 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2185 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2189 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2190 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2191 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2195 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2196 @cindex visible group parameter
2197 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2198 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2199 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2200 get the same effect.
2202 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2203 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2204 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2205 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2206 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2209 @node Sorting Groups
2210 @section Sorting Groups
2211 @cindex sorting groups
2213 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2214 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2215 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2216 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2217 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2218 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2223 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2224 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2225 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2227 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2228 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2229 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2231 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2232 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2233 Sort by group level.
2235 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2236 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2237 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2239 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2240 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2241 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2242 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2244 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2245 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2246 Sort by number of unread articles.
2248 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2249 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2250 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2255 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2256 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2260 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2261 some sorting criteria:
2265 @kindex G S a (Group)
2266 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2267 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2268 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2271 @kindex G S u (Group)
2272 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2273 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2274 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2277 @kindex G S l (Group)
2278 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2279 Sort the group buffer by group level
2280 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2283 @kindex G S v (Group)
2284 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2285 Sort the group buffer by group score
2286 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2289 @kindex G S r (Group)
2290 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2291 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2292 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2295 @kindex G S m (Group)
2296 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2297 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2298 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2302 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2304 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2308 @kindex G P a (Group)
2309 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2310 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2311 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2314 @kindex G P u (Group)
2315 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2316 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2317 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2320 @kindex G P l (Group)
2321 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2322 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2323 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2326 @kindex G P v (Group)
2327 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2328 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2329 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2332 @kindex G P r (Group)
2333 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2334 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2335 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2338 @kindex G P m (Group)
2339 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2340 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2341 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2347 @node Group Maintenance
2348 @section Group Maintenance
2349 @cindex bogus groups
2354 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2355 Find bogus groups and delete them
2356 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2360 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2361 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2362 If given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2366 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2367 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2368 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2369 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2372 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2373 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2374 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2375 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2380 @node Browse Foreign Server
2381 @section Browse Foreign Server
2382 @cindex foreign servers
2383 @cindex browsing servers
2388 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2389 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2390 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2391 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2394 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2395 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2396 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2397 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2399 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2404 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2405 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2409 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2410 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2413 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2414 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2415 Enter the current group and display the first article
2416 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2419 @kindex RET (Browse)
2420 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2421 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2425 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2426 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2427 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2433 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2434 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2438 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2439 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2440 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2445 @section Exiting Gnus
2446 @cindex exiting Gnus
2448 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2453 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2454 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2455 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2456 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2460 @findex gnus-group-exit
2461 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2462 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2466 @findex gnus-group-quit
2467 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2468 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2471 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2472 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2473 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2474 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2475 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2480 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2481 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2482 trying to customize meta-variables.
2487 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2488 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2489 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2495 @section Group Topics
2498 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2499 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2500 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2501 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2502 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2503 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2507 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2508 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2519 2: alt.religion.emacs
2522 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2524 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2525 13: comp.sources.unix
2528 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2530 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2531 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2532 is a toggling command.)
2534 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2535 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2536 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2537 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2540 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2541 the hook for the group mode:
2544 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2548 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2549 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2550 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2551 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2552 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2556 @node Topic Variables
2557 @subsection Topic Variables
2558 @cindex topic variables
2560 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2561 really neat, I think.
2563 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2564 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2565 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2578 Number of groups in the topic.
2580 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2582 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2585 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2586 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2587 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2590 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2591 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2593 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2594 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2595 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2598 @node Topic Commands
2599 @subsection Topic Commands
2600 @cindex topic commands
2602 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2603 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2604 definitions slightly.
2610 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2611 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2612 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2616 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2617 Move the current group to some other topic
2618 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2619 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2623 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2624 Copy the current group to some other topic
2625 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2626 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2630 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2631 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2632 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2633 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2637 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2638 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2639 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2643 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2644 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2645 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2649 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2650 Toggle hiding empty topics
2651 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2655 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2656 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2657 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2660 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2661 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2662 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2663 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2667 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2669 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2670 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2671 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2672 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2673 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2674 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2677 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2678 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2679 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2680 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2681 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2685 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2686 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2687 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2691 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2692 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2693 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2698 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2699 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2702 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2703 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2704 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2708 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2709 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2710 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2714 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2715 @cindex group parameters
2716 @cindex topic parameters
2718 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2719 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2725 @subsection Topic Sorting
2726 @cindex topic sorting
2728 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2734 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2735 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2736 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2737 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2740 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2741 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2742 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2743 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2746 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2747 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2748 Sort the current topic by group level
2749 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2752 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2753 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2754 Sort the current topic by group score
2755 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2758 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2759 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2760 Sort the current topic by group rank
2761 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2764 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2765 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2766 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2767 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2771 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2774 @node Topic Topology
2775 @subsection Topic Topology
2776 @cindex topic topology
2779 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2785 2: alt.religion.emacs
2788 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2790 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2791 13: comp.sources.unix
2794 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2795 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2796 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2801 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2802 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2806 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2807 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2808 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2809 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2810 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2811 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2813 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2814 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2815 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2818 @node Topic Parameters
2819 @subsection Topic Parameters
2820 @cindex topic parameters
2822 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2823 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2824 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2826 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2827 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2828 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2829 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2835 2: alt.religion.emacs
2839 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2841 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2842 13: comp.sources.unix
2846 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2847 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2848 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2849 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2850 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2851 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2853 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2854 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2855 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2856 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2857 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2859 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2860 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2861 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2862 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2863 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2864 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2865 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2866 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2869 @node Misc Group Stuff
2870 @section Misc Group Stuff
2873 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2874 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2875 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2876 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2883 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2884 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2885 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2889 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2890 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2891 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2895 @findex gnus-group-mail
2896 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2900 Variables for the group buffer:
2904 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2905 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2906 is called after the group buffer has been
2909 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2910 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2911 is called after the group buffer is
2912 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2915 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
2916 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2917 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
2918 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
2920 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2921 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2922 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2923 whether they are empty or not.
2928 @node Scanning New Messages
2929 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2930 @cindex new messages
2931 @cindex scanning new news
2937 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2938 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
2939 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2940 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2941 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2942 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
2947 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2948 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2949 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
2950 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2951 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2952 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2953 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2955 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2956 @cindex activating groups
2958 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2959 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2964 @findex gnus-group-restart
2965 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
2966 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
2967 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
2971 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2972 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2974 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2975 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2979 @node Group Information
2980 @subsection Group Information
2981 @cindex group information
2982 @cindex information on groups
2989 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2990 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2993 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2994 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2995 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2996 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2997 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2998 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
2999 for fetching the file.
3001 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3002 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3006 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3008 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3009 @cindex describing groups
3010 @cindex group description
3011 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3012 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3013 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3017 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3018 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3019 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3026 @findex gnus-version
3027 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3031 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3032 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3035 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3038 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3039 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3043 @node Group Timestamp
3044 @subsection Group Timestamp
3046 @cindex group timestamps
3048 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3049 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3050 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3053 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3056 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3058 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3059 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3062 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3063 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3066 This will result in lines looking like:
3069 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3070 0: custom 19961002T012713
3073 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3074 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3078 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3079 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3084 @subsection File Commands
3085 @cindex file commands
3091 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3092 @vindex gnus-init-file
3093 @cindex reading init file
3094 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3095 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3099 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3100 @cindex saving .newsrc
3101 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3102 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3103 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3106 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3107 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3108 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3113 @node The Summary Buffer
3114 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3115 @cindex summary buffer
3117 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3118 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3120 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3121 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3123 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3126 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3127 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3128 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3129 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3130 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3131 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3132 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3133 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3134 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3135 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3136 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3137 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3138 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3139 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3140 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3141 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3142 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3143 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3144 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3145 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3146 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3147 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3148 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3149 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3150 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3151 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3152 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3156 @node Summary Buffer Format
3157 @section Summary Buffer Format
3158 @cindex summary buffer format
3162 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3163 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3164 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3170 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3171 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3172 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3175 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3176 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3177 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3178 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3179 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3180 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3181 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3182 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3183 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3184 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3185 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3187 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3188 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3189 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3190 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3193 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3194 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3196 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3197 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3198 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3199 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3200 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3202 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3204 The following format specification characters are understood:
3212 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3213 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3214 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3216 Full @code{From} header.
3218 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3220 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3221 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3222 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3223 may be more thorough.
3225 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3228 Number of lines in the article.
3230 Number of characters in the article.
3232 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3234 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3235 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3237 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3238 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3240 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3241 for adopted articles.
3243 One space for each thread level.
3245 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3251 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3253 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3254 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3255 default level. If the difference between
3256 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3257 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3265 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3267 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3273 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3274 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3276 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3277 article has any children.
3283 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3284 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3285 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3286 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3287 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3288 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3291 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3292 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3293 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3294 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3295 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3296 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3298 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3299 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3301 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3304 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3305 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3307 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3308 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3309 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3310 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3312 Here are the elements you can play with:
3318 Unprefixed group name.
3320 Current article number.
3324 Number of unread articles in this group.
3326 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3329 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3330 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3331 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3332 and no unselected ones.
3334 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3335 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3337 Subject of the current article.
3339 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3341 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3343 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3345 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3347 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3349 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3353 @node Summary Highlighting
3354 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3358 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3359 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3360 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3361 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3362 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3364 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3365 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3366 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3367 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3369 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3370 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3371 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3372 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3374 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3375 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3376 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3377 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3378 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3379 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3381 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3382 ((> score default) . bold))
3384 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3385 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3389 @node Summary Maneuvering
3390 @section Summary Maneuvering
3391 @cindex summary movement
3393 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3394 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3396 None of these commands select articles.
3401 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3402 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3403 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3404 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3405 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3409 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3410 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3411 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3412 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3413 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3418 @kindex G j (Summary)
3419 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3420 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3421 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3424 @kindex G g (Summary)
3425 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3426 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3427 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3430 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3431 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3432 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3433 to the group buffer.
3435 Variables related to summary movement:
3439 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3440 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3441 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3442 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3443 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3444 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3445 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3446 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3447 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3448 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3449 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3450 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3451 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3452 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3454 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3455 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3456 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3457 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3458 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3459 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3460 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3462 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3463 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3464 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3465 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3466 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3468 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3469 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3470 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3471 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3472 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3473 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3474 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3475 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3481 @node Choosing Articles
3482 @section Choosing Articles
3483 @cindex selecting articles
3486 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3487 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3491 @node Choosing Commands
3492 @subsection Choosing Commands
3494 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3495 and they all select and display an article.
3499 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3500 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3501 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3502 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3507 @kindex G n (Summary)
3508 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3509 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3510 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3515 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3516 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3517 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3522 @kindex G N (Summary)
3523 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3524 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3529 @kindex G P (Summary)
3530 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3531 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3534 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3535 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3536 Go to the next article with the same subject
3537 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3540 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3541 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3542 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3543 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3547 @kindex G f (Summary)
3549 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3550 Go to the first unread article
3551 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3555 @kindex G b (Summary)
3557 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3558 Go to the article with the highest score
3559 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3564 @kindex G l (Summary)
3565 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3566 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3569 @kindex G o (Summary)
3570 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3572 @cindex article history
3573 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3574 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3575 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3576 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3577 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3578 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3582 @node Choosing Variables
3583 @subsection Choosing Variables
3585 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3588 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3589 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3590 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3591 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3592 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3593 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3595 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3596 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3597 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3598 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3600 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3601 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3602 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3603 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3604 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3605 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3606 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3607 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3608 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3609 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3610 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3611 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3612 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3613 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3618 @node Paging the Article
3619 @section Scrolling the Article
3620 @cindex article scrolling
3625 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3626 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3627 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3628 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3629 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3632 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3633 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3634 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3637 @kindex RET (Summary)
3638 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3639 Scroll the current article one line forward
3640 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3644 @kindex A g (Summary)
3646 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3647 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3648 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3649 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3650 the way it came from the server.
3655 @kindex A < (Summary)
3656 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3657 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3658 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3663 @kindex A > (Summary)
3664 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3665 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3669 @kindex A s (Summary)
3671 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3672 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3673 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3677 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3678 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3683 @node Reply Followup and Post
3684 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3687 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3688 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3692 @node Summary Mail Commands
3693 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3695 @cindex composing mail
3697 Commands for composing a mail message:
3703 @kindex S r (Summary)
3705 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3706 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3707 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3708 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3709 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3714 @kindex S R (Summary)
3715 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3716 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3717 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3718 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3719 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3722 @kindex S w (Summary)
3723 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3724 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3725 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3726 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3727 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3730 @kindex S W (Summary)
3731 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3732 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3733 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3734 the process/prefix convention.
3737 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3738 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3739 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3740 Forward the current article to some other person
3741 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3742 headers of the forwarded article.
3747 @kindex S m (Summary)
3748 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3749 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3750 Send a mail to some other person
3751 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3754 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3755 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3756 @cindex bouncing mail
3757 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3758 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3759 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3760 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3761 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3762 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3763 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3764 very well fail, though.
3767 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3768 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3769 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3770 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3771 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3772 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3773 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3774 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3775 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3776 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3778 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3779 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3780 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3781 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3782 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3784 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3785 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3788 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3789 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3790 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3791 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3792 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3795 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3796 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3797 @cindex crossposting
3798 @cindex excessive crossposting
3799 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3800 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3802 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3803 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3804 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3805 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3806 command understands the process/prefix convention
3807 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3812 @node Summary Post Commands
3813 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3815 @cindex composing news
3817 Commands for posting a news article:
3823 @kindex S p (Summary)
3824 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3825 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3826 Post an article to the current group
3827 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3832 @kindex S f (Summary)
3833 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3834 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3835 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3839 @kindex S F (Summary)
3841 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3842 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3843 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3844 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3845 process/prefix convention.
3848 @kindex S n (Summary)
3849 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3850 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3851 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3854 @kindex S n (Summary)
3855 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3856 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3857 message through mail and include the original message
3858 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3859 the process/prefix convention.
3862 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3863 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3864 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3865 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3866 headers of the forwarded article.
3869 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3870 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3872 @cindex making digests
3873 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3874 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3875 process/prefix convention.
3878 @kindex S u (Summary)
3879 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3880 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3881 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3882 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3886 @node Canceling and Superseding
3887 @section Canceling Articles
3888 @cindex canceling articles
3889 @cindex superseding articles
3891 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3892 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3894 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3896 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3898 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
3899 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3900 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3901 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3902 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3903 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3905 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3906 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3909 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when cancelling. If you
3910 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
3911 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
3913 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3914 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3915 your original article.
3917 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3919 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3920 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3921 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3924 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3925 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3926 have posted almost the same article twice.
3928 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3929 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3930 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3931 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
3932 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3933 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3934 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3935 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3936 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3937 canceled/superseded.
3939 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3942 @node Marking Articles
3943 @section Marking Articles
3944 @cindex article marking
3945 @cindex article ticking
3948 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3950 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3951 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3952 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3954 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3957 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3958 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3959 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3963 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3967 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3968 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3972 @node Unread Articles
3973 @subsection Unread Articles
3975 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3980 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3981 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3983 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3984 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3985 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3986 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3987 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3991 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3992 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3994 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3995 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
3996 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
3999 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4000 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4002 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4007 @subsection Read Articles
4008 @cindex expirable mark
4010 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4015 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4016 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4017 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4020 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4021 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4024 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4025 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4026 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4029 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4030 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4033 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4034 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4037 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4038 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4041 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4042 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4045 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4046 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4049 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4050 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4053 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4054 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4058 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4059 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4060 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4064 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4065 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4067 One more special mark, though:
4071 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4072 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4074 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4075 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4076 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4077 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4083 @subsection Other Marks
4084 @cindex process mark
4087 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4093 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4094 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4095 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4096 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4097 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4100 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4101 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4102 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4103 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4106 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4107 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4108 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}
4111 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4112 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4113 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4114 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4117 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4118 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4119 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4120 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4121 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4124 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4125 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4126 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4127 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4128 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4129 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4133 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4134 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4135 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4137 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4138 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4139 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4143 @subsection Setting Marks
4144 @cindex setting marks
4146 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4151 @kindex M c (Summary)
4152 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4153 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4154 @cindex mark as unread
4155 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4156 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4162 @kindex M t (Summary)
4163 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4164 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4165 @xref{Article Caching}
4170 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4171 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4172 Mark the current article as dormant
4173 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}
4177 @kindex M d (Summary)
4179 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4180 Mark the current article as read
4181 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4185 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4186 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4187 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4192 @kindex M k (Summary)
4193 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4194 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4195 and then select the next unread article
4196 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4200 @kindex M K (Summary)
4201 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4202 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4203 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4204 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4207 @kindex M C (Summary)
4208 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4209 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4210 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4213 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4214 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4215 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4216 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4219 @kindex M H (Summary)
4220 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4221 Catchup the current group to point
4222 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4225 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4226 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4227 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4228 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4231 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4232 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4233 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4234 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4238 @kindex M e (Summary)
4240 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4241 Mark the current article as expirable
4242 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4245 @kindex M b (Summary)
4246 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4247 Set a bookmark in the current article
4248 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4251 @kindex M B (Summary)
4252 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4253 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4254 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4257 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4258 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4259 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4260 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4263 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4264 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4265 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4266 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4269 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4270 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4271 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4272 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4273 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4276 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4277 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4278 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4279 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4280 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4281 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4282 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4283 The default is @code{t}.
4286 @node Setting Process Marks
4287 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4288 @cindex setting process marks
4295 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4296 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4297 Mark the current article with the process mark
4298 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4299 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4303 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4304 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4305 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4306 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4309 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4310 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4311 Remove the process mark from all articles
4312 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4315 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4316 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4317 Invert the list of process marked articles
4318 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4321 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4322 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4323 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4326 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4327 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4328 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4331 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4332 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4333 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4334 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4337 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4338 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4339 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4340 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4343 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4344 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4345 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4346 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4349 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4350 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4351 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4354 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4355 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4356 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4357 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4360 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4361 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4362 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4365 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4366 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4367 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4368 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4371 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4372 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4373 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4374 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4377 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4378 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4379 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4380 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4383 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4384 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4385 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4386 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4395 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4396 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4397 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4400 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4401 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4402 additional articles.
4408 @kindex / / (Summary)
4409 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4410 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4411 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4414 @kindex / a (Summary)
4415 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4416 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4417 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4421 @kindex / u (Summary)
4423 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4424 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4425 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4426 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4427 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4430 @kindex / m (Summary)
4431 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4432 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4433 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4436 @kindex / t (Summary)
4437 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4438 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4439 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4440 articles younger than that number of days.
4443 @kindex / n (Summary)
4444 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4445 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4446 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4447 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4450 @kindex / w (Summary)
4451 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4452 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4453 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4457 @kindex / v (Summary)
4458 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4459 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4460 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4464 @kindex M S (Summary)
4465 @kindex / E (Summary)
4466 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4467 Display all expunged articles
4468 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4471 @kindex / D (Summary)
4472 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4473 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4476 @kindex / d (Summary)
4477 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4478 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4481 @kindex / T (Summary)
4482 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4483 Include all the articles in the current thread.
4486 @kindex / c (Summary)
4487 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4488 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4489 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4492 @kindex / C (Summary)
4493 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4494 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4495 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4496 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4504 @cindex article threading
4506 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4507 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4508 hierarchical fashion.
4510 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4511 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4512 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4513 or simply missing. Weird news propagration excarcerbates the problem,
4514 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4515 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4516 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4518 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4522 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4525 A tree-like article structure.
4528 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4531 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4532 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4533 summary buffer. We then typicall have many sub-threads that really
4534 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4535 called loose threads.
4537 @item thread gathering
4538 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4540 @item sparse threads
4541 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4542 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4548 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4549 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4553 @node Customizing Threading
4554 @subsection Customizing Threading
4555 @cindex customizing threading
4558 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4559 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4560 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4561 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4566 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4569 @cindex loose threads
4572 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4573 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4574 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4575 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4576 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4577 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4579 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4580 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4581 There are four possible values:
4585 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4586 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4587 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4588 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4589 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4594 @cindex adopting articles
4599 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4600 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4601 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4602 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4605 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4606 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4607 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4608 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4609 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4610 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4611 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4614 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4615 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4616 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4620 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4621 display them after one another.
4624 Don't gather loose threads.
4627 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4628 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4629 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4630 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4631 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4632 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4633 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4634 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4635 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4636 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4637 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4639 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4640 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4641 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4644 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4645 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4646 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4647 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4648 simplification is used.
4650 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4651 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4652 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4653 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4655 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4657 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4663 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4664 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4665 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4666 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4671 (mapconcat 'identity
4672 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4674 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4677 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4680 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4681 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4682 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4683 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4684 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4685 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4687 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4690 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4691 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4692 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4694 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4695 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4698 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4699 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4700 Remove excessive whitespace.
4703 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4706 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4707 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4708 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4709 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4710 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4711 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4712 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4713 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4715 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4716 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4717 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4718 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4719 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4720 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4721 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4722 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4723 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4727 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4728 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4729 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4730 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4732 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4733 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4734 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4737 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4741 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4742 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4748 @node Filling In Threads
4749 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4752 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4753 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4754 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4755 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
4756 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4757 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4758 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4759 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4760 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4761 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4762 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4763 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4765 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4766 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4767 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4769 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4770 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4771 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4772 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4773 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4774 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4775 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4776 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4777 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4778 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4779 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4780 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4781 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4782 @code{nil} by default.
4787 @node More Threading
4788 @subsubsection More Threading
4791 @item gnus-show-threads
4792 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4793 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4794 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4795 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4796 slower and more awkward.
4798 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4799 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4800 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4803 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4804 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4805 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4806 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4807 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4808 threads are expunged.
4810 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4811 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4812 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4815 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4816 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4817 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4818 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4819 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4822 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4823 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4824 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4830 @node Low-Level Threading
4831 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4835 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4836 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4837 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4838 @code{(gnus-decode-rfc1522)}, which means that QPized headers will be
4839 slightly decoded in a hackish way. This is likely to change in the
4840 future when Gnus becomes @sc{MIME}ified.
4842 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4843 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4844 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4845 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4846 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4847 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4848 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4849 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4850 meaningful. Here's one example:
4853 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4855 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4856 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4858 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4860 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4867 @node Thread Commands
4868 @subsection Thread Commands
4869 @cindex thread commands
4875 @kindex T k (Summary)
4876 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4877 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4878 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4879 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4880 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4885 @kindex T l (Summary)
4886 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4887 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4888 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4889 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4892 @kindex T i (Summary)
4893 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4894 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4895 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4898 @kindex T # (Summary)
4899 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4900 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4901 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4904 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4905 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4906 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4907 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4910 @kindex T T (Summary)
4911 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4912 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4915 @kindex T s (Summary)
4916 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4917 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4918 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4921 @kindex T h (Summary)
4922 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4923 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4926 @kindex T S (Summary)
4927 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4928 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4931 @kindex T H (Summary)
4932 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4933 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4936 @kindex T t (Summary)
4937 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4938 Re-thread the current article's thread
4939 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4940 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4943 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4944 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4945 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4946 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
4950 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4951 understand the numeric prefix.
4956 @kindex T n (Summary)
4957 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4958 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4961 @kindex T p (Summary)
4962 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4963 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4966 @kindex T d (Summary)
4967 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4968 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4971 @kindex T u (Summary)
4972 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4973 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4976 @kindex T o (Summary)
4977 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4978 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4981 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4982 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4983 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4984 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4985 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4986 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4987 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
4988 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4989 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4990 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4991 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4992 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
4999 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5000 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5001 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5002 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5003 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5004 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5005 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5006 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5007 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
5008 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5009 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5010 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5011 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5012 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5014 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5015 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5016 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
5017 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
5018 in the list. You should probably always include
5019 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5020 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5021 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5022 ascending article order.
5024 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
5025 number, you could do something like:
5028 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5029 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5030 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5031 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
5034 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5035 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5036 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5037 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5038 which the articles arrived.
5040 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5044 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5046 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t2 t1)))
5047 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5050 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5051 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5052 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5053 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5056 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5057 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5058 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5059 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5060 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5061 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5062 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5063 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5064 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5065 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5066 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5067 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5068 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5070 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5074 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5075 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5076 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5081 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5082 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5083 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5084 @cindex article pre-fetch
5087 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5088 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5089 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5090 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5091 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5093 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5094 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5096 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5097 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5098 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5099 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5100 connection is blocked.
5102 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5103 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5104 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5105 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
5107 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5108 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5109 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5110 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5113 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5116 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5117 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5118 happen automatically.
5120 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5121 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5122 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5123 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5124 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5125 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5126 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5128 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5129 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5130 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5131 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5132 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5133 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5134 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5135 data structure as the only parameter.
5137 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5140 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5141 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5142 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5143 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5146 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5149 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5150 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
5151 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5153 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5154 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5155 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5156 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5160 Remove articles when they are read.
5163 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5166 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5168 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5169 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5170 from the next group.
5173 @node Article Caching
5174 @section Article Caching
5175 @cindex article caching
5178 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5179 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5180 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5181 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5182 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5184 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5186 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5187 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5188 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5189 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5190 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5191 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5192 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5193 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5195 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5196 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5197 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5198 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5199 as dormant, and don't worry.
5201 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5203 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5204 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5205 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5206 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5207 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5208 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5209 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5210 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5211 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5212 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5214 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5215 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5216 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5217 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5218 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5219 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5220 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5221 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5222 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5223 not then be downloaded by this command.
5225 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5226 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
5227 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5228 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5229 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
5230 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
5231 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
5234 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5235 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5236 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5237 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5238 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5239 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
5240 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5241 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5242 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5246 @node Persistent Articles
5247 @section Persistent Articles
5248 @cindex persistent articles
5250 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5251 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5252 useful in my opinion.
5254 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5255 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5256 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5257 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5258 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5259 the expiry going on at the news server.
5261 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5262 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5263 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5269 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5270 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5273 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5274 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5275 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5276 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5280 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5282 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5283 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5284 interested in persistent articles:
5287 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5291 @node Article Backlog
5292 @section Article Backlog
5294 @cindex article backlog
5296 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5297 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5298 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
5299 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5300 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5301 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5302 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5303 increase memory usage some.
5305 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5306 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5307 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5308 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5309 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5310 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5311 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5313 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5316 @node Saving Articles
5317 @section Saving Articles
5318 @cindex saving articles
5320 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5321 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5322 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5323 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5324 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5326 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5327 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5328 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5330 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5331 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5332 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5333 deleted before saving.
5339 @kindex O o (Summary)
5341 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5342 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5343 Save the current article using the default article saver
5344 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5347 @kindex O m (Summary)
5348 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5349 Save the current article in mail format
5350 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5353 @kindex O r (Summary)
5354 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5355 Save the current article in rmail format
5356 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5359 @kindex O f (Summary)
5360 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5361 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5362 Save the current article in plain file format
5363 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5366 @kindex O F (Summary)
5367 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5368 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5369 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5372 @kindex O b (Summary)
5373 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5374 Save the current article body in plain file format
5375 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5378 @kindex O h (Summary)
5379 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5380 Save the current article in mh folder format
5381 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5384 @kindex O v (Summary)
5385 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5386 Save the current article in a VM folder
5387 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5390 @kindex O p (Summary)
5391 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5392 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5393 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5396 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5397 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5398 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5399 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5400 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5401 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5402 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5403 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5404 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5405 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5406 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5407 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5411 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5412 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5413 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5414 functions below, or you can create your own.
5418 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5419 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5420 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5421 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5422 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5423 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5424 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5426 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5427 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5428 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5429 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5430 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5431 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5433 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5434 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5435 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5436 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5437 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5438 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5439 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5441 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5442 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5443 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5444 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5445 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5447 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5448 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5449 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5450 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5451 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5454 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5455 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5456 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5457 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5458 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5460 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5461 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5462 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5463 reader to use this setting.
5466 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5467 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5468 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5469 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5472 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5473 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5474 available functions that generate names:
5478 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5479 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5480 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5482 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5483 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5484 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5486 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5487 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5488 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5490 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5491 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5492 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5495 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5496 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5497 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5498 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5499 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5503 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5504 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5505 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5506 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5509 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5510 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5511 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5512 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5513 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5514 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5515 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5516 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5517 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5519 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5520 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5521 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5522 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5524 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5525 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5526 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5529 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5530 lots of mail groups called things like
5531 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5532 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5533 following will do just that:
5536 (defun my-save-name (group)
5537 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5538 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5540 (setq gnus-split-methods
5541 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5546 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5547 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5548 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5549 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5550 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5551 all the files in the toplevel directory
5552 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5553 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5554 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5555 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5557 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5558 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5559 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5560 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5561 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5564 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5568 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5569 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5572 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5573 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5574 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5575 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5578 @node Decoding Articles
5579 @section Decoding Articles
5580 @cindex decoding articles
5582 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5583 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5586 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5587 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5588 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5589 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5590 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5591 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5595 @cindex article series
5596 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5597 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5598 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5599 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5600 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5602 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5603 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5604 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5606 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5607 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5608 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5610 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5611 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5612 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5615 @node Uuencoded Articles
5616 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5618 @cindex uuencoded articles
5623 @kindex X u (Summary)
5624 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5625 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5626 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5629 @kindex X U (Summary)
5630 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5631 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5632 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5635 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5636 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5637 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5640 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5641 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5642 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5643 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5647 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5648 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5649 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5650 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5651 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5653 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5654 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5655 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5656 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5659 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5660 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5661 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5662 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5663 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5664 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5668 @node Shell Archives
5669 @subsection Shell Archives
5671 @cindex shell archives
5672 @cindex shared articles
5674 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5675 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5676 some commands to deal with these:
5681 @kindex X s (Summary)
5682 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5683 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5686 @kindex X S (Summary)
5687 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5688 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5691 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5692 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5693 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5696 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5697 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5698 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5699 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5703 @node PostScript Files
5704 @subsection PostScript Files
5710 @kindex X p (Summary)
5711 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5712 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5715 @kindex X P (Summary)
5716 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5717 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5718 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5721 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5722 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5723 View the current PostScript series
5724 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5727 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5728 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5729 View and save the current PostScript series
5730 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5735 @subsection Other Files
5739 @kindex X o (Summary)
5740 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5741 Save the current series
5742 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5745 @kindex X b (Summary)
5746 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5747 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5748 doesn't really work yet.
5752 @node Decoding Variables
5753 @subsection Decoding Variables
5755 Adjective, not verb.
5758 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5759 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5760 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5764 @node Rule Variables
5765 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5766 @cindex rule variables
5768 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5769 variables are of the form
5772 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5779 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5780 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5782 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5783 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5786 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5787 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5790 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5791 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5792 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5793 user and default view rules.
5795 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5796 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5797 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5802 @node Other Decode Variables
5803 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5806 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5808 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5809 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5810 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5811 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5812 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5816 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5817 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5820 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5821 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5822 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5825 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5826 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5827 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5828 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5829 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5832 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5833 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5834 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5836 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5837 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5838 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5839 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5840 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5843 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5844 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5845 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5847 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5848 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5849 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5850 looking for files to display.
5852 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5853 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5854 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5857 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5858 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5859 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5862 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5863 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5864 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5867 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5868 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5869 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5872 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5873 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5874 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
5875 decoded articles as unread.
5877 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5878 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5879 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5880 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5882 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5883 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5884 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
5886 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5887 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5889 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5890 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5891 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5892 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5894 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5895 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5896 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5897 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5898 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5899 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5900 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5901 simply dropped them.
5906 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5907 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5911 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5912 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5913 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5914 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5915 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5916 for you when you post the article.
5918 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5919 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5920 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5921 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5923 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5924 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5925 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5926 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
5927 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5928 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5929 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5931 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5932 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5933 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5934 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5935 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5936 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5937 Default is @code{t}.
5943 @subsection Viewing Files
5944 @cindex viewing files
5945 @cindex pseudo-articles
5947 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5948 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5949 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5950 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5951 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5952 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5953 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5955 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5956 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5957 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5958 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5960 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5961 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5962 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5964 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5965 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5966 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5967 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5968 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5970 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5971 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5972 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5973 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5974 a list of parameters to that command.
5976 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5977 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5978 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5980 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5981 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5982 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5985 @node Article Treatment
5986 @section Article Treatment
5988 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5989 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
5990 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5991 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5992 these articles easier.
5995 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5996 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look niced.
5997 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5998 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5999 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6000 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6001 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6005 @node Article Highlighting
6006 @subsection Article Highlighting
6009 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6010 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6015 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6016 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6017 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
6020 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6021 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6022 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6023 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6024 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6025 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6026 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6027 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6028 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6029 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6030 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6033 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6034 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6035 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6037 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6040 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6042 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6043 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6044 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6046 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6047 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6048 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6050 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6051 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6052 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6054 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6055 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6056 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6057 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6058 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6059 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6061 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6062 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6063 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6065 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6066 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6067 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6069 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6070 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6071 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6072 that it's a citation.
6074 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6075 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6076 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6078 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6079 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6080 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6082 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6083 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6084 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6085 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6091 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6092 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6093 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6094 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6095 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6096 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6097 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6098 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6104 @node Article Fontisizing
6105 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6107 @cindex article emphasis
6109 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6110 @kindex W e (Summary)
6111 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6112 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6113 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6114 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6116 @vindex gnus-article-emphasis
6117 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6118 @code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
6119 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6120 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6121 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6122 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6123 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6127 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6128 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6129 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6132 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6133 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6134 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6135 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6136 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6137 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6138 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6139 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6140 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6141 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6142 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6143 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6144 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6146 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6147 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6148 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6152 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6156 @node Article Hiding
6157 @subsection Article Hiding
6158 @cindex article hiding
6160 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6161 too much cruft in most articles.
6166 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6167 @findex gnus-article-hide
6168 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
6171 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6172 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6173 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6177 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6178 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6179 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6180 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6183 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6184 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6185 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6189 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6190 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6191 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6192 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6193 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6194 signature has been hidden.
6197 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6198 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6199 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6200 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6203 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6204 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6205 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6206 customizing the hiding:
6210 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6211 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6212 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6213 50), hide the cited text.
6215 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6216 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6217 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6220 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6221 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6222 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6223 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6224 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6229 Start point of the hidden text.
6231 End point of the hidden text.
6233 Length of the hidden text.
6236 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6237 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6238 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6243 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6244 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6245 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6246 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6247 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6248 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6252 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6253 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6254 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6256 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6257 citation customization.
6260 @node Article Washing
6261 @subsection Article Washing
6263 @cindex article washing
6265 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6266 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6268 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6269 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6275 @kindex W l (Summary)
6276 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6277 Remove page breaks from the current article
6278 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
6281 @kindex W r (Summary)
6282 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6283 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6284 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6285 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6286 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6287 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6289 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6290 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6291 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6292 is rumoured to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6295 @kindex W t (Summary)
6296 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6297 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6298 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6301 @kindex W v (Summary)
6302 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6303 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6304 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6307 @kindex W m (Summary)
6308 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6309 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
6310 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6313 @kindex W o (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6315 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6318 @kindex W d (Summary)
6319 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6320 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6323 @kindex W w (Summary)
6324 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6325 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6326 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6327 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6329 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6333 @kindex W c (Summary)
6334 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6335 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6336 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6339 @kindex W q (Summary)
6340 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
6341 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
6342 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
6343 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
6344 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
6348 @kindex W f (Summary)
6350 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6351 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6352 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6353 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6359 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6360 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6361 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6362 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6363 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6364 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6365 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6366 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6367 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6368 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6369 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6370 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6371 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6372 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6376 @kindex W b (Summary)
6377 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6378 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6379 @xref{Article Buttons}
6382 @kindex W B (Summary)
6383 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6384 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6385 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6388 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6389 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6390 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6391 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6394 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6395 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6396 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6397 lines with a single empty line.
6398 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6401 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6402 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6403 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6404 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6407 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6408 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6409 Do all the three commands above
6410 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6413 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6414 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6415 Remove all blank lines
6416 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6419 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6420 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6421 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6422 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6427 @node Article Buttons
6428 @subsection Article Buttons
6431 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6432 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6433 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6434 button on these references.
6436 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6437 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6438 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6443 @item gnus-button-alist
6444 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6445 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6448 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6454 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6455 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6456 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6459 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6460 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6461 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6464 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6465 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6466 avoid false matches.
6469 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6472 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6473 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6477 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6480 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6483 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6484 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6485 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6486 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6487 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6490 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6493 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6495 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6496 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6497 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6498 default values of the variables above.
6500 @item gnus-article-button-face
6501 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6502 Face used on buttons.
6504 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6505 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6506 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6512 @subsection Article Date
6514 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6515 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6516 when the article was sent.
6521 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6522 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6523 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6524 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6527 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6528 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6530 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6531 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6534 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6535 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6536 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6539 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6540 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6541 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6542 @findex format-time-string
6543 Display the date using a user-defined format
6544 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6545 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6546 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6547 for a list of possible format specs.
6550 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6551 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6552 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6553 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6554 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6555 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6556 updated continually, you can put
6559 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6562 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6563 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6567 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6568 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6569 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6570 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6571 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6572 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6573 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6578 @node Article Signature
6579 @subsection Article Signature
6581 @cindex article signature
6583 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6584 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6585 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6586 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6587 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6588 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6589 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6590 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6591 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6594 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6595 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6596 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6597 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6598 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6599 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6600 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6601 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6604 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6607 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6608 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6613 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6616 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6619 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6620 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6622 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6623 in question is not a signature.
6626 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6627 listed above. Here's an example:
6630 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6631 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6634 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6635 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6636 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6637 signature after all.
6640 @node Article Commands
6641 @section Article Commands
6648 @kindex A P (Summary)
6649 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6650 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6651 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6652 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6653 run just before printing the buffer.
6658 @node Summary Sorting
6659 @section Summary Sorting
6660 @cindex summary sorting
6662 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6663 can't really see why you'd want that.
6668 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6669 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6670 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6673 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6674 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6675 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6678 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6679 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6680 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6683 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6684 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6685 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6688 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6689 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6690 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6693 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6694 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6695 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6698 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6699 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6700 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6701 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6702 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6706 @node Finding the Parent
6707 @section Finding the Parent
6708 @cindex parent articles
6709 @cindex referring articles
6714 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6715 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6716 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6717 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6718 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6719 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6720 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6721 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6722 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6724 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6725 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6726 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6727 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6728 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6732 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6733 @kindex A R (Summary)
6734 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
6735 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6738 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
6739 @kindex A T (Summary)
6740 Display the full thread where the current article appears
6741 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
6742 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
6743 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
6744 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
6745 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
6746 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
6748 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
6749 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
6750 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
6751 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
6752 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
6753 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
6756 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6757 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6759 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6760 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6761 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6762 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6763 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6764 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6765 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6768 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6769 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6770 by giving this command a prefix.
6772 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6773 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6774 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6775 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6776 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6777 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6780 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6781 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6782 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6783 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6784 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6785 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6788 @node Alternative Approaches
6789 @section Alternative Approaches
6791 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6792 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6795 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6796 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6801 @subsection Pick and Read
6802 @cindex pick and read
6804 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
6805 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
6806 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
6807 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
6809 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6810 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6811 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6812 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6813 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6814 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
6816 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6821 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6822 Pick the article on the current line
6823 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6824 go to that article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
6825 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6828 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6829 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6830 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6831 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6835 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6836 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6840 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6841 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6845 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6846 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6850 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6851 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6855 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6856 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6860 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6861 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6865 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6866 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6870 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6871 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6875 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6876 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6880 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6881 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6885 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6886 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6887 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6888 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6889 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6890 will still be visible when you are reading.
6894 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6897 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6900 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6901 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6903 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6904 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6905 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6907 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6908 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
6909 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6910 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6911 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6912 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6913 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6917 @subsection Binary Groups
6918 @cindex binary groups
6920 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6921 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6922 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6923 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6924 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6925 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6926 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6929 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6930 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
6931 command, when you have turned on this mode
6932 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6934 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6935 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6939 @section Tree Display
6942 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6943 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6944 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6945 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6948 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6951 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6952 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6953 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6955 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6956 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6957 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6958 is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list of valid specs, @pxref{Summary
6961 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6962 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6963 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6964 default is @code{modeline}.
6966 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6967 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6968 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6969 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6970 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6971 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6972 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6978 The name of the poster.
6980 The @code{From} header.
6982 The number of the article.
6984 The opening bracket.
6986 The closing bracket.
6991 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6993 Variables related to the display are:
6996 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6997 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6998 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6999 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7000 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7001 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7003 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7004 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7005 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7006 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7010 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7011 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7012 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
7013 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
7014 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7015 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7016 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7017 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7018 other windows displayed next to it.
7020 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7021 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7022 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7023 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7024 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7025 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7026 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7030 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7033 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7043 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7047 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7048 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7050 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7052 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7057 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7058 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7059 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7062 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7063 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7064 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7065 (gnus-add-configuration
7069 (summary 0.75 point)
7074 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7077 @node Mail Group Commands
7078 @section Mail Group Commands
7079 @cindex mail group commands
7081 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7082 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7084 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7085 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7090 @kindex B e (Summary)
7091 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7092 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7093 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7096 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7097 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7098 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7099 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7100 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7101 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7104 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7105 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7106 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7107 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7108 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7109 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7112 @kindex B m (Summary)
7114 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7115 Move the article from one mail group to another
7116 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7119 @kindex B c (Summary)
7121 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7122 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7123 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7124 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7127 @kindex B B (Summary)
7128 @cindex crosspost mail
7129 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7130 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7131 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7132 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7133 be properly updated.
7136 @kindex B i (Summary)
7137 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7138 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7139 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7140 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7143 @kindex B r (Summary)
7144 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7145 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7146 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7147 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7148 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7152 @kindex B w (Summary)
7154 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7155 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7156 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7157 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7158 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7159 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7162 @kindex B q (Summary)
7163 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7164 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7165 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7166 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7169 @kindex B p (Summary)
7170 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7171 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7172 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7173 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7174 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7175 article from your news server (or rather, from
7176 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7177 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7178 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7179 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7180 just not have arrived yet.
7184 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7185 @cindex moving articles
7186 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
7187 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7188 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7189 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7190 suggestions you find reasonable.
7193 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7194 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7195 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7196 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7200 @node Various Summary Stuff
7201 @section Various Summary Stuff
7204 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7205 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7206 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7207 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7211 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7212 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7213 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7215 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7216 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7217 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7218 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7219 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7220 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7223 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7224 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7225 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7226 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7227 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7229 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7230 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7231 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7232 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7233 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7234 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7235 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
7236 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7237 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7238 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7243 @node Summary Group Information
7244 @subsection Summary Group Information
7249 @kindex H f (Summary)
7250 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7251 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7252 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7253 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7254 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7255 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7256 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7257 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7258 be used for fetching the file.
7261 @kindex H d (Summary)
7262 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7263 Give a brief description of the current group
7264 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7265 rereading the description from the server.
7268 @kindex H h (Summary)
7269 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7270 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7271 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7274 @kindex H i (Summary)
7275 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7276 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7280 @node Searching for Articles
7281 @subsection Searching for Articles
7286 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7287 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7288 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7289 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7292 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7293 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7294 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7295 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7299 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7300 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7301 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7302 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7306 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7307 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7308 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7309 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7312 @node Summary Generation Commands
7313 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7318 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7319 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7320 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7323 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7324 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7325 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7326 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7331 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7332 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7337 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7338 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7339 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7340 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7341 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7342 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7343 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7344 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7345 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7349 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7350 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7351 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7352 several documents into one biiig group
7353 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7354 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7355 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7356 command understands the process/prefix convention
7357 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7360 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7361 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7362 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7363 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7364 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7365 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7369 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7370 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7371 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7376 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7377 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7378 @cindex summary exit
7379 @cindex exiting groups
7381 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7382 group and return you to the group buffer.
7388 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7390 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7391 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7392 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7393 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7394 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7395 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7396 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7397 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7398 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7399 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7400 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7404 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7406 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7407 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7408 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7412 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7414 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7415 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7416 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7417 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7420 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7421 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7422 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7423 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7426 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7427 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7428 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7429 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7432 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7433 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7434 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7435 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7436 all articles, both read and unread.
7440 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7441 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7442 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7443 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7444 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7445 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7446 articles, both read and unread.
7449 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7450 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7451 Exit the group and go to the next group
7452 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7455 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7456 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7457 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7458 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7461 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7462 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7463 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7464 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7465 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7466 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7469 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7470 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7473 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7474 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7475 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7476 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7477 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7478 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7479 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7480 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7481 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7482 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7483 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7484 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7486 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7488 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7489 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7490 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7491 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7492 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7493 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7494 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7495 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7496 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7499 @node Crosspost Handling
7500 @section Crosspost Handling
7504 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7505 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7506 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7507 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7508 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7509 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7512 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7513 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7514 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7515 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7516 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7518 @cindex cross-posting
7521 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7522 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7523 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7524 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7525 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7526 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7527 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7528 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7529 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7530 the cross reference mechanism.
7532 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7533 @cindex overview.fmt
7534 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7535 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7536 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7537 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7538 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7539 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7542 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7543 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7544 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7549 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7552 @node Duplicate Suppression
7553 @section Duplicate Suppression
7555 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7556 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7557 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7558 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
7563 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7564 is evil and not very common.
7567 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7568 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7571 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7572 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7575 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7578 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7579 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7581 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7582 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7583 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7584 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7585 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7586 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7587 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7590 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7591 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7592 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7593 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7594 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7598 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7599 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7600 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7602 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7603 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7604 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7605 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7606 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
7607 session are suppressed.
7609 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7610 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7611 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7612 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7614 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7615 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7616 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7617 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7620 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7621 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7622 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7623 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7624 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7625 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7626 to you to figure out, I think.
7629 @node The Article Buffer
7630 @chapter The Article Buffer
7631 @cindex article buffer
7633 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7634 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7635 tell Gnus otherwise.
7638 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7639 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7640 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7641 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7642 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7646 @node Hiding Headers
7647 @section Hiding Headers
7648 @cindex hiding headers
7649 @cindex deleting headers
7651 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7652 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7654 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7655 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7656 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7657 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7658 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7659 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7660 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7661 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7662 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7664 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7668 @item gnus-visible-headers
7669 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7670 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7671 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7672 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7674 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7675 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7678 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7681 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7684 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7685 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7686 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7687 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7688 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7689 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7691 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7692 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7695 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7698 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7701 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7702 variable will have no effect.
7706 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7707 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7708 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7709 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7710 the headers are to be displayed.
7712 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7713 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7716 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7719 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7720 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
7722 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7723 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7724 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7725 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7726 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7727 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7728 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7729 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7730 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7732 These conditions are:
7735 Remove all empty headers.
7737 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7740 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7741 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7743 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7746 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7749 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
7751 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
7754 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7757 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7758 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7761 This is also the default value for this variable.
7765 @section Using @sc{mime}
7768 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7769 while people stand around yawning.
7771 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7772 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7774 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7775 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7776 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7778 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7779 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7780 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7781 @findex metamail-buffer
7782 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7783 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7784 default. This function calls the external @code{metamail} program to
7785 actually do the work. One common problem with this program is that is
7786 thinks that it can't display 8-bit things in the Emacs buffer. To tell
7787 it the truth, put something like the following in your
7788 @file{.bash_profile} file. (You do use @code{bash}, don't you?)
7791 export MM_CHARSET="iso-8859-1"
7794 For more information on @code{metamail}, see its manual page.
7796 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7797 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7798 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7799 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7800 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7801 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7803 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7804 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7805 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7806 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7807 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7808 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7809 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7810 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7811 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7813 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7816 @node Customizing Articles
7817 @section Customizing Articles
7818 @cindex article customization
7820 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7821 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7822 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7823 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7825 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7826 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7827 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7828 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7829 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7830 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7831 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7832 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7833 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7835 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7836 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7837 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7838 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7839 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7842 @node Article Keymap
7843 @section Article Keymap
7845 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7846 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7847 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7848 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7851 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7856 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7857 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7858 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7861 @kindex DEL (Article)
7862 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7863 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7866 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7867 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7868 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7869 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7870 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7873 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7874 @findex gnus-article-mail
7875 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7876 given a prefix, include the mail.
7880 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7881 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7882 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7886 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7887 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7888 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7891 @kindex TAB (Article)
7892 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7893 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
7894 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7897 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7898 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7899 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
7905 @section Misc Article
7909 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7910 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7911 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7912 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7915 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7916 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7917 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7918 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7919 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7920 the contents of the article buffer.
7922 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7923 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7924 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7925 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7926 hiding headers, and the like.
7928 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7929 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7930 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7932 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7933 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7934 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7935 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7937 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7938 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7939 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7940 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7941 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7945 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7946 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7950 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7952 @item gnus-break-pages
7953 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7954 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7955 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7956 paging will not be done.
7958 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7959 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7960 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7965 @node Composing Messages
7966 @chapter Composing Messages
7967 @cindex composing messages
7970 @cindex sending mail
7975 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7976 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7977 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7978 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7979 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7980 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7981 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7984 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7985 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7986 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7987 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7988 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7989 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7990 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7993 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7994 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8000 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8003 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8004 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8005 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8006 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8008 @item gnus-add-to-list
8009 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8010 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8011 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8019 Variables for composing news articles:
8022 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8023 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8024 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8025 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8026 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8027 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8028 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8029 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8030 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
8033 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8034 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8035 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8036 file. It is 1000 by default.
8041 @node Posting Server
8042 @section Posting Server
8044 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8045 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8047 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8049 @vindex gnus-post-method
8051 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
8052 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8053 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8054 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8055 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8058 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8061 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8062 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8063 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8064 the ``current'' server for posting.
8066 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8067 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8069 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8070 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8075 @section Mail and Post
8077 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8081 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8082 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8083 @cindex mailing lists
8085 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8086 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8087 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8088 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8089 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8090 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8091 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8092 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8093 still a pain, though.
8097 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8098 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8099 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8102 @findex ispell-message
8104 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8108 @node Archived Messages
8109 @section Archived Messages
8110 @cindex archived messages
8111 @cindex sent messages
8113 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8114 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8115 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8116 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8119 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8120 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
8121 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8125 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8126 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8127 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8128 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8131 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8132 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8133 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8134 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8137 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8138 '(nnfolder "archive"
8139 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8140 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8141 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8144 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8146 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8147 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8148 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8150 This variable can be used to do the following:
8154 Messages will be saved in that group.
8155 @item a list of strings
8156 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8157 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8158 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8160 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8165 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8167 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8170 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8172 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8175 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8177 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8178 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8179 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8180 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8185 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8186 '((if (message-news-p)
8191 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8192 messages in one file per month:
8195 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8196 '((if (message-news-p)
8198 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8199 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8202 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8203 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8205 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8206 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8207 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8208 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8209 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8210 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8211 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8212 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8213 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8214 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8216 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8217 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8218 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8219 this will disable archiving.
8222 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8223 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8224 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8225 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8226 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8229 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8230 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8231 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8234 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8235 but the latter is the preferred method.
8239 @c @node Posting Styles
8240 @c @section Posting Styles
8241 @c @cindex posting styles
8244 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
8246 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8247 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8248 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8251 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8252 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8253 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8254 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8255 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8260 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
8261 @c (organization . "What me?"))
8263 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
8264 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8265 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
8268 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8269 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8270 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8271 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8272 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8273 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8274 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8275 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8277 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8278 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8279 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8280 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8281 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8282 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8285 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8286 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8287 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
8288 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8289 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8292 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8293 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8294 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8296 @c So here's a new example:
8299 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
8301 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
8302 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
8303 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8304 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
8306 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8307 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8308 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
8309 @c (posting-from-work-p
8310 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
8311 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
8312 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
8314 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
8321 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8322 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8323 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8324 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8325 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8327 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8328 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8329 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8330 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8331 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8335 @vindex nndraft-directory
8336 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8337 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8338 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8339 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8340 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8341 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8343 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8344 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8347 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8348 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8349 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8350 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8351 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8352 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8353 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8354 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8355 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8356 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8357 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8358 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8359 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8360 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8362 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8363 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8364 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8366 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8368 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8369 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8370 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8372 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8375 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8376 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8377 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8378 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8379 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8380 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8381 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8384 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8385 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8386 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8389 @node Rejected Articles
8390 @section Rejected Articles
8391 @cindex rejected articles
8393 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8394 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8395 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8396 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8398 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
8399 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8400 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8401 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
8402 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8404 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8405 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8406 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8409 @node Select Methods
8410 @chapter Select Methods
8411 @cindex foreign groups
8412 @cindex select methods
8414 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8415 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8416 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8417 personal mail group.
8419 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8420 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8421 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8422 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8423 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8424 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8426 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8427 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8429 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8432 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8433 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8434 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8435 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8436 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8438 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8441 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8442 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8443 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8444 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8445 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8446 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8450 @node The Server Buffer
8451 @section The Server Buffer
8453 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8454 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8455 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8456 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8457 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8458 backend represents a virtual server.
8460 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8461 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8462 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8463 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8465 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8466 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8467 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8468 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8469 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8470 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8471 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8473 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8474 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8477 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8478 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8479 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8480 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8481 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8482 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8483 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8486 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8487 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8490 @node Server Buffer Format
8491 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8492 @cindex server buffer format
8494 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8495 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8496 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8497 variable, with some simple extensions:
8502 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8505 The name of this server.
8508 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8511 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8514 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8515 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8516 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
8527 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8530 @node Server Commands
8531 @subsection Server Commands
8532 @cindex server commands
8538 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8539 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8543 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8544 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8547 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8548 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8549 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8553 @findex gnus-server-exit
8554 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8558 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8559 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8563 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8564 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8568 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8569 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8573 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8574 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8578 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8579 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8580 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8585 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8586 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8587 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8588 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8593 @node Example Methods
8594 @subsection Example Methods
8596 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8599 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8602 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8608 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8609 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8612 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8613 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8615 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8616 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8620 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8623 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8624 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8626 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8627 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8628 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8632 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8635 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8638 Here's the method for a public spool:
8642 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8643 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8646 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8647 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8648 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8649 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8650 should probably look something like this:
8654 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8655 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8656 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8657 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8658 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8663 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8664 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8666 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8667 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8669 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8670 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8671 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8673 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8675 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8676 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8677 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8678 will contain the following:
8688 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8689 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8690 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8693 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8694 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8695 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8698 @node Server Variables
8699 @subsection Server Variables
8701 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8702 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8703 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8704 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8705 won't change the "derived" variables.
8707 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8708 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8709 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8710 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8711 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8712 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8713 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8714 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8715 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8719 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8720 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8721 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8725 @node Servers and Methods
8726 @subsection Servers and Methods
8728 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8729 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8730 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8731 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8735 @node Unavailable Servers
8736 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8738 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8739 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8740 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8741 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8742 actually the case or not.
8744 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8745 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
8746 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8747 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
8748 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
8749 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
8750 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
8751 it will regard that server as ``down''.
8753 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8754 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8756 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8757 with the following commands:
8763 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8764 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8765 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8769 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8770 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8771 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8775 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8776 Mark the current server as unreachable
8777 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8780 @kindex M-o (Server)
8781 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8782 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8783 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8786 @kindex M-c (Server)
8787 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8788 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8789 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8793 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8794 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
8795 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8801 @section Getting News
8802 @cindex reading news
8803 @cindex news backends
8805 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8806 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8807 or it can read from a local spool.
8810 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8811 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8816 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8819 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8820 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8821 server as the, uhm, address.
8823 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8824 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8825 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8826 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8828 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8829 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8830 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8832 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8837 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8838 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8839 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8841 @cindex authentification
8842 @cindex nntp authentification
8843 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8844 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8845 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
8846 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
8847 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
8848 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
8849 present in this hook.
8851 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8852 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8853 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8854 server. Available functions include:
8857 @item nntp-send-authinfo
8858 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8859 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8860 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
8862 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8863 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8864 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
8866 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8867 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8868 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8869 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
8872 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8873 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8874 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8875 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8876 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8879 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8883 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8885 The default value is
8888 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8889 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8892 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8893 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8895 @item nntp-maximum-request
8896 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8897 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8898 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8899 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8900 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8901 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8902 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8904 @item nntp-connection-timeout
8905 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8906 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8907 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
8908 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
8909 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
8910 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
8911 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
8912 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
8913 no timeouts are done.
8915 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
8916 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
8917 @c @cindex PPP connections
8918 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
8919 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
8920 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
8921 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
8922 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
8923 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
8924 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
8925 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
8926 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
8927 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
8929 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
8930 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8931 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8932 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8935 @item nntp-server-hook
8936 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8937 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8940 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8941 @findex nntp-open-telnet
8942 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8943 @item nntp-open-connection-function
8944 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
8945 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Three pre-made
8946 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8947 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8948 two are @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an @samp{rlogin} on the
8949 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
8950 available there, and @code{nntp-open-telnet}, which does a @samp{telnet}
8951 to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet} to get to the
8954 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
8958 @item nntp-rlogin-program
8959 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
8960 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
8961 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
8963 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8964 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8965 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8967 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8968 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8969 User name on the remote system.
8973 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
8976 @item nntp-telnet-command
8977 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
8978 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
8980 @item nntp-telnet-switches
8981 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
8982 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
8984 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
8985 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
8986 User name for log in on the remote system.
8988 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
8989 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
8990 Password to use when logging in.
8992 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
8993 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
8994 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
8997 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
8998 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
8999 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9000 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9002 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9003 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9004 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9005 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9006 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9010 @item nntp-end-of-line
9011 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9012 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9013 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9014 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9016 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9017 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9018 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9022 @vindex nntp-address
9023 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9025 @item nntp-port-number
9026 @vindex nntp-port-number
9027 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9030 @item nntp-buggy-select
9031 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9032 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9034 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9035 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9036 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9037 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9040 @item nntp-xover-commands
9041 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9044 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9045 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9049 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9050 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9051 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9052 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9053 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9054 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9055 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9056 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9057 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9058 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9059 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9061 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9062 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9063 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9065 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9066 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9067 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9068 server closes connection.
9074 @subsection News Spool
9078 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9079 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9080 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9083 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9084 anything else) as the address.
9086 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9087 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9088 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9089 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9093 @item nnspool-inews-program
9094 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9095 Program used to post an article.
9097 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9098 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9099 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9101 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9102 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9103 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9104 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9106 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9107 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9108 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9109 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9111 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9112 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9113 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9115 @item nnspool-active-file
9116 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9117 The path to the active file.
9119 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9120 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9121 The path to the group descriptions file.
9123 @item nnspool-history-file
9124 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9125 The path to the news history file.
9127 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9128 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9129 The path to the active date file.
9131 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9132 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9133 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9136 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9137 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9139 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9140 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9141 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9147 @section Getting Mail
9148 @cindex reading mail
9151 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9155 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9156 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9157 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9158 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9159 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9160 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9161 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9162 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9163 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9164 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9165 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9169 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9170 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9172 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9173 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9174 and things will happen automatically.
9176 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9177 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9180 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9181 '((nnml "private")))
9184 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9185 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9186 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9187 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9188 like any other group.
9190 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9193 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9194 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9195 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9199 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9200 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9201 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9204 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9205 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9206 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9209 @node Splitting Mail
9210 @subsection Splitting Mail
9211 @cindex splitting mail
9212 @cindex mail splitting
9214 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9215 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9216 to be split into groups.
9219 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9220 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9221 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9225 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9226 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9227 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9228 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9229 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9230 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9231 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9234 ("list.\\1" "From:.*\\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9237 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
9238 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
9241 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9242 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9243 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9244 mail belongs in that group.
9246 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9247 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9248 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9249 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9250 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9251 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9253 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9254 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9255 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9256 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9257 thinks should carry this mail message.
9259 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9260 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9261 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9262 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9264 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9265 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9266 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9267 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9268 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9270 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9273 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9274 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9275 links. If that's the case for you, set
9276 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9277 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9279 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9280 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9281 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9282 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9284 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9285 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9286 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9287 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9288 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9289 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9290 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9291 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9295 @node Mail Backend Variables
9296 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9298 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9302 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9303 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9304 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9305 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9307 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9308 @item nnmail-spool-file
9312 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9313 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9314 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9315 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9316 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9317 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9318 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9319 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9320 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9321 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9322 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9323 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9324 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9325 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9326 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9328 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9330 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9331 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9334 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9335 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9336 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9337 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9338 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9339 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9341 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9342 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9343 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9344 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9345 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9346 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9347 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9350 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9351 @item nnmail-crash-box
9352 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9353 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9354 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9357 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9358 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9359 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
9360 used for, well, anything, really.
9362 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9363 @item nnmail-split-hook
9364 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
9365 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9366 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9367 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9368 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9369 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9370 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
9371 is one likely function to add to this hook.
9373 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9374 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9375 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9376 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9377 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9378 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9379 starting to handle the new mail) and
9380 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9381 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9382 default file modes the new mail files get:
9385 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9386 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9388 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9389 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9392 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9393 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9394 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9395 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9396 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9397 it will be used instead.
9399 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9400 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9401 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9402 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9404 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9405 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9408 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9409 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9410 @cindex incoming mail files
9411 @cindex deleting incoming files
9412 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9413 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9416 @c This is @code{nil} by
9417 @c default for reasons of security.
9419 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9420 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9421 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9422 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9423 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9426 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9428 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9429 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9430 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9431 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9432 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9433 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9434 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9436 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9437 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9439 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9441 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9442 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9443 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9444 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9445 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9450 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9451 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9452 @cindex mail splitting
9453 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9455 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9456 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9457 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9458 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9459 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9460 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9462 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9465 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9466 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9467 ;; from real errors.
9468 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9470 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9471 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9472 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9473 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9474 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9475 ;; Other mailing lists...
9476 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9477 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9479 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9480 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9484 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9485 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9486 the five possible split syntaxes:
9491 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
9494 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9495 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9496 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9499 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9500 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9501 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9502 be stored in one or more groups.
9505 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9506 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9509 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9513 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9514 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9515 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9520 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9521 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9522 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9523 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9524 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9526 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9527 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9528 are expanded as specified by the variable
9529 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9530 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9533 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9534 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9535 when all this splitting is performed.
9537 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9538 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9539 substitions in the group names), you can say things like:
9542 (any "debian-\\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9545 @node Mail and Procmail
9546 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9551 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9552 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9553 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9554 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9555 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9557 If you have a combined @code{procmail}/POP/mailbox setup, you can do
9558 something like the following:
9560 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9562 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
9563 (setq nnmail-spool-file
9564 '("/usr/spool/mail/my-name" "po:my-name"))
9567 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9568 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9571 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9572 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9573 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9574 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9575 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9576 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9578 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9581 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9583 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9584 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9586 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9587 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9588 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9589 to include all your mail groups.
9591 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9592 method will be created automatically.
9594 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9595 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9596 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9597 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9598 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9599 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9600 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9601 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9603 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9604 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9605 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9606 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9607 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9609 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9610 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9611 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9612 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9613 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9614 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9616 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9617 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9618 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9619 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9620 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9623 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9624 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9625 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9626 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9627 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9631 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9632 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9634 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9635 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9636 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9639 Doing so can be quite easy.
9641 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9642 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9643 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9644 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9645 your @code{nnml} groups.
9651 Go to the group buffer.
9654 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9655 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9658 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9661 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9662 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9665 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9666 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9669 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9670 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9671 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9672 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9673 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9675 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9676 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9677 using the new mail backend.
9681 @subsection Expiring Mail
9682 @cindex article expiry
9684 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9685 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9686 different approach to mail reading.
9688 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9689 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9690 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9691 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9692 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9693 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9696 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9697 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9698 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9699 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9700 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9701 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9702 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9703 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9705 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9706 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9707 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9708 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9709 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9710 column in the summary buffer.
9712 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
9713 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
9714 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
9715 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
9718 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
9720 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
9721 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
9722 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
9725 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
9726 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
9727 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
9728 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
9729 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
9731 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
9732 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
9735 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9736 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
9739 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
9740 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
9742 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
9743 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
9744 don't really mix very well.
9746 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
9747 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
9748 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
9749 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
9752 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
9753 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
9754 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
9755 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
9758 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9760 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9762 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
9764 ((string= group "mail.junk")
9766 ((string= group "important")
9772 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
9773 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
9775 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
9776 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
9777 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
9780 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
9781 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9783 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9784 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
9785 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
9786 easier for procmail users.
9788 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
9789 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
9790 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
9791 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
9792 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
9793 caution. Even more dangerous is the
9794 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
9795 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
9796 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
9797 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
9798 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
9799 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
9800 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
9803 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
9807 @subsection Washing Mail
9808 @cindex mail washing
9809 @cindex list server brain damage
9810 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9812 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9813 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9814 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
9815 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
9816 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
9817 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
9819 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
9820 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
9821 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
9824 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
9825 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
9826 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
9827 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
9830 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9831 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9832 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
9833 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
9836 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9837 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9838 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
9839 Emacs running on MS machines.
9843 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9844 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9845 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
9846 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
9849 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9850 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9851 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
9852 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
9854 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9855 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9856 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
9857 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
9858 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
9859 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
9860 also be a list of regexp.
9862 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
9863 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
9866 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
9867 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
9870 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
9871 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
9872 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
9876 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9877 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9878 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
9882 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
9883 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
9884 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
9891 @subsection Duplicates
9893 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
9894 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
9895 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
9896 @cindex duplicate mails
9897 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
9898 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
9899 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
9900 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
9901 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
9902 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
9903 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
9904 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
9905 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
9906 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
9907 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
9908 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
9909 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
9911 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
9912 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
9913 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
9914 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
9916 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
9919 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
9920 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
9924 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
9925 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
9926 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
9927 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
9928 (any mail "mail.misc")
9935 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9936 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
9941 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
9942 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
9943 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
9944 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
9945 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
9948 @node Not Reading Mail
9949 @subsection Not Reading Mail
9951 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
9952 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
9953 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
9955 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
9956 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
9958 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9959 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9960 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9961 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9962 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9963 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
9964 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
9965 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
9966 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
9967 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
9968 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
9970 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
9971 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
9975 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
9976 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
9978 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
9979 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
9980 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
9983 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
9984 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
9985 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
9986 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
9987 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
9992 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
9994 @cindex unix mail box
9996 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9997 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9998 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
9999 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
10000 which group it belongs in.
10002 Virtual server settings:
10005 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
10006 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10007 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
10009 @item nnmbox-active-file
10010 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10011 The name of the active file for the mail box.
10013 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
10014 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10015 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
10021 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
10025 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10026 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10027 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10028 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10029 article to say which group it belongs in.
10031 Virtual server settings:
10034 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10035 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10036 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10038 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10039 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10040 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10042 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10043 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10044 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10049 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10051 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10053 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10054 format. It should be used with some caution.
10056 @vindex nnml-directory
10057 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10058 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10059 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10060 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10062 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10065 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10066 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10067 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10068 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10069 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10070 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10071 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10072 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10074 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10075 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10076 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10077 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10079 Virtual server settings:
10082 @item nnml-directory
10083 @vindex nnml-directory
10084 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10086 @item nnml-active-file
10087 @vindex nnml-active-file
10088 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10090 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10091 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10092 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10095 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10096 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10097 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10099 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10100 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10101 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10103 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10104 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10105 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10107 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10108 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10109 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10113 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10114 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10115 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10116 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10117 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10118 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10119 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10124 @subsubsection MH Spool
10126 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10128 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10129 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10130 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10131 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10133 Virtual server settings:
10136 @item nnmh-directory
10137 @vindex nnmh-directory
10138 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10140 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10141 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10142 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10145 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10146 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10147 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10148 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10149 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10150 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10151 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10156 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10158 @cindex mbox folders
10159 @cindex mail folders
10161 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10162 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10163 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10166 Virtual server settings:
10169 @item nnfolder-directory
10170 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10171 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10173 @item nnfolder-active-file
10174 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10175 The name of the active file.
10177 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10178 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10179 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10181 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10182 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10183 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10186 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10187 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10188 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10189 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10190 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10191 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10194 @node Other Sources
10195 @section Other Sources
10197 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10198 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10202 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10203 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10204 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10205 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10206 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10207 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10211 @node Directory Groups
10212 @subsection Directory Groups
10214 @cindex directory groups
10216 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10217 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10220 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10221 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10222 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10223 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10225 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10226 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10227 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10228 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10229 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10231 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10233 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10234 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10235 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10236 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10239 @node Anything Groups
10240 @subsection Anything Groups
10243 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10244 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10245 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10248 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10249 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10250 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10251 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10252 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10253 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10254 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10255 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10256 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10257 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10260 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10261 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10262 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10263 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10265 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10266 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10267 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10268 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10270 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10271 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10272 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10273 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10274 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10275 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10276 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10277 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10282 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10283 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10284 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10285 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10287 @item nneething-exclude-files
10288 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10289 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10290 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10292 @item nneething-map-file
10293 @vindex nneething-map-file
10294 Name of the map files.
10298 @node Document Groups
10299 @subsection Document Groups
10301 @cindex documentation group
10304 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10305 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10312 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10317 The standard Unix mbox file.
10319 @cindex MMDF mail box
10321 The MMDF mail box format.
10324 Several news articles appended into a file.
10327 @cindex rnews batch files
10328 The rnews batch transport format.
10329 @cindex forwarded messages
10332 Forwarded articles.
10336 @cindex MIME digest
10337 @cindex 1153 digest
10338 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10339 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10340 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10342 @item standard-digest
10343 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10346 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10349 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10350 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10351 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10354 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10355 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10356 group. And that's it.
10358 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10359 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10360 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10361 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10362 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10363 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10364 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10365 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10366 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10367 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10369 Virtual server variables:
10372 @item nndoc-article-type
10373 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10374 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10375 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10376 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-digest}, @code{standard-digest},
10377 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or @code{guess}.
10379 @item nndoc-post-type
10380 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10381 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10382 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10387 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10391 @node Document Server Internals
10392 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10394 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10395 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10396 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10397 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10399 First, here's an example document type definition:
10403 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10404 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10407 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10408 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10409 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10410 types can be defined with very few settings:
10413 @item first-article
10414 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10415 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10418 @item article-begin
10419 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10420 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10422 @item head-begin-function
10423 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10426 @item nndoc-head-begin
10427 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10430 @item nndoc-head-end
10431 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10432 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10434 @item body-begin-function
10435 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10439 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10442 @item body-end-function
10443 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10447 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10450 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10451 regexp will be totally ignored.
10455 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10456 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10457 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10458 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10459 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10462 @item prepare-body-function
10463 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10464 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10465 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10467 @item article-transform-function
10468 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10469 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10470 body of the article.
10472 @item generate-head-function
10473 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10474 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10475 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10476 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10480 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10485 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10486 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10487 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10488 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10489 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10490 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10491 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10492 (subtype digest guess))
10495 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10496 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10497 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10498 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10499 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10501 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10502 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10503 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10504 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10505 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
10506 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10507 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10508 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10509 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10510 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10518 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10519 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10520 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10522 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10523 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10524 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10527 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10528 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10529 that interested in doing things properly.
10531 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10532 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10535 First some terminology:
10540 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10541 get news and/or mail from.
10544 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10545 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10548 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10552 @item message packets
10553 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10554 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10555 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10557 @item response packets
10558 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10559 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10560 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10570 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10571 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10572 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10573 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10576 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10579 You put the packet in your home directory.
10582 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10583 the native or secondary server.
10586 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10587 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10590 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10594 You transfer this packet to the server.
10597 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10600 You then repeat until you die.
10604 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10605 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10608 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10609 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10610 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10614 @node SOUP Commands
10615 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10617 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10621 @kindex G s b (Group)
10622 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10623 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10624 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10625 process/prefix convention.
10628 @kindex G s w (Group)
10629 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10630 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10633 @kindex G s s (Group)
10634 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10635 Send all replies from the replies packet
10636 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10639 @kindex G s p (Group)
10640 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10641 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10644 @kindex G s r (Group)
10645 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10646 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10649 @kindex O s (Summary)
10650 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10651 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10652 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10653 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10658 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10663 @item gnus-soup-directory
10664 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10665 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10666 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10668 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10669 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10670 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10671 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10673 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10674 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10675 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10676 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10678 @item gnus-soup-packer
10679 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10680 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10681 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10683 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10684 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10685 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10686 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10688 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10689 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10690 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10692 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10693 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10694 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
10695 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
10701 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
10704 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
10705 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
10706 you can read them at leisure.
10708 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
10712 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
10713 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
10714 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
10715 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
10717 @item nnsoup-directory
10718 @vindex nnsoup-directory
10719 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
10720 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
10722 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
10723 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
10724 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
10725 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
10727 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
10728 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
10729 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
10730 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
10731 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
10733 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
10734 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
10735 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
10736 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
10738 @item nnsoup-active-file
10739 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
10740 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
10741 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
10742 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
10743 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
10745 @item nnsoup-packer
10746 @vindex nnsoup-packer
10747 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
10748 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
10750 @item nnsoup-unpacker
10751 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
10752 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
10753 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10755 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
10756 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
10757 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
10760 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
10761 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
10762 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
10765 @item nnsoup-always-save
10766 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
10767 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
10773 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
10775 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
10776 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
10777 more for that to happen.
10779 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
10780 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
10781 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
10784 In specific, this is what it does:
10787 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
10788 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
10791 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
10792 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
10793 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
10797 @subsection Web Searches
10801 @cindex InReference
10802 @cindex Usenet searches
10803 @cindex searching the Usenet
10805 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
10806 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
10807 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
10808 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
10809 searches without having to use a browser.
10811 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
10812 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
10813 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
10814 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
10815 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
10817 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
10818 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
10819 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
10820 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
10821 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
10822 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
10823 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
10824 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
10825 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
10826 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
10829 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
10830 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
10831 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
10832 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
10833 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
10834 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
10836 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
10837 to use @code{nnweb}.
10839 Virtual server variables:
10844 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
10845 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
10849 @vindex nnweb-search
10850 The search string to feed to the search engine.
10852 @item nnweb-max-hits
10853 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
10854 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
10857 @item nnweb-type-definition
10858 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
10859 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
10860 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
10865 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
10869 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
10872 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
10875 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
10879 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
10886 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
10887 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
10888 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
10891 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
10892 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
10893 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
10895 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
10901 @item nngateway-address
10902 @vindex nngateway-address
10903 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
10905 @item nngateway-header-transformation
10906 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
10907 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
10908 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
10909 transformation should be called, and defaults to
10910 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
10911 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
10914 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
10915 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
10916 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
10919 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
10922 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
10925 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
10930 So, to use this, simply say something like:
10933 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
10937 @node Combined Groups
10938 @section Combined Groups
10940 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
10944 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
10945 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
10949 @node Virtual Groups
10950 @subsection Virtual Groups
10952 @cindex virtual groups
10954 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
10957 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
10958 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
10959 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
10961 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
10962 regexp to match component groups.
10964 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
10965 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
10966 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
10967 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
10968 the virtual group.)
10970 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
10971 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
10974 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
10977 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
10978 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
10980 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
10981 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
10982 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
10983 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
10986 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
10989 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
10990 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
10991 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
10992 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
10993 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
10995 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
10996 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
10997 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
10999 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
11000 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
11001 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
11002 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
11003 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
11004 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
11005 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
11006 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
11007 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
11008 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
11009 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
11012 @node Kibozed Groups
11013 @subsection Kibozed Groups
11017 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
11018 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
11019 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
11020 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
11022 @kindex G k (Group)
11023 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
11026 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
11027 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11028 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11029 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11031 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11032 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11033 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11035 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11036 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11037 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11038 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11039 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11040 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11041 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11042 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11044 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11045 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11046 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11047 Stranger things have happened.
11049 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11050 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11052 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11053 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11054 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11055 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11056 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11057 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11059 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11060 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11063 @node Gnus Unplugged
11064 @section Gnus Unplugged
11069 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11071 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11072 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11073 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11074 read news. Believe it or not.
11076 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11077 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11078 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11079 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11080 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11082 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11083 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11084 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11085 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11086 reading news on a machine.
11088 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11092 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11093 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11097 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11098 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11105 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11107 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11110 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11111 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11112 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11113 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11114 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11115 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11116 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11121 @subsection Agent Basics
11123 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11125 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11126 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11127 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11128 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11130 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11131 connected to the net continously.
11133 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11134 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11136 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11141 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11142 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11143 already fetched while in this mode.
11146 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11147 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11148 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11151 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11152 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11153 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11154 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11157 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11158 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11159 then you read the news offline.
11162 And then you go to step 2.
11165 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11171 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11172 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11173 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11174 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11175 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11176 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11179 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}
11186 @node Agent Categories
11187 @subsection Agent Categories
11189 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11190 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11191 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11192 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11193 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11194 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11195 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11197 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11198 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11199 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11202 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11203 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11204 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11208 @node Category Syntax
11209 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11211 A category consists of two things.
11215 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11216 are eligible for downloading; and
11219 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11220 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11221 score} is wholly unrelated to normal scores.)
11224 A predicate consists of predicates with logical operators sprinkled in
11227 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11229 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11230 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11236 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11237 short (for some value of ``short'').
11239 Here's a more complex predicate:
11248 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11249 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11252 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11253 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11254 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11256 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11257 you want to do, you can write your own.
11261 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11262 lines; default 100.
11265 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11266 lines; default 200.
11269 True iff the article has a download score less than
11270 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11273 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11274 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11277 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11278 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11279 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11288 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11289 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11290 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11293 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11294 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11295 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11296 following headers can be scored on: @code{From}, @code{Subject},
11297 @code{Date}, @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars}, @code{Message-ID},
11298 and @code{References}.
11301 @node The Category Buffer
11302 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11304 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11305 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11306 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11308 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11312 @kindex q (Category)
11313 @findex gnus-category-exit
11314 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11317 @kindex k (Category)
11318 @findex gnus-category-kill
11319 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11322 @kindex c (Category)
11323 @findex gnus-category-copy
11324 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11327 @kindex a (Category)
11328 @findex gnus-category-add
11329 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11332 @kindex p (Category)
11333 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11334 Edit the predicate of the current category
11335 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11338 @kindex g (Category)
11339 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11340 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11341 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11344 @kindex s (Category)
11345 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11346 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11347 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11350 @kindex l (Category)
11351 @findex gnus-category-list
11352 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11356 @node Category Variables
11357 @subsubsection Category Variables
11360 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11361 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11362 Hook run in category buffers.
11364 @item gnus-category-line-format
11365 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11366 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11367 Variables}). Legal elements are:
11371 The name of the category.
11374 The number of groups in the category.
11377 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11378 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11379 Format of the category mode line.
11381 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11382 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11383 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11385 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11386 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11387 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11389 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11390 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11391 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11394 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11395 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11396 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11402 @node Agent Commands
11403 @subsection Agent Commands
11405 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11406 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11407 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11411 * Group Agent Commands::
11412 * Summary Agent Commands::
11413 * Server Agent Commands::
11416 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
11417 following incantation:
11419 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11421 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11426 @node Group Agent Commands
11427 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
11431 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
11432 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
11433 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
11434 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
11437 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
11438 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
11439 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
11442 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
11443 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
11444 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
11445 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
11448 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
11449 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
11450 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
11451 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}
11454 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
11455 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
11456 Add the current group to an Agent category
11457 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
11462 @node Summary Agent Commands
11463 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
11467 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
11468 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
11469 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
11472 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
11473 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
11474 Remove the downloading mark from the article
11475 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
11478 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
11479 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
11480 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
11483 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
11484 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
11485 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
11490 @node Server Agent Commands
11491 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
11495 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
11496 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
11497 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
11498 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
11501 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
11502 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
11503 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
11504 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
11509 @node Outgoing Messages
11510 @subsection Outgoing Messages
11512 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
11513 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
11514 after posting, and edit them at will.
11516 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
11517 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
11518 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
11519 messages in the draft group.
11523 @node Agent Variables
11524 @subsection Agent Variables
11527 @item gnus-agent-directory
11528 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
11529 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
11530 @file{~/News/agent/}.
11532 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
11533 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
11534 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
11535 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
11536 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
11539 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11540 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11541 Hook run when connecting to the network.
11543 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11544 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11545 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
11550 @node Example Setup
11551 @subsection Example Setup
11553 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
11554 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
11555 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
11558 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
11559 ;;; from your ISP's server.
11560 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
11562 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
11563 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
11564 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
11565 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
11567 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
11568 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11570 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
11574 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
11575 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
11578 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
11579 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
11580 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
11581 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
11582 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
11585 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
11586 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
11587 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
11588 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
11589 back all the killed groups.)
11591 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
11592 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
11593 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
11596 @node Batching Agents
11597 @subsection Batching Agents
11599 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
11600 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
11601 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
11605 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
11614 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
11615 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
11616 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
11619 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
11620 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
11621 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
11622 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
11623 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
11625 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
11626 before generating the summary buffer.
11628 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
11629 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
11630 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
11632 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
11633 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
11634 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
11635 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
11638 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
11639 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
11640 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
11641 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
11642 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
11643 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
11644 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
11645 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
11646 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
11647 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
11648 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
11649 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
11650 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
11651 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
11652 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
11653 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
11657 @node Summary Score Commands
11658 @section Summary Score Commands
11659 @cindex score commands
11661 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
11662 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
11663 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
11664 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
11665 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
11667 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
11668 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
11669 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
11670 score file the current one.
11672 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
11677 @kindex V s (Summary)
11678 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
11679 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
11682 @kindex V S (Summary)
11683 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
11684 Display the score of the current article
11685 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
11688 @kindex V t (Summary)
11689 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
11690 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
11691 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
11694 @kindex V R (Summary)
11695 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
11696 Run the current summary through the scoring process
11697 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
11698 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
11699 effect you're having.
11702 @kindex V a (Summary)
11703 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
11704 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
11705 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
11708 @kindex V c (Summary)
11709 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
11710 Make a different score file the current
11711 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
11714 @kindex V e (Summary)
11715 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
11716 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
11717 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
11721 @kindex V f (Summary)
11722 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
11723 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
11724 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
11727 @kindex V F (Summary)
11728 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11729 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
11730 after editing score files.
11733 @kindex V C (Summary)
11734 @findex gnus-score-customize
11735 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
11736 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
11740 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
11745 @kindex V m (Summary)
11746 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
11747 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
11748 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
11751 @kindex V x (Summary)
11752 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
11753 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
11754 expunge all articles below this score
11755 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
11758 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
11759 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
11762 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
11763 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
11767 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
11768 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
11770 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
11771 keys are available:
11775 Score on the author name.
11778 Score on the subject line.
11781 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
11784 Score on thread---the References line.
11790 Score on the number of lines.
11793 Score on the Message-ID.
11796 Score on followups.
11806 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
11807 what headers you are scoring on.
11819 Substring matching.
11822 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
11851 Greater than number.
11856 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
11857 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
11858 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
11862 Temporary score entry.
11865 Permanent score entry.
11868 Immediately scoring.
11873 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
11874 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
11875 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
11876 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
11878 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
11879 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
11880 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
11881 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
11882 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
11884 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
11885 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
11886 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
11887 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
11888 current score file.
11890 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
11891 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
11892 pretend they are keymaps or not.
11895 @node Group Score Commands
11896 @section Group Score Commands
11897 @cindex group score commands
11899 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
11904 @kindex W f (Group)
11905 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11906 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
11907 all the time. This command will flush the cache
11908 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
11912 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
11914 @findex gnus-batch-score
11915 @cindex batch scoring
11917 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l gnus -f gnus-batch-score
11921 @node Score Variables
11922 @section Score Variables
11923 @cindex score variables
11927 @item gnus-use-scoring
11928 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
11929 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
11930 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
11932 @item gnus-kill-killed
11933 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
11934 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
11935 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
11936 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
11937 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
11938 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
11939 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
11941 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
11942 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
11943 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
11944 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
11945 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
11947 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
11948 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
11949 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
11950 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
11952 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
11953 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
11954 @cindex score cache
11955 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
11956 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
11957 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
11958 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
11959 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
11960 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
11963 @item gnus-save-score
11964 @vindex gnus-save-score
11965 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
11966 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
11967 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
11969 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
11970 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
11971 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
11972 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
11973 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
11974 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
11975 manually entered data.
11977 @item gnus-summary-default-score
11978 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
11979 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
11981 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
11982 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
11983 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
11984 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
11985 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
11986 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
11988 @item gnus-score-over-mark
11989 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
11990 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
11991 default. Default is @samp{+}.
11993 @item gnus-score-below-mark
11994 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
11995 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
11996 default. Default is @samp{-}.
11998 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
11999 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12000 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
12001 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
12003 Predefined functions available are:
12006 @item gnus-score-find-single
12007 @findex gnus-score-find-single
12008 Only apply the group's own score file.
12010 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
12011 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
12012 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
12013 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
12014 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
12015 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
12016 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
12017 then a regexp match is done.
12019 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
12020 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
12022 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
12023 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
12024 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
12025 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
12027 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12028 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12029 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12030 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12031 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12034 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12035 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12036 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12037 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12038 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12039 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12042 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12043 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12044 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12045 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12046 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12048 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12049 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12050 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12051 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12052 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12053 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12054 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12057 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12058 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12059 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12061 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
12062 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
12063 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
12064 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
12065 threading---according to the current value of
12066 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
12067 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
12068 simplified in this manner.
12073 @node Score File Format
12074 @section Score File Format
12075 @cindex score file format
12077 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12078 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12079 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12081 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12085 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12087 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12089 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12091 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12096 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12100 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12101 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12102 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12103 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12107 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12108 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12110 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12111 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12112 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12114 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12119 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12120 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12121 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12122 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12123 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12124 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12125 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12126 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12127 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12128 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12129 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12130 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12131 to articles that matches these score entries.
12133 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12134 score entry has one to four elements.
12138 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12139 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12143 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12144 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12145 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12146 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12147 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12148 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12151 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12152 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12153 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12154 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12155 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12158 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12159 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12160 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12161 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12164 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12165 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12166 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12167 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12168 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12169 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12170 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12171 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12172 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12173 instead, if you feel like.
12176 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12177 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
12178 careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
12179 @code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
12180 lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
12181 the articles with few lines.
12184 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12185 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12186 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12187 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12188 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12189 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12190 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12194 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12195 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12196 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12197 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12198 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12199 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12200 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12201 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12204 @item Head, Body, All
12205 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12209 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12210 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12211 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12212 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12213 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12214 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12215 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12219 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12220 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
12221 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12222 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12223 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12224 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12225 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12226 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12227 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12228 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12232 @cindex Score File Atoms
12234 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12235 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12238 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12239 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12241 @item mark-and-expunge
12242 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12243 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12246 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12247 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12248 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12249 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12250 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12253 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12254 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12257 @item exclude-files
12258 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12259 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12263 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12264 ignored when handling global score files.
12267 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12268 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
12271 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12272 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12273 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12274 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12276 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12280 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12283 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12284 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12285 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12286 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12287 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12289 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12290 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12291 ordinary scoring rules.
12294 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12295 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12296 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12297 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12298 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12299 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12300 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12301 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12302 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12303 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12304 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12308 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12309 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12310 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12311 file for a number of groups.
12314 @cindex local variables
12315 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12316 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12317 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12318 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12319 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12323 @node Score File Editing
12324 @section Score File Editing
12326 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12327 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12328 with a mode for that.
12330 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12331 additional commands:
12336 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12337 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12338 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12339 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12342 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12343 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12344 Insert the current date in numerical format
12345 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12346 you were wondering.
12349 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
12350 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
12351 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
12352 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
12353 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
12358 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
12360 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
12361 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
12363 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
12364 e} to begin editing score files.
12367 @node Adaptive Scoring
12368 @section Adaptive Scoring
12369 @cindex adaptive scoring
12371 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
12372 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
12373 stupidity, to be precise.
12375 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
12376 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
12377 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
12378 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
12379 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12380 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
12381 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
12382 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
12383 variable to @code{(word line)}.
12385 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12386 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
12387 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
12388 might look something like this:
12391 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12392 '((gnus-unread-mark)
12393 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
12394 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
12395 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
12396 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
12397 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
12398 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
12399 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
12400 (gnus-ancient-mark)
12401 (gnus-low-score-mark)
12402 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
12405 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
12406 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
12407 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
12408 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
12409 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
12410 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
12413 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
12414 will be applied to each article.
12416 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
12417 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
12418 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
12419 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
12421 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
12422 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
12423 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
12424 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
12426 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
12427 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
12428 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
12429 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
12431 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
12432 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
12433 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
12434 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
12435 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
12436 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
12438 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
12439 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
12440 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
12441 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
12442 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
12443 aspirins afterwards.)
12445 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
12446 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
12447 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
12449 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
12450 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
12451 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
12453 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
12454 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
12455 let you use different rules in different groups.
12457 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
12458 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
12459 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
12462 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
12463 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
12464 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
12465 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
12466 the length of the match is less than
12467 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
12468 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
12471 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12472 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
12473 headers. If you adapt on words, the
12474 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
12475 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
12478 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12479 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
12480 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
12481 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
12482 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
12485 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
12486 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
12487 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
12488 score with 30 points.
12490 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
12491 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
12492 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
12493 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
12494 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
12496 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
12497 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
12498 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
12499 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
12501 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
12502 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
12503 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
12504 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
12506 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
12507 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
12508 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
12510 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
12511 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
12512 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
12513 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
12516 @node Home Score File
12517 @section Home Score File
12519 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
12520 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
12521 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
12522 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
12524 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
12525 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
12526 could perhaps use the same home score file.
12528 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
12529 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
12534 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
12538 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
12539 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
12543 A list. The elements in this list can be:
12547 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
12548 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
12551 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
12552 the home score file.
12555 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
12558 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
12563 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
12566 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12567 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
12570 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
12571 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
12574 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12575 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
12578 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
12580 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
12581 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
12582 their own home score files:
12585 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12586 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
12587 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
12588 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
12589 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
12592 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
12593 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
12594 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
12595 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
12596 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
12598 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
12599 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
12600 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
12601 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
12602 precedence over this variable.
12605 @node Followups To Yourself
12606 @section Followups To Yourself
12608 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
12609 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
12610 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
12611 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
12612 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
12613 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
12617 @item gnus-score-followup-article
12618 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
12619 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
12622 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
12623 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
12624 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
12628 @vindex message-sent-hook
12629 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
12630 @code{message-sent-hook}.
12632 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
12633 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
12637 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12638 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12641 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
12642 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
12647 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
12651 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
12652 is system-dependent.
12656 @section Scoring Tips
12657 @cindex scoring tips
12663 @cindex scoring crossposts
12664 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
12665 the @code{Xref} header.
12667 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
12670 @item Multiple crossposts
12671 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
12672 more than, say, 3 groups:
12674 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
12677 @item Matching on the body
12678 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
12679 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
12680 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
12681 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
12682 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
12683 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
12684 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
12687 @item Marking as read
12688 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
12689 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
12690 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
12694 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
12696 @item Negated character classes
12697 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
12698 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
12699 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
12703 @node Reverse Scoring
12704 @section Reverse Scoring
12705 @cindex reverse scoring
12707 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
12708 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
12709 like this in your score file:
12713 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
12718 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
12719 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
12722 @node Global Score Files
12723 @section Global Score Files
12724 @cindex global score files
12726 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
12727 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
12728 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
12730 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
12731 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
12732 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
12734 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
12735 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
12736 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
12737 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
12738 files are applicable to which group.
12740 Say you want to use the score file
12741 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
12742 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
12745 (setq gnus-global-score-files
12746 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
12747 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
12750 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
12751 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
12752 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
12753 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
12754 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
12756 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
12757 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
12759 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
12760 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
12761 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
12762 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
12763 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
12764 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
12766 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
12772 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
12774 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
12776 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
12778 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
12779 lowered out of existence.
12781 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
12782 articles completely.
12785 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
12786 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
12787 old articles for a long time.
12790 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
12791 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
12792 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
12793 holding our breath yet?
12797 @section Kill Files
12800 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
12801 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
12802 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
12804 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
12805 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
12806 files into score files.
12808 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
12809 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
12810 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
12811 that isn't a very good idea.
12813 Normal kill files look like this:
12816 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12817 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
12821 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
12822 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
12824 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
12825 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
12828 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
12833 @kindex M-k (Summary)
12834 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
12835 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
12838 @kindex M-K (Summary)
12839 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
12840 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
12843 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
12848 @kindex M-k (Group)
12849 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
12850 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
12853 @kindex M-K (Group)
12854 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
12855 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
12858 Kill file variables:
12861 @item gnus-kill-file-name
12862 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
12863 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
12864 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
12865 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
12866 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
12867 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
12869 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
12870 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
12871 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
12872 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
12875 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
12876 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
12877 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
12878 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
12879 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
12880 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
12881 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
12882 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
12883 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
12885 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
12886 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
12887 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
12892 @node Converting Kill Files
12893 @section Converting Kill Files
12895 @cindex converting kill files
12897 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
12898 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
12899 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
12902 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
12903 You can fetch it from
12904 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
12906 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
12907 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
12908 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
12916 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
12917 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
12918 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
12920 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
12921 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
12922 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
12923 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
12924 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
12925 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
12926 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
12927 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
12931 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
12932 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
12933 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
12934 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
12938 @node Using GroupLens
12939 @subsection Using GroupLens
12941 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
12943 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
12944 better bit in town at the moment.
12946 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
12950 @item gnus-use-grouplens
12951 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
12952 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
12953 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
12955 @item grouplens-pseudonym
12956 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
12957 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
12958 with the Better Bit Bureau.
12960 @item grouplens-newsgroups
12961 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
12962 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
12966 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
12967 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
12968 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
12969 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
12970 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
12971 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
12974 @node Rating Articles
12975 @subsection Rating Articles
12977 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
12978 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
12979 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
12980 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
12983 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
12988 @kindex r (GroupLens)
12989 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
12990 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
12993 @kindex k (GroupLens)
12994 @findex grouplens-score-thread
12995 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
12996 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
12997 threads in rec.humor.
13001 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
13002 the score of the article you're reading.
13007 @kindex n (GroupLens)
13008 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
13009 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
13012 @kindex , (GroupLens)
13013 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
13014 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
13018 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
13019 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
13022 @node Displaying Predictions
13023 @subsection Displaying Predictions
13025 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
13026 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
13027 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
13028 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
13029 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
13031 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
13032 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
13033 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
13034 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
13035 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
13036 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13037 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13038 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13039 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13040 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13041 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13042 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13043 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13045 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13046 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13047 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13048 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13050 The following are valid values for that variable.
13053 @item prediction-spot
13054 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13057 @item confidence-interval
13058 A numeric confidence interval.
13060 @item prediction-bar
13061 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13063 @item confidence-bar
13064 Numerical confidence.
13066 @item confidence-spot
13067 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13069 @item prediction-num
13070 Plain-old numeric value.
13072 @item confidence-plus-minus
13073 Prediction +/- confidence.
13078 @node GroupLens Variables
13079 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13083 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13084 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13085 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13086 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13089 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13090 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13093 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13094 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13096 @item grouplens-score-offset
13097 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13098 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13101 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13102 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13103 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13108 @node Advanced Scoring
13109 @section Advanced Scoring
13111 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13112 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13113 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13114 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13115 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13117 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13121 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13122 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13123 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13127 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13128 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13130 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13131 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13132 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13133 non-@code{nil} value.
13135 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13136 operator, and various match operators.
13143 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13144 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13145 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13150 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13151 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13152 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13157 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13158 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13162 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13163 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13164 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13165 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13166 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13167 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13168 the ancestry you want to go.
13170 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13171 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13172 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13173 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13174 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13177 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13178 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13180 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13181 when he's talking about Gnus:
13185 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13186 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13192 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13196 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13203 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13204 really don't want to read what he's written:
13208 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13209 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13213 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13214 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13215 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13222 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13223 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13224 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13225 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13229 The possibilities are endless.
13232 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13233 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13235 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13236 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13237 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13238 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13239 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13240 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13241 @samp{subject}) first.
13243 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13244 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
13255 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
13256 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13262 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13269 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13270 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13275 @section Score Decays
13276 @cindex score decays
13279 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13280 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13281 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13282 use them in any sensible way.
13284 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13285 @findex gnus-decay-score
13286 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
13287 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13288 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13289 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13290 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13291 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
13292 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13293 definition of that function:
13296 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13297 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant' and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13300 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13302 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13304 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13307 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13308 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13309 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13310 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13314 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13317 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13320 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13324 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13325 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13326 the new score, which should be an integer.
13328 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
13329 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
13336 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
13337 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
13338 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
13339 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
13340 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
13341 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
13342 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
13343 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
13344 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
13345 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
13346 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
13347 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
13348 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
13349 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
13350 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
13351 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
13352 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolited commercial email.
13353 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
13357 @node Process/Prefix
13358 @section Process/Prefix
13359 @cindex process/prefix convention
13361 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
13362 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
13364 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
13365 command to be performed on.
13369 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
13370 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
13371 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
13372 with the current one.
13374 @vindex transient-mark-mode
13375 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
13376 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
13378 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
13379 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
13382 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
13383 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
13385 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
13388 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
13389 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
13390 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
13391 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13393 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
13394 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
13395 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
13396 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
13397 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
13398 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
13399 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
13400 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
13404 @section Interactive
13405 @cindex interaction
13409 @item gnus-novice-user
13410 @vindex gnus-novice-user
13411 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
13412 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
13413 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
13414 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
13417 @item gnus-expert-user
13418 @vindex gnus-expert-user
13419 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
13420 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
13421 matter how strange.
13423 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
13424 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
13425 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
13426 is @code{t} by default.
13428 @item gnus-interactive-exit
13429 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
13430 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
13435 @node Symbolic Prefixes
13436 @section Symbolic Prefixes
13437 @cindex symbolic prefixes
13439 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
13440 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four charaters forward, and
13441 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
13442 rule of 900 to the current article.
13444 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
13445 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
13446 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
13447 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
13448 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
13449 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
13450 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
13452 @kindex M-i (Summary)
13453 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
13454 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
13455 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
13456 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
13457 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
13458 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
13459 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
13460 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
13462 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
13463 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
13464 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
13466 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
13470 @node Formatting Variables
13471 @section Formatting Variables
13472 @cindex formatting variables
13474 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
13475 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
13476 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
13477 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
13480 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
13481 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
13482 lots of percentages everywhere.
13485 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
13486 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
13487 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
13488 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
13491 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
13492 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
13493 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
13494 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
13495 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
13496 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
13497 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
13498 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
13500 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
13501 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
13503 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
13504 @findex gnus-update-format
13505 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
13506 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
13507 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
13508 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
13512 @node Formatting Basics
13513 @subsection Formatting Basics
13515 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
13516 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
13517 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
13519 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
13520 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
13521 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
13522 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
13523 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
13526 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
13527 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
13528 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
13529 less than 4 characters wide.
13532 @node Advanced Formatting
13533 @subsection Advanced Formatting
13535 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
13536 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
13537 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
13538 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
13540 These are the valid modifiers:
13545 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
13549 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
13554 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
13557 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
13562 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
13565 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
13568 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
13571 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
13575 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
13576 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
13577 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
13578 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
13579 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
13580 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
13581 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
13583 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
13584 last operation, padding.
13586 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
13587 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
13588 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
13589 @xref{Compilation}.
13592 @node User-Defined Specs
13593 @subsection User-Defined Specs
13595 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
13596 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
13597 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
13598 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
13599 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
13600 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
13601 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
13602 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
13603 should protect against that.
13605 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
13606 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
13607 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
13608 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
13612 @node Formatting Fonts
13613 @subsection Formatting Fonts
13615 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
13616 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
13617 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
13618 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
13621 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
13622 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
13623 default. If you say @samp{%1[}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
13624 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
13625 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
13626 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
13628 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
13631 ;; Create three face types.
13632 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
13633 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
13635 ;; We want the article count to be in
13636 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
13637 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
13638 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
13640 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
13641 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
13643 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
13644 (setq gnus-group-line-format
13645 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
13648 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
13649 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
13651 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
13652 mode-line variables.
13655 @node Windows Configuration
13656 @section Windows Configuration
13657 @cindex windows configuration
13659 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
13661 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
13662 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
13663 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
13664 @code{t} by default.
13666 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
13667 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
13668 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
13671 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
13672 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
13673 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13677 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
13678 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
13679 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
13680 possible names is listed below.
13682 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
13683 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
13686 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13690 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
13691 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
13692 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
13693 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
13694 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
13695 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
13696 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
13697 size spec per split.
13699 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
13702 Here's a more complicated example:
13705 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
13706 (summary 0.25 point)
13707 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
13711 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
13712 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
13713 occupy, not a percentage.
13715 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
13716 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
13717 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
13718 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
13719 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
13722 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
13725 (article (horizontal 1.0
13730 (summary 0.25 point)
13735 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
13736 @code{horizontal} thingie?
13738 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
13739 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
13740 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
13741 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
13742 the screen is to be given to this strip.
13744 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
13745 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
13746 lines from the splits.
13748 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
13752 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
13753 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
13754 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
13755 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
13756 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
13757 size = number | frame-params
13758 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
13761 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
13762 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
13763 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
13764 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
13766 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
13767 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
13768 @cindex window height
13769 @cindex window width
13770 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
13771 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
13772 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
13773 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
13774 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
13775 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
13777 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
13778 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
13779 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
13780 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
13782 @findex gnus-configure-frame
13783 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
13784 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
13785 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
13786 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
13787 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
13788 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
13789 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
13790 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
13791 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
13792 configuration list.
13795 (gnus-configure-frame
13799 (article 0.3 point))
13807 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
13808 @code{frame} split:
13811 (gnus-configure-frame
13814 (summary 0.25 point)
13816 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
13817 (user-position . t)
13818 (left . -1) (top . 1))
13823 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
13824 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
13825 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
13826 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
13827 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
13828 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
13829 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
13830 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
13833 Here's a list of all possible keys for
13834 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
13836 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
13837 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
13838 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
13839 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
13840 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
13841 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
13843 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
13844 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
13845 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
13849 (message (horizontal 1.0
13850 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
13852 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
13857 @findex gnus-add-configuration
13858 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
13859 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
13860 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
13861 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
13864 (gnus-add-configuration
13865 '(article (vertical 1.0
13867 (summary .25 point)
13871 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
13872 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
13873 Gnus has been loaded.
13875 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
13876 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
13877 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
13878 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
13879 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
13882 @node Faces and Fonts
13883 @section Faces and Fonts
13888 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
13889 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
13890 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
13895 @section Compilation
13896 @cindex compilation
13897 @cindex byte-compilation
13899 @findex gnus-compile
13901 Remember all those line format specification variables?
13902 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
13903 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
13904 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
13905 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
13906 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
13909 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
13910 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
13911 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
13912 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
13913 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
13914 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
13915 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
13919 @section Mode Lines
13922 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
13923 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
13924 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
13925 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
13926 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
13927 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
13928 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
13931 @cindex display-time
13933 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
13934 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
13935 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
13936 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
13937 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
13938 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
13939 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
13940 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
13943 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
13945 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
13946 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
13948 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
13949 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
13950 (length display-time-string)))))
13953 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
13954 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
13955 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
13956 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
13957 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
13960 @node Highlighting and Menus
13961 @section Highlighting and Menus
13963 @cindex highlighting
13966 @vindex gnus-visual
13967 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
13968 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
13969 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
13972 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
13973 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
13976 @item group-highlight
13977 Do highlights in the group buffer.
13978 @item summary-highlight
13979 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
13980 @item article-highlight
13981 Do highlights in the article buffer.
13983 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
13985 Create menus in the group buffer.
13987 Create menus in the summary buffers.
13989 Create menus in the article buffer.
13991 Create menus in the browse buffer.
13993 Create menus in the server buffer.
13995 Create menus in the score buffers.
13997 Create menus in all buffers.
14000 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
14001 buffers, you could say something like:
14004 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
14007 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
14010 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
14013 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
14014 in all Gnus buffers.
14016 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
14019 @item gnus-mouse-face
14020 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
14021 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
14022 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
14026 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
14030 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
14031 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
14032 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
14034 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
14035 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
14036 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14038 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14039 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14040 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14042 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14043 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14044 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14046 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14047 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14048 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14050 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14051 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14052 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14063 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14064 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14065 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14066 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14067 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14071 @vindex gnus-carpal
14072 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14073 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14074 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14079 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14080 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14081 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14083 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14084 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14085 Face used on buttons.
14087 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14088 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14089 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14091 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14092 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14093 Buttons in the group buffer.
14095 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14096 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14097 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14099 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14100 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14101 Buttons in the server buffer.
14103 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14104 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14105 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14108 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14109 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14110 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14118 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14119 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14120 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14121 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14122 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14124 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14125 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14126 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14128 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14129 been idle for thirty minutes:
14132 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14135 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14139 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14142 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14143 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14144 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14146 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14147 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14148 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14149 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14151 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14152 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14153 @var{idle} minutes.
14155 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14156 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14159 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14160 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14161 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14163 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14164 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14165 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14166 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14168 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14169 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14170 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14172 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14173 your @file{.gnus} file:
14175 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14177 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14180 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14181 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14182 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14183 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14184 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14185 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14186 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14187 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14188 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14189 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14190 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14192 @findex gnus-demon-init
14193 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14194 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14195 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14196 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14197 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14199 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
14200 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14201 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14210 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14211 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
14213 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
14214 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
14215 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
14216 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
14219 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
14220 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
14221 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
14222 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
14224 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
14225 this will make spam disappear.
14227 There are some variables to customize, of course:
14230 @item gnus-use-nocem
14231 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
14232 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
14235 @item gnus-nocem-groups
14236 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
14237 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
14238 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
14239 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
14241 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
14242 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
14243 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
14244 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
14245 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
14246 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
14247 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
14249 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
14252 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
14253 @cindex Chris Lewis
14254 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
14255 usenet abuse than anybody else.
14258 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
14259 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
14260 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
14262 @item jem@@xpat.com;
14264 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
14267 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
14268 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
14269 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
14272 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
14273 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
14274 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
14275 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
14276 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
14277 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
14278 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
14279 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
14280 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
14281 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
14283 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
14284 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
14287 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
14290 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
14291 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
14294 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
14297 The specs are applied left-to-right.
14300 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
14301 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
14303 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
14304 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
14305 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
14306 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
14308 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
14309 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
14312 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
14314 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
14322 This might be dangerous, though.
14324 @item gnus-nocem-directory
14325 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
14326 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
14327 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
14329 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14330 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14331 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
14332 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
14333 might then see old spam.
14337 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
14338 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
14339 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
14340 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
14347 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
14348 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
14349 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
14351 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
14352 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
14353 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
14354 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
14355 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
14356 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
14357 @code{undo} function.
14359 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
14360 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
14361 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
14362 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
14363 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
14364 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
14365 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
14366 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
14367 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
14368 never be totally undoable.
14370 @findex gnus-undo-mode
14371 @vindex gnus-use-undo
14373 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
14374 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
14375 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
14376 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
14381 @section Moderation
14384 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
14385 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
14386 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
14389 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
14393 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
14396 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
14398 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
14403 You split your incoming mail by matching on
14404 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
14405 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
14408 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
14409 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
14412 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
14413 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
14417 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
14420 (setq gnus-moderated-list
14421 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
14425 @node XEmacs Enhancements
14426 @section XEmacs Enhancements
14429 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
14433 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
14434 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
14435 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
14436 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
14449 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
14450 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
14451 over your shoulder as you read news.
14454 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
14455 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
14456 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
14457 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
14458 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
14463 @subsubsection Picon Basics
14465 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
14474 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
14475 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
14476 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
14477 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
14478 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
14479 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
14480 @code{GIF} formats.
14483 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
14484 your Web browser at
14485 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
14487 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14488 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
14489 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14492 @node Picon Requirements
14493 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
14495 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
14496 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
14499 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
14501 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14502 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
14503 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
14504 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
14508 @subsubsection Easy Picons
14510 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
14511 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
14514 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
14515 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14516 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
14517 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
14522 @subsubsection Hard Picons
14530 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
14531 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
14532 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
14533 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
14534 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
14538 @item gnus-picons-display-where
14539 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14540 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
14541 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
14542 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
14543 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
14544 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
14545 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
14547 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14548 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14549 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
14554 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
14555 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
14557 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
14558 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
14559 displayed at the right time.
14561 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
14562 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14564 @item gnus-article-display-picons
14565 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14566 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
14567 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
14568 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14570 @item gnus-group-display-picons
14571 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14572 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
14573 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
14574 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
14575 is set to @code{article}.
14577 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
14578 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14579 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
14580 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14584 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
14585 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
14588 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14592 @node Picon Configuration
14593 @subsubsection Picon Configuration
14601 The following variables offer further control over how things are
14602 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
14603 don't need to worry about.
14606 @item gnus-picons-database
14607 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14608 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
14609 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
14610 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
14612 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
14613 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
14614 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
14617 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
14618 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
14619 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
14620 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
14622 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
14623 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
14624 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14625 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
14626 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
14628 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14629 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14630 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
14631 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
14632 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
14633 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
14635 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14636 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14637 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
14638 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
14646 @item gnus-picons-buffer
14647 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
14648 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
14649 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
14654 @subsection Smileys
14659 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
14664 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
14665 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
14667 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
14668 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14671 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
14674 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
14675 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
14676 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
14677 text and maps that to file names.
14679 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
14680 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
14681 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
14682 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
14683 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
14684 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
14686 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
14687 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
14689 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
14690 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
14691 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
14693 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
14694 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
14698 @item smiley-data-directory
14699 @vindex smiley-data-directory
14700 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
14702 @item smiley-flesh-color
14703 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
14704 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
14706 @item smiley-features-color
14707 @vindex smiley-features-color
14708 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14710 @item smiley-tongue-color
14711 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
14712 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
14714 @item smiley-circle-color
14715 @vindex smiley-circle-color
14716 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14718 @item smiley-mouse-face
14719 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
14720 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
14726 @subsection Toolbar
14736 @item gnus-use-toolbar
14737 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
14738 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
14739 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
14740 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
14742 @item gnus-group-toolbar
14743 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
14744 The toolbar in the group buffer.
14746 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
14747 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
14748 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
14750 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14751 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14752 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
14758 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
14761 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14762 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14763 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
14764 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
14765 unusual directory structure.
14767 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14768 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14769 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
14770 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
14772 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
14773 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
14774 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
14775 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
14776 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
14777 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
14779 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
14780 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
14781 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
14795 @node Fuzzy Matching
14796 @section Fuzzy Matching
14797 @cindex fuzzy matching
14799 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
14800 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
14802 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
14803 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
14804 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
14806 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
14807 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
14808 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
14809 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
14810 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
14813 @node Thwarting Email Spam
14814 @section Thwarting Email Spam
14818 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
14820 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
14821 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
14822 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
14823 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
14824 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
14825 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
14826 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
14827 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
14830 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
14831 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
14832 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
14833 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
14834 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrouos hair on your toes!'')
14835 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
14839 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
14840 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
14842 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
14843 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
14844 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
14845 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
14846 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
14847 part of the mail address.)
14850 (setq message-default-news-headers
14851 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
14854 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14855 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
14860 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
14861 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
14862 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
14868 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
14869 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
14870 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
14871 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
14873 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
14874 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
14875 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
14876 twarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
14877 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
14878 your fancy split rule in this way:
14883 (to "larsi" "misc")
14887 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
14888 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
14889 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
14890 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
14891 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
14893 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
14894 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, availiable FOR FREE
14895 at @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
14896 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
14897 cosmic balance somewhat.
14899 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
14900 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
14901 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
14902 to non-existant domains is yucky, in my opinion.
14905 @node Various Various
14906 @section Various Various
14912 @item gnus-home-directory
14913 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
14914 defaults to @file{~/}.
14916 @item gnus-directory
14917 @vindex gnus-directory
14918 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
14919 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
14920 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
14922 @item gnus-default-directory
14923 @vindex gnus-default-directory
14924 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
14925 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
14926 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
14927 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14928 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
14929 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
14932 @vindex gnus-verbose
14933 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
14934 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
14935 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
14936 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
14937 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
14939 @item gnus-verbose-backends
14940 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
14941 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
14942 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
14944 @item nnheader-max-head-length
14945 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
14946 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
14947 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
14948 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
14949 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
14950 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
14951 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
14952 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
14953 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
14955 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
14956 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
14957 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
14958 read when doing the operation described above.
14960 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14961 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14963 @cindex invalid characters in file names
14964 @cindex characters in file names
14965 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
14966 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
14967 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
14970 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14974 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
14975 Windows (phooey) systems.
14977 @item gnus-hidden-properties
14978 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
14979 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
14980 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
14981 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
14983 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
14984 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
14985 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
14986 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
14987 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
14989 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
14990 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
14991 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
15000 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
15001 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
15003 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
15005 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
15011 Not because of victories @*
15014 but for the common sunshine,@*
15016 the largess of the spring.
15020 but for the day's work done@*
15021 as well as I was able;@*
15022 not for a seat upon the dais@*
15023 but at the common table.@*
15028 @chapter Appendices
15031 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
15032 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
15033 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
15034 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
15035 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
15036 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15037 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15045 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15046 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15048 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15049 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15050 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15051 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15052 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15054 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15055 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15056 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15057 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15058 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15059 appropriate name, don't you think?)
15061 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
15062 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
15063 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
15064 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
15066 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
15067 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
15068 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
15070 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
15071 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
15073 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
15074 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4''.
15076 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
15077 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
15078 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
15079 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
15080 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
15084 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
15085 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
15086 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
15087 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
15088 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
15089 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
15090 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15097 What's the point of Gnus?
15099 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15100 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15101 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15102 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15103 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15104 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15105 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15106 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15107 keep track of millions of people who post?
15109 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15110 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15111 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15112 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15113 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15114 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15115 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15116 every one of you to explore and invent.
15118 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15119 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
15122 @node Compatibility
15123 @subsection Compatibility
15125 @cindex compatibility
15126 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
15127 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
15128 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
15133 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
15137 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
15140 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
15143 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
15144 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
15145 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
15146 important variables have their values copied into their global
15147 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
15148 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
15150 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
15151 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
15152 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
15153 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
15154 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
15158 @cindex highlighting
15159 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
15160 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
15161 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
15162 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
15163 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
15164 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
15167 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
15168 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
15169 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
15170 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
15172 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
15173 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
15174 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
15175 to stop doing it the old way.
15177 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
15179 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
15181 @cindex reporting bugs
15183 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
15184 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
15185 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
15189 @subsection Conformity
15191 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
15192 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
15199 There are no known breaches of this standard.
15203 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
15205 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
15206 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
15207 We do have some breaches to this one.
15212 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
15213 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
15216 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
15217 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
15218 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
15219 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
15220 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
15225 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
15226 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
15231 @subsection Emacsen
15237 Gnus should work on :
15242 Emacs 19.32 and up.
15245 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
15248 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
15252 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
15253 reliably, at least.
15255 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
15256 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
15257 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
15262 @subsection Contributors
15263 @cindex contributors
15265 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
15266 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
15267 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
15268 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
15269 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
15270 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
15271 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
15272 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
15273 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
15274 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
15276 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
15282 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
15285 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
15286 well as numerous other things).
15289 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
15292 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
15295 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
15296 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
15299 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
15302 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
15303 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15306 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
15309 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
15312 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
15315 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
15318 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
15319 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
15322 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
15325 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
15328 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
15331 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
15335 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
15338 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
15341 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
15344 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
15348 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
15349 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
15351 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
15360 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
15364 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
15382 Massimo Campostrini,
15387 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
15392 Michael Welsh Duggan,
15394 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
15398 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
15403 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
15405 Michelangelo Grigni,
15408 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
15410 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
15414 François Felix Ingrand,
15415 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
15417 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
15424 Peter Skov Knudsen,
15425 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
15426 Thor Kristoffersen,
15428 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
15442 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
15443 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
15449 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
15454 John McClary Prevost,
15456 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
15464 Philippe Schnoebelen,
15465 Randal L. Schwartz,
15491 Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
15493 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
15494 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
15495 (550kB and counting).
15497 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
15500 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
15501 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
15505 @subsection New Features
15506 @cindex new features
15509 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
15510 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
15511 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
15514 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
15515 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
15516 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
15520 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
15522 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
15527 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
15528 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
15531 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
15532 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
15535 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
15538 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
15539 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
15540 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15543 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
15544 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
15545 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
15546 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15549 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
15550 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15553 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
15554 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
15555 (@pxref{The Active File}).
15558 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
15559 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
15562 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
15563 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
15564 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15567 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
15568 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
15569 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
15572 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
15573 the @file{.emacs} file.
15576 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
15577 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15580 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
15581 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
15584 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
15585 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15588 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
15589 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
15592 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
15593 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15596 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
15599 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
15600 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
15603 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
15604 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
15607 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
15608 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
15611 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
15614 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
15615 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15618 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
15622 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
15626 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
15627 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
15630 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
15636 @node September Gnus
15637 @subsubsection September Gnus
15641 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
15645 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
15650 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
15651 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
15655 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
15656 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
15660 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
15664 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
15665 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
15668 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
15672 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15675 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
15678 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
15681 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
15685 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
15686 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
15689 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
15693 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
15697 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
15701 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
15705 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
15708 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
15709 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
15712 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
15716 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
15717 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
15720 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
15723 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
15724 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
15725 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15728 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
15732 The Gnus cache is much faster.
15735 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
15739 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
15740 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15743 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
15744 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
15747 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
15748 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15751 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
15752 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
15753 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
15756 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
15757 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
15760 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
15763 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
15766 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15767 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
15771 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
15774 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
15777 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
15778 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
15781 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
15785 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
15788 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
15793 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
15796 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
15800 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15803 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
15807 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
15810 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
15813 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
15814 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15817 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
15818 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
15822 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
15823 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
15826 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
15830 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
15831 buffer to allow easier treatment.
15834 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
15837 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
15841 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
15845 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
15846 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
15849 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
15853 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
15854 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
15857 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
15858 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
15861 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
15865 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
15868 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15869 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
15873 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
15876 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
15882 @subsubsection Red Gnus
15884 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
15888 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
15895 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
15898 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
15899 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15902 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
15903 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
15907 Article washing status can be displayed in the
15908 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
15911 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
15914 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
15915 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
15918 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
15922 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
15923 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
15927 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
15928 Server Internals}).
15931 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
15935 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
15938 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
15939 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
15942 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
15943 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
15944 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
15947 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
15948 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
15951 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
15952 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
15955 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
15959 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
15960 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
15963 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
15964 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15967 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
15971 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
15974 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
15978 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
15979 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
15982 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
15983 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
15986 A new command for reading collections of documents
15987 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
15988 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
15991 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
15995 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
15996 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
15999 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
16000 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
16001 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
16004 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
16005 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
16009 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
16013 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
16017 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
16022 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
16026 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
16030 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
16031 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
16034 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
16037 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
16043 @node Newest Features
16044 @subsection Newest Features
16047 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
16050 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
16052 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
16053 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
16056 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
16061 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
16064 Really do unbinhexing.
16067 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
16068 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
16071 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
16074 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
16077 facep is not declared.
16080 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
16081 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
16084 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
16089 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
16090 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
16091 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
16092 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
16093 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
16094 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
16095 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
16100 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
16103 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
16106 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
16108 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
16109 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
16111 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
16113 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
16115 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
16116 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
16118 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
16120 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
16121 be marked as unread.
16123 Orphan score entries dont show on "V t" score trace
16125 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
16127 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
16128 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
16130 expinged articles are counted when computing scores.
16132 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
16134 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
16135 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
16137 topics that contain just groups with ticked
16138 articles aren't displayed.
16140 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
16142 implement gnus-score-thread
16144 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
16145 make the mail groups killed.
16147 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
16149 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
16150 and articles have to be removed.
16152 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
16155 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
16157 finding short score file names takes forever.
16159 canceling articles in foreign groups.
16161 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
16163 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
16165 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
16167 nnweb doesn't work properly.
16169 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
16171 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
16172 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
16176 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
16178 really unbinhex binhex files.
16180 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
16181 bar and the Gnus bar.
16184 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
16185 `(canonize-message-id id)'
16186 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
16187 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
16188 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
16189 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
16194 nnml .overview directory with splits.
16198 postponed commands.
16200 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
16202 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
16205 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
16206 headers of the oldest orhpan with a 0 article number?
16208 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
16209 inherit copy prompts and save files.
16211 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
16213 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
16214 for backends that support that.
16216 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
16218 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
16219 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
16221 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
16222 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
16224 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
16226 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
16228 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
16230 server mode command: close/open all connections
16232 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
16233 has been changed before using it.
16235 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
16237 hide (sub)threads with low score.
16239 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
16241 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
16243 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
16244 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
16246 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
16247 contaion groups that match a regexp.
16249 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
16252 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
16255 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
16256 from subject lines.
16258 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
16260 nntp-ping-before-connect
16262 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
16264 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
16265 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
16267 message annotations.
16269 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
16271 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
16272 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
16274 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
16279 support qmail maildir spools
16281 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
16283 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
16285 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
16287 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
16288 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
16290 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
16292 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
16294 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
16295 finds and generate proper active ranges.
16297 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
16298 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
16300 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
16302 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
16304 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
16305 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
16307 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
16309 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
16311 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
16312 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
16315 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
16317 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
16319 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
16320 `C-c C-c' when posting.
16322 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
16325 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
16326 should be marker as expirable.
16328 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
16330 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
16331 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
16333 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
16334 Also consult Date headers.
16336 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
16338 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
16340 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
16341 Message-ID, delete the "original".
16343 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
16344 into a See-Also header.
16346 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
16348 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
16350 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
16351 should be listed as such and not as "K".
16353 generate font names dynamically.
16355 score file mode auto-alist.
16357 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
16358 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
16360 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
16361 absolutely all headers there is.
16363 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
16364 and pipe them to the process.
16366 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
16367 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
16368 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
16370 function for starting to edit a file to put into
16371 the current mail group.
16373 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
16375 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
16376 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
16378 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
16379 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
16381 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
16383 when replying to several process-marked articles,
16384 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
16386 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
16387 groups it has been mailed to.
16389 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
16391 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
16393 Command in the group buffer to respoll process-marked groups.
16395 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
16396 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
16398 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
16399 newlines) should be ignored.
16401 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
16402 groups in subtopics as well.
16404 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
16406 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
16409 add edit and forward secondary marks.
16411 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
16413 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
16415 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
16417 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
16419 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
16421 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
16422 or the formatted article.
16424 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
16426 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
16427 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
16429 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
16431 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
16433 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
16435 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
16436 even unread articles.
16438 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
16440 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
16442 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
16444 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
16446 cancelling articles in foreign groups.
16448 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
16451 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
16452 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
16454 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
16455 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
16457 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
16459 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
16461 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
16462 from a particular server? Hm.
16464 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
16465 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
16467 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
16469 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
16470 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
16472 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
16473 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
16475 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
16476 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
16477 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
16480 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
16481 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
16483 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
16485 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
16487 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
16489 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
16492 when following up mulitple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
16495 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
16496 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
16498 command to show and edit group scores
16500 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
16503 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
16505 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
16507 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
16508 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
16511 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
16512 that are of that length.
16514 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
16516 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
16518 asynchronous posting under nntp.
16520 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
16522 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
16524 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
16526 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
16527 a score lower than this number.
16529 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
16531 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
16533 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
16534 so that each copy can be edited separately.
16536 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
16538 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
16539 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
16541 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
16544 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
16545 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
16546 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
16547 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
16549 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
16552 command to remove all topic stuff.
16554 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
16555 and splitting the resulting digests.
16557 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
16559 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
16561 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
16562 matches an alist -- before saving.
16564 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
16566 variable to activate each group before entering them
16567 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
16569 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
16570 starting Gnus first if necessary.
16572 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
16573 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
16575 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
16577 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
16578 of several groups at once.
16580 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
16581 matches some regexp(s).
16583 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
16585 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
16587 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
16589 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
16591 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
16593 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
16595 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
16597 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
16598 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
16599 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
16600 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
16602 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
16603 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
16605 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
16607 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
16608 recently cited text.
16610 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
16612 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
16615 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
16616 server and just read the articles in the server
16618 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
16619 value of nnoo variables.
16621 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
16623 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
16624 listed in each group info.
16626 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
16629 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
16630 should only be applied to some groups.
16632 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
16633 mail-copies-to: never.
16635 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
16636 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
16638 the slave dribble files should autosave to the slave file names.
16640 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
16643 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
16646 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where appliccable.
16648 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
16651 group user-defined meta-parameters.
16655 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
16657 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
16658 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
16659 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
16660 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
16661 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
16663 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at
16664 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
16671 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
16672 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
16674 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
16675 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
16677 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
16678 "Return the date the group was last read."
16679 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
16684 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
16685 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
16686 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
16687 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
16691 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
16692 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
16694 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
16697 They could be used like this:
16701 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
16702 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
16703 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
16705 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
16707 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
16710 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
16713 One could also immagine the labels being used for highliting, or
16714 affect the summary line format.
16718 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
16720 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
16721 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
16723 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
16726 - For other directories, create a nneething summaru buffer.
16728 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
16730 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
16732 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
16734 - For other files, just find them normally.
16736 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
16737 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
16740 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
16741 tell him what you are doing.
16744 Currently, I get prompted:
16748 decend into sci.something ?
16752 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
16753 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only decending sci.something? If
16754 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
16755 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
16758 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
16759 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
16760 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
16761 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
16764 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
16765 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
16771 more than n blank lines
16773 more than m identical lines
16774 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
16776 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
16780 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
16781 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
16782 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
16783 "same" subject for threading purposes.
16786 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
16787 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
16788 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
16789 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
16792 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
16795 soup - bowl of soup
16796 score below - dim light bulb
16797 score over - bright light bulb
16800 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
16805 show-list-of-articles-in-group
16806 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
16807 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
16808 if (articles-selected)
16809 start-reading-selected-articles;
16810 junk-unread-articles;
16815 else if (key-pressed = '.')
16816 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
16817 select-thread-under-cursor;
16819 select-article-under-cursor;
16823 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
16824 if (more-pages-in-article)
16826 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
16833 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
16834 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
16835 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
16838 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
16839 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
16840 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
16841 the wildcard expression).
16844 It would be nice if it also handled
16846 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
16848 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
16853 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
16854 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
16855 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
16856 article versions) variable.
16858 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
16860 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
16861 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
16865 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
16868 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
16869 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
16870 (message-sent-hook).
16872 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
16875 * Enhancements to Gnus:
16879 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
16880 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
16883 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
16884 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
16885 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
16888 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
16889 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
16893 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
16896 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
16900 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
16901 the nnmail duplicate checking.
16904 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
16905 value of the signature file.
16908 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
16909 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
16912 (setq message-tab-alist
16913 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
16914 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
16916 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
16920 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
16923 a command to import a buffer into a group.
16926 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
16929 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
16930 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
16933 a command to process mark all unread articles.
16936 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
16937 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
16938 do more gathering by subject.
16941 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
16942 article numerical order.
16945 (gnus-thread-total-score
16946 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
16950 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
16953 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
16954 in the summary buffer.
16957 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
16958 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
16961 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
16962 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
16963 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
16964 and/or newsgroup name.
16967 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
16970 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
16973 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
16976 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
16977 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
16978 will automatically get the process mark.
16981 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
16982 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
16983 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
16986 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
16990 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
16991 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
16994 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
16995 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
16999 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
17000 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
17003 be able to post via DejaNews.
17006 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
17009 allow the user to specify the presedence of the secondary marks. Also
17010 allow them to be displayed separately.
17013 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
17014 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
17017 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
17018 articles that match a certain From header.
17021 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
17022 saving living summary buffers.
17025 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
17026 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
17029 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
17030 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
17033 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
17034 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
17037 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
17038 (goto-char (point-min))
17039 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
17040 (replace-match "`" t t))
17041 (goto-char (point-min))
17042 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
17043 (replace-match "'" t t))
17044 (goto-char (point-min))
17045 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
17046 (replace-match "\"" t t))
17047 (goto-char (point-min))
17048 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
17049 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
17054 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
17056 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
17057 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
17058 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
17059 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
17063 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
17066 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
17067 numbers and match on the age of the article.
17070 gnus-cacheable-groups
17074 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
17075 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
17076 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
17078 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
17079 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
17081 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
17082 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
17087 all commands that react to the process mark should push
17088 the current process mark set onto the stack.
17091 gnus-article-hide-pgp
17092 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
17094 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
17096 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
17097 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
17100 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
17101 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
17104 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
17108 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
17109 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
17112 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
17115 nndraft-request-group should tally autosave files.
17118 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
17121 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
17125 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
17131 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
17134 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
17138 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
17139 X characters in the body.
17142 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
17145 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
17148 format spec to "tab" to a position.
17151 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
17154 have nntp cache the authinfo passwords.
17157 command to display all dormant articles.
17160 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
17163 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
17164 to something someone else has said.
17167 Read Netscape discussion groups:
17168 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
17171 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
17172 the displayed version.
17175 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
17179 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
17182 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
17183 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
17184 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
17188 Solve the halting problem.
17197 @section The Manual
17201 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
17202 either @code{texi2dvi}
17204 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
17205 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
17207 to get what you hold in your hands now.
17209 The following conventions have been used:
17214 This is a @samp{string}
17217 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
17220 This is a @file{file}
17223 This is a @code{symbol}
17227 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
17231 (setq flargnoze "yes")
17234 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
17237 (setq flumphel 'yes)
17240 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
17241 ever get them confused.
17245 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
17246 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
17247 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
17248 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
17249 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
17250 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
17251 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
17259 @section Terminology
17261 @cindex terminology
17266 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
17267 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
17268 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
17269 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
17270 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
17274 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
17275 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
17276 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
17277 not posting, and replying is not following up.
17281 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
17285 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
17290 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
17291 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
17292 is all done by the backends.
17296 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
17297 default, way of getting news.
17301 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
17302 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
17307 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
17308 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
17312 A message that has been posted as news.
17315 @cindex mail message
17316 A message that has been mailed.
17320 A mail message or news article
17324 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
17329 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
17334 A line from the head of an article.
17338 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
17339 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
17343 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
17344 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
17345 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
17346 normal @sc{head} format.
17350 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
17351 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
17352 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
17353 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
17354 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
17355 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
17357 @item killed groups
17358 @cindex killed groups
17359 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
17360 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
17362 @item zombie groups
17363 @cindex zombie groups
17364 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
17367 @cindex active file
17368 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
17369 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
17370 is rather large, as you might surmise.
17373 @cindex bogus groups
17374 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
17375 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
17376 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
17379 @cindex activating groups
17380 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
17381 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
17382 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
17386 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
17388 @item select method
17389 @cindex select method
17390 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
17393 @item virtual server
17394 @cindex virtual server
17395 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
17396 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
17397 whole is a virtual server.
17401 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
17402 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
17405 @item ephemeral groups
17406 @cindex ephemeral groups
17407 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
17408 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
17409 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
17412 @cindex solid groups
17413 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
17414 group buffer are solid groups.
17416 @item sparse articles
17417 @cindex sparse articles
17418 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
17419 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
17423 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
17424 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
17428 @cindex thread root
17429 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
17430 articles in the thread.
17434 An article that has responses.
17438 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
17442 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
17443 specified by RFC1153.
17449 @node Customization
17450 @section Customization
17451 @cindex general customization
17453 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
17454 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
17455 for some quite common situations.
17458 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
17459 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
17460 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
17461 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
17465 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
17466 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
17468 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
17469 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
17470 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
17474 @item gnus-read-active-file
17475 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
17476 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
17477 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
17478 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
17479 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
17481 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
17482 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
17483 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
17484 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
17488 @node Slow Terminal Connection
17489 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
17491 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
17492 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
17493 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
17497 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
17498 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
17499 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
17500 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
17501 horizontal and vertical recentering.
17503 @item gnus-visible-headers
17504 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
17505 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
17506 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
17507 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
17509 @item gnus-article-display-hook
17510 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
17512 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
17513 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
17514 gnus-article-hide-citation))
17517 @item gnus-use-full-window
17518 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
17519 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
17520 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
17521 want to read them anyway.
17523 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
17524 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
17527 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
17528 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
17529 lines, which might save some time.
17533 @node Little Disk Space
17534 @subsection Little Disk Space
17537 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
17538 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
17542 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
17543 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
17544 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
17545 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
17548 @item gnus-save-killed-list
17549 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
17550 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
17551 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
17552 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
17558 @subsection Slow Machine
17559 @cindex slow machine
17561 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
17562 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
17564 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
17565 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
17567 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
17568 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
17569 summary buffer faster.
17571 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
17572 processing a bit faster.
17576 @node Troubleshooting
17577 @section Troubleshooting
17578 @cindex troubleshooting
17580 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
17588 Make sure your computer is switched on.
17591 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
17592 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
17596 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
17597 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
17598 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
17599 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
17602 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
17606 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
17607 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
17608 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
17609 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
17610 something like that.
17613 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
17616 @cindex reporting bugs
17618 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
17620 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
17621 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
17622 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
17623 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
17625 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
17626 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
17627 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
17628 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
17631 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
17632 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
17633 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
17634 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
17635 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
17636 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
17638 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
17639 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
17640 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
17643 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
17644 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
17646 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
17647 @cindex ding mailing list
17648 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
17649 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
17653 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
17654 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
17656 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
17657 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
17658 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
17659 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
17662 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
17663 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
17664 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
17665 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
17666 and general methods of operation.
17669 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
17670 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
17671 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
17672 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
17673 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
17674 * Group Info:: The group info format.
17675 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
17676 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
17677 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
17681 @node Gnus Utility Functions
17682 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
17683 @cindex Gnus utility functions
17684 @cindex utility functions
17686 @cindex internal variables
17688 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
17689 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
17690 Below is a list of the most common ones.
17694 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
17695 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
17696 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
17698 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
17699 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
17700 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
17702 @item gnus-group-real-name
17703 @findex gnus-group-real-name
17704 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
17707 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
17708 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
17709 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
17710 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
17712 @item gnus-get-info
17713 @findex gnus-get-info
17714 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
17716 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
17717 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
17718 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
17721 @item gnus-continuum-version
17722 @findex gnus-continuum-version
17723 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
17724 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
17727 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
17728 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
17729 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
17731 @item gnus-news-group-p
17732 @findex gnus-news-group-p
17733 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
17735 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
17736 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
17737 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
17739 @item gnus-server-to-method
17740 @findex gnus-server-to-method
17741 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
17743 @item gnus-server-equal
17744 @findex gnus-server-equal
17745 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
17747 @item gnus-group-native-p
17748 @findex gnus-group-native-p
17749 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
17751 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
17752 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
17753 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
17755 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
17756 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
17757 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
17759 @item group-group-find-parameter
17760 @findex group-group-find-parameter
17761 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
17762 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
17764 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
17765 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
17766 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
17768 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
17769 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
17770 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
17772 @item gnus-check-backend-function
17773 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
17774 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
17775 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
17778 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
17782 @item gnus-read-method
17783 @findex gnus-read-method
17784 Prompts the user for a select method.
17789 @node Backend Interface
17790 @subsection Backend Interface
17792 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
17793 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
17794 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
17795 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
17796 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
17797 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
17799 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
17800 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
17801 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
17802 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
17803 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
17804 been opened, the function should fail.
17806 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
17807 name. Take this example:
17811 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
17812 (nntp-port-number 4324))
17815 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
17816 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
17818 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
17819 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
17820 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
17822 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
17823 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
17824 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
17826 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
17827 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
17828 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
17829 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
17830 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
17831 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
17834 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
17835 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
17836 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
17837 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
17840 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
17843 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
17846 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
17847 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
17848 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
17849 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
17850 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
17851 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
17855 @node Required Backend Functions
17856 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
17860 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
17862 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
17863 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
17864 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
17865 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
17867 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
17868 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
17869 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
17870 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
17872 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
17873 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
17874 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
17875 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
17876 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
17877 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
17878 number, do maximum fetches.
17880 Here's an example HEAD:
17883 221 1056 Article retrieved.
17884 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
17885 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
17886 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
17887 Subject: Re: Something very droll
17888 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
17889 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
17891 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
17892 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
17893 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
17897 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
17898 these in the data buffer.
17900 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
17904 head = error / valid-head
17905 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
17906 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
17907 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
17908 header = <text> eol
17911 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
17912 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
17916 nov-buffer = *nov-line
17917 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
17918 field = <text except TAB>
17921 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
17925 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
17927 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
17928 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
17930 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
17931 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
17932 server. In fact, it should do so.
17934 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
17935 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
17938 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
17940 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
17941 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
17944 There should be no data returned.
17947 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
17949 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
17950 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
17951 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
17952 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
17954 There should be no data returned.
17957 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
17959 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
17960 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
17961 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
17962 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
17964 There should be no data returned.
17967 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
17969 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
17971 There should be no data returned.
17974 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
17976 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
17977 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
17978 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
17979 it would be nice if that were possible.
17981 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
17982 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
17983 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
17984 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
17985 into its article buffer.
17987 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
17988 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
17989 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
17990 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
17991 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
17992 on successful article retrieval.
17995 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
17997 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
17998 making @var{group} the current group.
18000 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
18003 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
18006 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
18009 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
18010 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
18011 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
18012 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
18013 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
18014 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
18015 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
18016 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
18019 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
18020 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
18021 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
18025 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18027 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
18028 a no-op on most backends.
18030 There should be no data returned.
18033 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
18035 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
18038 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
18041 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
18042 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
18045 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
18046 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
18049 active-file = *active-line
18050 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
18052 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
18055 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
18056 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
18057 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
18060 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
18062 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
18063 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
18064 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
18065 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
18066 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
18067 clear if the posting could not be completed.
18069 There should be no result data from this function.
18074 @node Optional Backend Functions
18075 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
18079 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
18081 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
18082 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
18083 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
18085 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
18086 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
18087 former is in the same format as the data from
18088 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
18089 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
18092 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
18096 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
18098 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
18099 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
18100 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
18101 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
18102 should return the (altered) group info.
18104 There should be no result data from this function.
18107 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
18109 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
18110 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
18111 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
18112 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
18113 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
18114 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
18115 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
18116 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
18118 There should be no result data from this function.
18121 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
18123 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
18124 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
18125 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
18126 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
18127 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
18129 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
18130 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
18131 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
18134 There should be no result data from this function.
18137 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
18139 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
18140 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
18141 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
18142 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
18143 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
18144 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
18145 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
18147 There should be no result data from this function.
18150 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
18152 The result data from this function should be a description of
18156 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
18158 description = <text>
18161 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
18163 The result data from this function should be the description of all
18164 groups available on the server.
18167 description-buffer = *description-line
18171 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
18173 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
18174 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
18175 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
18178 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18180 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
18182 There should be no return data.
18185 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
18187 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
18188 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
18189 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
18190 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
18191 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
18194 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
18197 There should be no result data returned.
18200 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
18203 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
18204 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
18206 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
18207 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
18208 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
18209 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
18210 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
18211 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
18213 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
18214 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
18217 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18218 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18220 There should be no data returned.
18223 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
18225 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
18226 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
18227 this function in short order.
18229 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18230 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18232 There should be no data returned.
18235 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
18237 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
18238 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
18240 There should be no data returned.
18243 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
18245 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
18246 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
18247 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
18249 There should be no data returned.
18252 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
18254 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
18255 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
18257 There should be no data returned.
18262 @node Error Messaging
18263 @subsubsection Error Messaging
18265 @findex nnheader-report
18266 @findex nnheader-get-report
18267 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
18268 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
18269 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
18270 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
18271 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
18272 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
18275 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
18277 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
18280 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
18281 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
18282 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
18283 takes one argument---the server symbol.
18285 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
18286 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
18287 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
18290 @node Writing New Backends
18291 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
18293 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
18294 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
18295 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
18296 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
18297 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
18300 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
18301 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
18302 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
18304 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
18305 package called @code{nnoo}.
18307 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
18308 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
18314 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
18315 parameters. For instance:
18318 (nnoo-declare nndir
18322 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
18323 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
18326 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
18327 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
18328 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
18330 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
18331 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
18332 a function in those backends.
18335 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
18336 "Where nndir will look for groups."
18337 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
18340 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
18341 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
18342 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
18344 @item nnoo-define-basics
18345 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
18349 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
18353 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
18354 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
18355 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
18357 @item nnoo-map-functions
18358 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
18359 functions from the parent backends.
18362 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
18363 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18364 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
18367 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
18368 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
18369 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
18370 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
18373 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
18374 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
18375 haven't already been defined.
18381 nnmh-request-newgroups)
18385 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
18386 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
18387 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
18392 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
18395 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
18396 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
18400 (require 'nnheader)
18404 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
18406 (nnoo-declare nndir
18409 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
18410 "Where nndir will look for groups."
18411 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
18413 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
18414 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
18417 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
18418 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
18419 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
18421 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
18422 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
18424 ;;; Interface functions.
18426 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
18428 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
18429 (setq nndir-directory
18430 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
18432 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
18433 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
18434 (push `(nndir-current-group
18435 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
18437 (push `(nndir-top-directory
18438 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
18440 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
18442 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
18443 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18444 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18445 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
18446 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
18450 nnmh-status-message
18452 nnmh-request-newgroups))
18458 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
18459 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
18461 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
18462 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
18463 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
18464 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
18466 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
18467 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
18472 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
18475 The abilities can be:
18479 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
18481 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
18483 This backend supports both mail and news.
18485 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
18488 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
18489 articles and groups.
18491 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
18492 true for almost all backends.
18493 @item prompt-address
18494 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
18495 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
18496 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
18500 @node Mail-like Backends
18501 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
18503 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
18504 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
18505 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
18506 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
18509 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
18510 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
18511 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
18514 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
18515 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
18518 This function takes four parameters.
18522 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
18525 @item exit-function
18526 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
18528 @item temp-directory
18529 Where the temporary files should be stored.
18532 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
18533 performed for one group only.
18536 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
18537 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
18538 find the article number assigned to this article.
18540 The function also uses the following variables:
18541 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
18542 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
18543 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
18544 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
18548 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
18549 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
18553 @node Score File Syntax
18554 @subsection Score File Syntax
18556 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
18557 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
18558 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
18560 Here's a typical score file:
18564 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
18571 BNF definition of a score file:
18574 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
18575 element = rule / atom
18576 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
18577 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
18578 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
18579 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
18581 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
18582 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
18583 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
18584 date-header = "date"
18585 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
18586 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
18587 score = "nil" / <integer>
18588 date = "nil" / <natural number>
18589 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
18590 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
18591 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
18592 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
18593 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
18594 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
18595 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
18596 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
18597 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
18598 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
18599 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
18600 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
18601 exclude-files / read-only / touched
18602 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
18603 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
18604 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
18605 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
18606 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
18607 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
18608 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
18609 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
18610 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
18611 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
18612 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
18613 eval = "eval" space <form>
18614 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
18617 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
18620 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
18621 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
18622 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
18623 one looong line, then that's ok.
18625 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
18626 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
18630 @subsection Headers
18632 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
18633 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
18634 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
18635 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
18637 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
18638 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
18639 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
18640 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
18641 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
18642 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
18643 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
18645 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
18646 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
18647 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
18648 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
18649 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
18651 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
18658 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
18659 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
18661 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
18662 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
18663 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
18664 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
18666 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
18670 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
18673 is transformed into
18676 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
18679 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
18680 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
18683 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
18686 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
18687 is slightly tricky:
18690 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
18696 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
18699 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
18705 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
18712 and is equal to the previous range.
18714 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
18715 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
18716 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
18720 range = simple-range / normal-range
18721 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
18722 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
18723 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
18724 number *[ " " contents ]
18727 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
18728 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
18729 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
18730 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
18731 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
18736 @subsection Group Info
18738 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
18739 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
18740 describes the group.
18742 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
18743 second is a more complex one:
18746 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
18748 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
18749 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
18751 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@gnus.org")))
18754 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
18755 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
18756 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
18757 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
18758 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
18759 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
18760 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
18761 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
18762 this section is about.
18764 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
18765 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
18766 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
18768 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
18771 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
18772 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
18773 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
18774 group = quote <string> quote
18775 ralevel = rank / level
18776 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
18777 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
18778 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
18780 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
18781 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
18782 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
18783 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
18786 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
18787 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
18790 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
18791 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
18794 @item gnus-info-group
18795 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
18796 @findex gnus-info-group
18797 @findex gnus-info-set-group
18798 Get/set the group name.
18800 @item gnus-info-rank
18801 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
18802 @findex gnus-info-rank
18803 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
18804 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
18806 @item gnus-info-level
18807 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
18808 @findex gnus-info-level
18809 @findex gnus-info-set-level
18810 Get/set the group level.
18812 @item gnus-info-score
18813 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
18814 @findex gnus-info-score
18815 @findex gnus-info-set-score
18816 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
18818 @item gnus-info-read
18819 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
18820 @findex gnus-info-read
18821 @findex gnus-info-set-read
18822 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
18824 @item gnus-info-marks
18825 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
18826 @findex gnus-info-marks
18827 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
18828 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
18830 @item gnus-info-method
18831 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
18832 @findex gnus-info-method
18833 @findex gnus-info-set-method
18834 Get/set the group select method.
18836 @item gnus-info-params
18837 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
18838 @findex gnus-info-params
18839 @findex gnus-info-set-params
18840 Get/set the group parameters.
18843 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
18844 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
18846 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
18847 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
18848 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
18849 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
18852 @node Extended Interactive
18853 @subsection Extended Interactive
18854 @cindex interactive
18855 @findex gnus-interactive
18857 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
18858 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
18859 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
18862 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
18863 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
18868 The best thing to do would have been to implement
18869 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
18870 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
18871 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
18872 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
18873 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
18874 @code{interactive}.
18876 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
18881 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
18882 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
18886 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
18887 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
18888 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
18891 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
18895 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
18899 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
18905 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
18906 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
18910 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
18911 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
18912 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
18914 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
18915 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
18916 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
18917 Gnus, that's very useful.
18919 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
18920 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
18921 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
18922 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
18923 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
18924 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
18925 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
18926 following function:
18929 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
18933 (,function ,@@args))
18937 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
18938 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
18939 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
18942 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
18943 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
18944 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
18946 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
18947 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
18948 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
18951 @node Various File Formats
18952 @subsection Various File Formats
18955 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
18956 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
18960 @node Active File Format
18961 @subsubsection Active File Format
18963 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
18964 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
18967 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
18970 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
18971 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
18972 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
18973 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
18974 no.general 1000 900 y
18977 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
18980 active = *group-line
18981 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
18982 group = <non-white-space string>
18984 high-number = <non-negative integer>
18985 low-number = <positive integer>
18986 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
18989 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
18990 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
18993 @node Newsgroups File Format
18994 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
18996 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
18997 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
18998 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
19001 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
19002 Here's the definition:
19006 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
19007 group = <non-white-space string>
19009 description = <string>
19014 @node Emacs for Heathens
19015 @section Emacs for Heathens
19017 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
19018 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
19019 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
19020 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
19021 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
19022 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
19023 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
19027 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
19028 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
19033 @subsection Keystrokes
19037 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
19040 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
19043 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
19044 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
19045 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
19046 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
19047 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
19048 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
19050 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
19051 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
19052 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
19053 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
19054 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
19055 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
19056 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
19058 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
19059 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
19060 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
19061 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
19062 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
19063 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
19064 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
19066 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
19067 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
19068 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
19069 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
19070 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
19076 @subsection Emacs Lisp
19078 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
19079 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
19080 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
19081 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
19083 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
19084 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
19085 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
19086 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
19087 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
19088 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
19089 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
19092 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
19093 write the following:
19096 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
19099 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
19100 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
19101 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
19104 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
19105 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
19106 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
19107 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
19108 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
19110 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
19111 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
19112 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
19116 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
19120 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
19123 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
19124 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
19127 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
19130 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
19131 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
19134 @include gnus-faq.texi