10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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282 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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291 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
292 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
295 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
296 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
297 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
298 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
299 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
300 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
301 License'' in the Emacs manual.
303 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
304 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
305 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
307 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
308 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
309 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
310 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
318 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
320 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
321 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
323 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
324 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
325 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
326 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
327 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
328 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
329 License'' in the Emacs manual.
331 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
332 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
333 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
335 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
336 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
337 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
338 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
346 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
349 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
350 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
351 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
353 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
354 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
355 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
356 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
357 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
358 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
359 License'' in the Emacs manual.
361 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
362 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
363 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
365 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
366 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
367 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
368 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
377 @top The Gnus Newsreader
381 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
382 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
383 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
386 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.07.
397 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
398 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
400 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
401 being accused of plagiarism:
403 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
404 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
405 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
406 can even read news with it!
408 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
409 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
410 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
411 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
412 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
418 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
419 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
420 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
421 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
422 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
423 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
424 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
425 * Various:: General purpose settings.
426 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
427 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
428 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
429 * Key Index:: Key Index.
432 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
436 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
437 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
438 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
439 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
440 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
441 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
442 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
443 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
444 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
445 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
446 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
450 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
451 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
452 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
456 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
457 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
458 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
459 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
460 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
461 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
462 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
463 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
464 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
465 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
466 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
467 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
468 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
469 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
470 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
471 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
472 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
476 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
477 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
478 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
482 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
483 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
484 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
485 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
486 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
490 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
491 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
492 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
493 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
494 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
498 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
499 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
500 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
501 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
502 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
503 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
504 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
505 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
506 * Threading:: How threads are made.
507 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
508 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
509 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
510 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
511 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
512 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
513 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
514 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
515 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
516 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
517 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
518 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
519 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
520 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
521 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
522 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
523 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
524 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
525 or reselecting the current group.
526 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
527 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
528 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
529 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
531 Summary Buffer Format
533 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
534 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
535 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
536 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
540 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
541 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
543 Reply, Followup and Post
545 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
546 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
547 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
548 * Canceling and Superseding::
552 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
553 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
554 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
556 * Generic Marking Commands::
557 * Setting Process Marks::
561 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
562 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
563 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
567 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
568 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
570 Customizing Threading
572 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
573 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
574 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
575 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
579 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
580 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
581 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
582 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
583 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
584 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
588 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
589 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
590 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
594 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
595 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
596 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
597 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
598 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
599 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
600 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
601 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
602 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
603 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
605 Alternative Approaches
607 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
608 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
610 Various Summary Stuff
612 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
613 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
614 * Summary Generation Commands::
615 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
619 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
620 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
621 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
622 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
623 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
627 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
628 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
629 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
630 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
631 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
632 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
633 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
634 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
638 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
639 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
640 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
641 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
642 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
643 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
644 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
645 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
649 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
650 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
651 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
652 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
653 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
654 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
655 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
659 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
660 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
664 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
665 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
666 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
670 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
671 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
672 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
673 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
674 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
675 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
676 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
677 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
678 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
679 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
680 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
681 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
682 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
686 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
687 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
688 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
690 Choosing a Mail Back End
692 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
693 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
694 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
695 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
696 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
697 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
702 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
703 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
704 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
705 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
706 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
707 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
711 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
712 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
713 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
714 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
715 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
719 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
720 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
721 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
722 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
723 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
727 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
731 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
732 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
733 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
737 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
738 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
742 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
743 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
744 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
745 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
746 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
747 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
748 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
749 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
750 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
751 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
752 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
756 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
757 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
758 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
762 * Group Agent Commands::
763 * Summary Agent Commands::
764 * Server Agent Commands::
768 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
769 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
770 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
771 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
772 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
773 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
774 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
775 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
776 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
777 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
778 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
779 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
780 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
781 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
782 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
783 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
784 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
788 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
789 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
790 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
791 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
795 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
796 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
797 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
801 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
802 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
803 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
804 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
805 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
806 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
807 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
808 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
809 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
810 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
811 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
812 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
813 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
814 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
815 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
816 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
817 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
818 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
819 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
823 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
824 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
825 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
826 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
827 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
828 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
829 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
830 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
834 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
835 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
836 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
837 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
838 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
842 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
843 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
844 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
845 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
846 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
850 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
851 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
852 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
856 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
857 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
858 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
859 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
860 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
861 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
862 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
863 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
864 * Frequently Asked Questions::
868 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
869 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
870 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
871 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
872 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
873 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
874 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
875 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
876 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
880 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
881 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
882 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
883 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
884 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
888 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
889 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
890 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
891 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
895 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
896 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
897 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
898 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
899 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
900 * Group Info:: The group info format.
901 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
902 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
903 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
907 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
908 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
909 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
910 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
911 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
912 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
916 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
917 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
921 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
922 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
928 @chapter Starting Gnus
933 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
934 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
937 @findex gnus-other-frame
938 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
939 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
940 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
942 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
943 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
944 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
946 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
947 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
950 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
951 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
952 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
953 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
954 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
955 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
956 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
957 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
958 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
959 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
960 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
964 @node Finding the News
965 @section Finding the News
968 @vindex gnus-select-method
970 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
971 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
972 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
973 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
976 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
977 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
980 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
983 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
986 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
989 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
990 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
991 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
993 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
995 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
996 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
997 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
998 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
999 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1000 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1002 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1003 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1004 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1005 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1007 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1008 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1009 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1010 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1011 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1012 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1013 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1014 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1015 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1018 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1020 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1021 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1022 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1023 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1024 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1025 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1027 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1029 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1030 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1031 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1032 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1033 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1034 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1037 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1038 you would typically set this variable to
1041 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1045 @node The First Time
1046 @section The First Time
1047 @cindex first time usage
1049 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1050 be subscribed by default.
1052 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1053 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1054 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1055 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1058 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1059 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1060 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1062 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1063 help you with most common problems.
1065 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1066 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1070 @node The Server is Down
1071 @section The Server is Down
1072 @cindex server errors
1074 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1075 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1076 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1078 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1079 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1080 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1081 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1082 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1083 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1084 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1086 @findex gnus-no-server
1087 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1089 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1090 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1091 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1092 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1093 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1094 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1095 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1099 @section Slave Gnusae
1102 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1103 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1104 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1105 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1107 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1108 @code{.newsrc} file.
1110 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1111 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1112 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1113 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1114 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1115 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1116 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1118 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1119 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1120 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1121 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1122 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1123 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1124 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1125 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1127 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1128 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1130 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1131 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1132 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1133 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1134 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1136 @node Fetching a Group
1137 @section Fetching a Group
1138 @cindex fetching a group
1140 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1141 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1142 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1143 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1144 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1145 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1151 @cindex subscription
1153 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1154 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1155 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1156 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1157 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1158 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1159 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1160 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1161 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1164 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1165 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1166 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1170 @node Checking New Groups
1171 @subsection Checking New Groups
1173 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1174 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1175 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1176 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1177 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1178 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1179 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1180 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1181 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1182 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1184 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1185 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1186 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1187 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1188 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1189 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1190 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1191 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1192 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1193 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1194 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1196 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1197 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1198 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1199 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1200 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1201 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1204 @node Subscription Methods
1205 @subsection Subscription Methods
1207 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1208 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1209 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1211 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1212 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1214 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1218 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1219 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1220 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1221 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1222 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1224 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1225 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1226 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1227 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1229 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1230 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1231 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1233 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1234 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1235 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1236 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1237 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1238 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1239 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1240 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1241 up. Or something like that.
1243 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1244 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1245 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1246 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1247 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1249 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1250 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1251 Kill all new groups.
1253 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1254 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1255 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1256 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1257 topic parameter that looks like
1263 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1266 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1271 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1272 A closely related variable is
1273 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1274 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1275 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1276 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1279 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1280 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1281 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1282 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1285 @node Filtering New Groups
1286 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1288 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1289 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1290 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1293 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1296 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1297 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1298 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1299 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1300 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1301 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1302 subscribing these groups.
1303 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1304 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1306 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1307 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1308 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1309 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1310 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1311 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1312 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1313 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1315 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1316 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1317 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1318 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1319 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1320 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1321 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1322 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1323 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1324 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1327 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1328 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1331 @node Changing Servers
1332 @section Changing Servers
1333 @cindex changing servers
1335 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1336 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1337 very flaky and you want to use another.
1339 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1340 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1344 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1345 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1346 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1347 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1350 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1351 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1352 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1353 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1355 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1356 @findex gnus-change-server
1357 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1358 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1359 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1360 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1361 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1363 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1364 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1365 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1366 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1367 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1369 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1370 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1371 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1372 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1373 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1374 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1376 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1377 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1378 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1379 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1381 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1382 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1383 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1384 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1385 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1386 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1387 cache for all groups).
1391 @section Startup Files
1392 @cindex startup files
1397 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1398 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1400 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1401 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1402 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1403 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1404 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1405 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1406 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1408 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1409 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1410 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1411 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1412 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1413 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1415 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1416 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1417 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1418 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1419 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1420 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1421 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1422 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1423 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1424 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1426 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1427 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1428 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1429 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1430 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1431 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1432 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1433 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1434 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1435 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1436 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1437 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1439 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1440 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1441 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1442 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1444 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1445 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1446 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1447 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1448 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1449 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1450 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1451 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1452 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1453 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1456 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1457 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1459 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1460 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1463 @vindex gnus-init-file
1464 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1465 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1466 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1467 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1468 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1469 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1470 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1471 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1472 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1478 @cindex dribble file
1481 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1482 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1483 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1484 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1485 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1488 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1489 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1492 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1493 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1494 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1496 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1497 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1498 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1499 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1500 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1501 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1503 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1504 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1505 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1508 @node The Active File
1509 @section The Active File
1511 @cindex ignored groups
1513 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1514 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1515 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1517 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1518 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1519 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1520 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1521 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1522 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1523 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1526 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1527 @c if you set it to anything else.
1529 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1531 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1532 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1533 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1535 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1536 you actually subscribe to.
1538 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1539 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1540 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1541 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1543 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1544 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1545 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1546 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1547 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1548 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1550 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1551 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1552 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1555 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1556 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1557 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1558 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1559 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1560 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1562 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1563 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1565 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1566 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1568 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1569 secondary select methods.
1572 @node Startup Variables
1573 @section Startup Variables
1577 @item gnus-load-hook
1578 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1579 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1580 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1581 times you start Gnus.
1583 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1584 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1585 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1587 @item gnus-startup-hook
1588 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1589 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1591 @item gnus-started-hook
1592 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1593 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1596 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1597 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1598 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1599 generating the group buffer.
1601 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1602 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1603 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1604 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1605 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1606 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1607 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1608 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1610 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1611 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1612 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1613 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1614 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1615 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1617 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1618 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1619 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1621 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1622 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1623 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1625 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1626 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1627 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1628 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1634 @chapter Group Buffer
1635 @cindex group buffer
1637 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1639 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1640 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1641 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1642 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1643 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1644 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1645 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1646 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1647 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1648 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1649 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1650 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1651 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1652 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1653 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1654 @c human rights at 9...
1657 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1658 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1659 long as Gnus is active.
1663 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1664 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1665 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1666 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1667 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1668 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1669 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1670 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1676 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1677 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1678 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1679 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1680 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1681 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1682 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1683 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1684 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1685 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1686 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1687 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1688 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1689 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1690 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1691 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1692 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1696 @node Group Buffer Format
1697 @section Group Buffer Format
1700 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1701 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1702 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1706 @node Group Line Specification
1707 @subsection Group Line Specification
1708 @cindex group buffer format
1710 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1711 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1713 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1716 25: news.announce.newusers
1717 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1722 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1723 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1724 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1725 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1727 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1728 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1729 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1730 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1731 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1732 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1734 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1736 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1737 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1738 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1739 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1740 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1742 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1743 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1744 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1746 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1751 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1754 Whether the group is subscribed.
1757 Level of subscribedness.
1760 Number of unread articles.
1763 Number of dormant articles.
1766 Number of ticked articles.
1769 Number of read articles.
1772 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1773 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1775 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1776 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1777 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1778 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1779 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1780 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1781 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1782 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1785 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1788 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1797 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1798 comment element in the group parameters.
1801 Newsgroup description.
1804 @samp{m} if moderated.
1807 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1816 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1820 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1823 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1824 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1825 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1826 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1827 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1830 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1832 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1836 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1839 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1843 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1844 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1845 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1846 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1847 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1848 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1853 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1854 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1855 group, or a bogus native group.
1858 @node Group Modeline Specification
1859 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1860 @cindex group modeline
1862 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1863 The mode line can be changed by setting
1864 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1865 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1869 The native news server.
1871 The native select method.
1875 @node Group Highlighting
1876 @subsection Group Highlighting
1877 @cindex highlighting
1878 @cindex group highlighting
1880 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1881 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1882 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1883 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1884 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1886 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1890 (cond (window-system
1891 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1892 (defface my-group-face-1
1893 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1894 (defface my-group-face-2
1895 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1896 (defface my-group-face-3
1897 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1898 (defface my-group-face-4
1899 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1900 (defface my-group-face-5
1901 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1903 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1904 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1905 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1906 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1907 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1908 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1911 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1913 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1920 The number of unread articles in the group.
1924 Whether the group is a mail group.
1926 The level of the group.
1928 The score of the group.
1930 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1932 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1933 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1935 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1936 topic being inserted.
1939 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1940 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1941 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1943 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1944 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1945 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1946 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1947 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1950 @node Group Maneuvering
1951 @section Group Maneuvering
1952 @cindex group movement
1954 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1955 expected, hopefully.
1961 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1962 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1963 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1969 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1970 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1971 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1975 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1976 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1980 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1981 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1985 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1986 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1987 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1991 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1992 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1993 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1996 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2002 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2003 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2004 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2009 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2010 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2011 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2015 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2016 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2017 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2020 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2021 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2022 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2023 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2027 @node Selecting a Group
2028 @section Selecting a Group
2029 @cindex group selection
2034 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2035 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2036 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2037 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2038 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2039 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2040 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2041 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2042 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2043 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2045 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2046 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2047 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2049 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2050 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2055 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2056 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2057 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2058 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2059 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2063 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2064 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2065 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2066 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2067 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2068 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2069 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2070 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2071 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2072 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2075 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2076 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2077 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2078 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2079 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2082 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2083 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2084 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2085 doing any processing of its contents
2086 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2087 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2088 manner will have no permanent effects.
2092 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2093 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2094 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2095 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2096 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2097 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2098 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2099 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2102 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2103 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2104 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2105 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2106 Which article this is is controlled by the
2107 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2113 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2116 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2119 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2121 @item unseen-or-unread
2122 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2123 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2127 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2131 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2132 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2134 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2135 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2136 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2137 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2141 @node Subscription Commands
2142 @section Subscription Commands
2143 @cindex subscription
2151 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2152 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2153 Toggle subscription to the current group
2154 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2160 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2161 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2162 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2163 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2169 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2170 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2171 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2177 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2178 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2181 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2182 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2183 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2184 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2185 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2191 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2192 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2196 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2197 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2200 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2201 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2202 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2203 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2204 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2205 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2206 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2207 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2208 @file{.newsrc} file.
2212 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2222 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2223 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2224 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2225 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2226 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2227 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2232 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2233 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2234 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2238 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2239 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2240 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2242 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2243 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2244 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2245 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2246 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2247 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2254 @section Group Levels
2258 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2259 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2260 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2261 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2262 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2264 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2270 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2271 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2272 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2273 prompted for a level.
2276 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2277 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2278 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2279 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2280 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2281 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2282 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2283 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2284 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2285 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2286 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2287 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2288 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2289 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2290 reasons of efficiency.
2292 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2293 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2295 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2296 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2297 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2298 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2299 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2300 groups are hidden, in a way.
2302 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2303 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2304 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2305 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2306 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2307 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2309 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2310 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2311 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2312 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2313 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2314 list of killed groups.)
2316 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2317 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2318 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2320 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2321 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2322 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2323 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2324 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2325 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2326 relevant valid ranges.
2328 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2329 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2330 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2331 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2332 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2333 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2336 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2337 one with the best level.
2339 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2340 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2341 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2344 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2345 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2346 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2347 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2350 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2351 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2352 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2353 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2355 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2356 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2357 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2358 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2359 to 5. The default is 6.
2363 @section Group Score
2368 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2369 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2370 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2373 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2374 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2375 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2376 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2377 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2378 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2379 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2380 least significant part.))
2382 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2383 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2384 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2385 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2386 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2387 action after each summary exit, you can add
2388 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2389 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2390 slow things down somewhat.
2393 @node Marking Groups
2394 @section Marking Groups
2395 @cindex marking groups
2397 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2398 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2399 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2400 bidding on those groups.
2402 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2403 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2404 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2412 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2413 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2419 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2420 Remove the mark from the current group
2421 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2425 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2426 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2430 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2431 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2435 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2436 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2440 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2441 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2442 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2445 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2447 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2448 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2449 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2450 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2451 the command to be executed.
2454 @node Foreign Groups
2455 @section Foreign Groups
2456 @cindex foreign groups
2458 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2459 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2460 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2461 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2468 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2469 @cindex making groups
2470 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2471 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2472 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2476 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2477 @cindex renaming groups
2478 Rename the current group to something else
2479 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2480 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2486 @findex gnus-group-customize
2487 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2491 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2492 @cindex renaming groups
2493 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2494 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2498 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2499 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2500 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2504 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2505 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2506 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2510 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2512 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2513 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2518 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2519 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2523 @cindex (ding) archive
2524 @cindex archive group
2525 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2526 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2527 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2528 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2529 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2530 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2531 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2535 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2537 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2538 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2539 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2540 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2544 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2546 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2547 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2548 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2552 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2553 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2555 Make a group based on some file or other
2556 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2557 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2558 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2559 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2560 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2561 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2562 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2563 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2564 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2568 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2569 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2570 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2571 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2575 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2579 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2580 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2581 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2582 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2583 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2584 @xref{Web Searches}.
2586 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2587 to a particular group by using a match string like
2588 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2591 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2592 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2593 This function will delete the current group
2594 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2595 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2596 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2597 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2598 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2602 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2603 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2604 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2608 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2609 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2610 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2613 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2616 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2617 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2618 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2619 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2620 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2621 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2625 @node Group Parameters
2626 @section Group Parameters
2627 @cindex group parameters
2629 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2630 Here's an example group parameter list:
2633 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2637 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2638 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2639 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2640 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2642 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2643 is an alist of regexps and values.
2645 The following group parameters can be used:
2650 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2653 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2656 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2657 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2658 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2659 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2660 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2662 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2663 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2664 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2665 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2666 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2667 list address instead.
2669 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2673 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2676 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2679 It is totally ignored
2680 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2681 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2683 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2684 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2685 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2686 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2687 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2689 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2690 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2691 sending the message.
2693 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2694 @cindex Mail List Groups
2695 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2696 entering summary buffer.
2698 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2703 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2704 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2705 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2706 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2707 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2708 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2710 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2711 directly uses this group parameter.
2715 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2716 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2717 of whether it has any unread articles.
2719 @item broken-reply-to
2720 @cindex broken-reply-to
2721 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2722 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2723 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2724 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2725 broken behavior. So there!
2729 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2730 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2734 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2735 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2736 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2741 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2742 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2743 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2744 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2745 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2746 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2747 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2748 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2749 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept artciles.
2753 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2754 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2755 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2757 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2760 @cindex total-expire
2761 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2762 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2763 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2764 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2767 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2771 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2772 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2773 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2774 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2775 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2776 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2777 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2780 @cindex score file group parameter
2781 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2782 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2783 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2786 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2787 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2788 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2789 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2792 @cindex admin-address
2793 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2794 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2795 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2796 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2800 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2801 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2805 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2808 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2809 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2812 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2816 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2818 Here are some examples:
2822 Display only unread articles.
2825 Display everything except expirable articles.
2827 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2828 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2832 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2833 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2834 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2835 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2836 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2840 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2841 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2842 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2846 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2847 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2848 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2852 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2853 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2854 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2856 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2858 @item ignored-charsets
2859 @cindex ignored-charset
2860 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2861 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2862 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2864 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2867 @cindex posting-style
2868 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2869 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2870 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2871 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2872 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2874 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2875 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2876 like this in the group parameters:
2881 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2886 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2887 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2891 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2892 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2893 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2894 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2895 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2899 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2900 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2901 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2902 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2904 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2905 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2906 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2907 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2910 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2911 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2915 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2918 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2919 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2920 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2921 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2922 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2923 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2924 @code{eval}ed there.
2926 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2927 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2928 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2929 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2930 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2931 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2932 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2933 parameters for the group.
2936 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2937 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2938 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2939 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2940 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2944 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2945 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2946 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2947 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2948 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2950 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2951 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2955 (setq gnus-parameters
2957 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2958 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2959 (gnus-summary-line-format
2960 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2964 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2968 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2972 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2975 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2976 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2979 @node Listing Groups
2980 @section Listing Groups
2981 @cindex group listing
2983 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2991 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2992 List all groups that have unread articles
2993 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2994 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2995 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2996 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3003 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3004 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3005 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3006 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3007 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3008 unsubscribed groups).
3012 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3013 List all unread groups on a specific level
3014 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3015 with no unread articles.
3019 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3020 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3021 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3022 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3027 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3028 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3032 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3033 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3034 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3038 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3039 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3043 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3044 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3045 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3046 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3047 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3048 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3049 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3050 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3054 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3055 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3056 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3060 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3061 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3062 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3066 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3067 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3071 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3072 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3076 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3077 List groups limited within the current selection
3078 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3082 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3083 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3087 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3088 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3092 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3093 @cindex visible group parameter
3094 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3095 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3096 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3097 get the same effect.
3099 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3100 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3101 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3102 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3103 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3106 @node Sorting Groups
3107 @section Sorting Groups
3108 @cindex sorting groups
3110 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3111 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3112 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3113 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3114 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3115 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3120 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3121 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3122 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3124 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3125 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3126 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3128 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3129 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3130 Sort by group level.
3132 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3133 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3134 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3136 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3137 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3138 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3139 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3141 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3142 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3143 Sort by number of unread articles.
3145 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3146 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3147 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3149 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3150 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3151 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3156 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3157 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3161 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3162 some sorting criteria:
3166 @kindex G S a (Group)
3167 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3168 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3169 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3172 @kindex G S u (Group)
3173 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3174 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3175 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3178 @kindex G S l (Group)
3179 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3180 Sort the group buffer by group level
3181 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3184 @kindex G S v (Group)
3185 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3186 Sort the group buffer by group score
3187 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3190 @kindex G S r (Group)
3191 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3192 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3193 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3196 @kindex G S m (Group)
3197 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3198 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3199 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3203 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3204 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3206 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3207 commands will sort in reverse order.
3209 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3213 @kindex G P a (Group)
3214 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3215 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3216 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3219 @kindex G P u (Group)
3220 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3221 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3222 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3225 @kindex G P l (Group)
3226 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3227 Sort the groups by group level
3228 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3231 @kindex G P v (Group)
3232 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3233 Sort the groups by group score
3234 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3237 @kindex G P r (Group)
3238 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3239 Sort the groups by group rank
3240 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3243 @kindex G P m (Group)
3244 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3245 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3246 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3249 @kindex G P s (Group)
3250 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3251 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3255 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3259 @node Group Maintenance
3260 @section Group Maintenance
3261 @cindex bogus groups
3266 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3267 Find bogus groups and delete them
3268 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3272 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3273 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3274 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3275 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3276 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3280 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3281 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3282 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3283 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3284 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3285 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3288 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3289 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3290 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3291 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3296 @node Browse Foreign Server
3297 @section Browse Foreign Server
3298 @cindex foreign servers
3299 @cindex browsing servers
3304 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3305 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3306 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3307 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3310 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3311 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3312 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3313 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3315 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3320 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3321 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3325 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3326 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3329 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3330 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3331 Enter the current group and display the first article
3332 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3335 @kindex RET (Browse)
3336 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3337 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3341 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3342 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3343 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3349 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3350 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3354 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3355 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3359 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3360 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3361 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3366 @section Exiting Gnus
3367 @cindex exiting Gnus
3369 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3374 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3375 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3376 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3377 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3381 @findex gnus-group-exit
3382 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3383 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3387 @findex gnus-group-quit
3388 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3389 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3392 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3393 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3394 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3395 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3396 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3401 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3402 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3403 trying to customize meta-variables.
3408 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3409 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3410 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3416 @section Group Topics
3419 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3420 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3421 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3422 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3423 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3424 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3428 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3429 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3440 2: alt.religion.emacs
3443 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3445 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3446 13: comp.sources.unix
3449 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3451 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3452 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3453 is a toggling command.)
3455 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3456 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3457 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3458 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3461 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3462 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3463 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3466 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3470 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3471 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3472 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3473 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3474 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3478 @node Topic Commands
3479 @subsection Topic Commands
3480 @cindex topic commands
3482 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3483 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3484 definitions slightly.
3486 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3487 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3488 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3489 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3490 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3491 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3493 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3500 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3501 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3502 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3506 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3508 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3509 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3510 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3511 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3514 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3515 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3516 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3517 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3521 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3522 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3523 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3524 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3530 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3531 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3532 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3536 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3537 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3538 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3541 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3542 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3543 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3544 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3545 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3547 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3548 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3552 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3553 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3560 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3562 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3563 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3564 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3565 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3566 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3567 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3571 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3577 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3578 Move the current group to some other topic
3579 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3580 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3584 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3585 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3589 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3590 Copy the current group to some other topic
3591 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3592 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3596 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3597 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3598 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3602 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3603 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3604 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3608 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3609 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3610 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3611 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3612 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3613 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3614 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3617 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3618 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3622 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3623 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3624 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3628 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3629 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3630 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3634 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3635 Toggle hiding empty topics
3636 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3640 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3641 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3642 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3645 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3646 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3647 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3648 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3651 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3652 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3653 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3654 expiry process (if any)
3655 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3659 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3660 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3663 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3664 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3665 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3669 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3670 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3671 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3674 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3675 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3676 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3679 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3680 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3681 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3685 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3686 @cindex group parameters
3687 @cindex topic parameters
3689 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3690 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3695 @node Topic Variables
3696 @subsection Topic Variables
3697 @cindex topic variables
3699 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3700 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3702 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3703 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3704 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3717 Number of groups in the topic.
3719 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3721 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3724 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3725 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3726 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3729 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3730 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3732 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3733 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3734 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3738 @subsection Topic Sorting
3739 @cindex topic sorting
3741 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3747 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3748 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3749 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3750 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3753 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3754 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3755 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3756 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3759 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3760 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3761 Sort the current topic by group level
3762 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3765 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3766 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3767 Sort the current topic by group score
3768 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3771 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3772 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3773 Sort the current topic by group rank
3774 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3777 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3778 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3779 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3780 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3783 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3784 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3785 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3786 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3790 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3791 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3792 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3793 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3797 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3798 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3802 @node Topic Topology
3803 @subsection Topic Topology
3804 @cindex topic topology
3807 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3813 2: alt.religion.emacs
3816 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3818 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3819 13: comp.sources.unix
3822 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3823 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3824 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3829 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3830 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3834 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3835 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3836 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3837 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3838 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3839 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3841 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3842 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3843 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3846 @node Topic Parameters
3847 @subsection Topic Parameters
3848 @cindex topic parameters
3850 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3851 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3852 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3854 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3859 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3860 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3861 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3864 @item subscribe-level
3865 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3866 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3867 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3871 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3872 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3873 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3874 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3880 2: alt.religion.emacs
3884 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3886 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3887 13: comp.sources.unix
3891 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3892 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3893 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3894 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3895 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3896 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3898 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3899 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3900 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3901 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3902 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3904 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3905 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3906 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3907 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3908 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3909 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3910 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3911 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3914 @node Misc Group Stuff
3915 @section Misc Group Stuff
3918 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3919 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3920 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3921 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3922 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3929 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3930 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3931 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3935 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3936 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3937 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3938 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3939 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3940 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3941 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3945 @findex gnus-group-mail
3946 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3947 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3948 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3949 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3953 @findex gnus-group-news
3954 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3955 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3956 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3958 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3959 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3960 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3961 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3962 for this to work though.
3966 Variables for the group buffer:
3970 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3971 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3972 is called after the group buffer has been
3975 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3976 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3977 is called after the group buffer is
3978 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3981 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3982 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3983 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3984 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3986 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3987 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3988 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3989 whether they are empty or not.
3991 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3992 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3993 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3994 non-ASCII group names.
3998 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3999 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4002 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4003 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4004 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4005 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4006 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4007 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
4011 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4012 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4017 @node Scanning New Messages
4018 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4019 @cindex new messages
4020 @cindex scanning new news
4026 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4027 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4028 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4029 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4030 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4031 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4036 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4037 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4038 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4039 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4040 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4041 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4042 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4044 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4045 @cindex activating groups
4047 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4048 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4053 @findex gnus-group-restart
4054 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4055 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4056 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4060 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4061 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4063 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4064 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4068 @node Group Information
4069 @subsection Group Information
4070 @cindex group information
4071 @cindex information on groups
4078 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4079 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4082 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4083 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4084 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4085 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4086 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4087 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4088 for fetching the file.
4090 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4091 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4095 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4096 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4098 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4099 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4102 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4103 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4104 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4108 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4109 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4110 @cindex control message
4111 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4112 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4113 group if given a prefix argument.
4115 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-nil, Gnus
4116 will open the control messages in a browser using @code{browse-url}.
4117 Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp} and displayed in an
4120 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4121 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4122 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4126 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4128 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4129 @cindex describing groups
4130 @cindex group description
4131 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4132 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4133 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4137 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4138 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4139 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4146 @findex gnus-version
4147 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4151 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4152 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4155 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4158 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4159 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4163 @node Group Timestamp
4164 @subsection Group Timestamp
4166 @cindex group timestamps
4168 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4169 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4170 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4173 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4176 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4178 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4179 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4182 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4183 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4186 This will result in lines looking like:
4189 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4190 0: custom 19961002T012713
4193 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4194 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4198 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4199 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4202 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4203 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4207 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4208 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4209 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4210 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4212 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4218 @subsection File Commands
4219 @cindex file commands
4225 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4226 @vindex gnus-init-file
4227 @cindex reading init file
4228 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4229 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4233 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4234 @cindex saving .newsrc
4235 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4236 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4237 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4240 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4241 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4242 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4247 @node Sieve Commands
4248 @subsection Sieve Commands
4249 @cindex group sieve commands
4251 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4252 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4253 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4254 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4255 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4257 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4258 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4259 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4260 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4261 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4262 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4263 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4264 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4265 regenerate the Sieve script.
4267 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4268 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4269 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4270 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4271 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4272 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4273 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4274 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4275 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4276 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4279 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4280 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4285 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4291 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4292 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4293 @cindex generating sieve script
4294 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4295 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4299 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4300 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4301 @cindex updating sieve script
4302 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4303 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4304 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4309 @node Summary Buffer
4310 @chapter Summary Buffer
4311 @cindex summary buffer
4313 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4314 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4316 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4317 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4319 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4322 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4323 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4324 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4325 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4326 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4327 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4328 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4329 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4330 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4331 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4332 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4333 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4334 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4335 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4336 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4337 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4338 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4339 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4340 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4341 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4342 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4343 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4344 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4345 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4346 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4347 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4348 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4349 or reselecting the current group.
4350 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4351 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4352 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4353 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4357 @node Summary Buffer Format
4358 @section Summary Buffer Format
4359 @cindex summary buffer format
4363 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4364 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4365 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4371 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4372 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4373 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4374 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4377 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4378 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4379 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4380 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4381 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4382 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4383 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4384 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4385 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4386 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4387 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4390 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4391 'mail-extract-address-components)
4394 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4395 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4396 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4397 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4400 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4401 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4403 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4404 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4405 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4406 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4407 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4409 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4410 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4411 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4412 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4413 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4414 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4416 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4418 The following format specification characters and extended format
4419 specification(s) are understood:
4425 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4426 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4428 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4429 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4430 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4432 Full @code{From} header.
4434 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4436 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4439 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4440 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4441 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4442 may be more thorough.
4444 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4447 Number of lines in the article.
4449 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4450 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4452 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4453 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4455 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4457 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4460 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4461 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4463 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4464 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4466 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4467 for adopted articles.
4469 One space for each thread level.
4471 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4473 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4476 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4477 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4478 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4481 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4483 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4484 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4485 default level. If the difference between
4486 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4487 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4495 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4497 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4503 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4504 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4506 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4507 article has any children.
4513 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4514 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4516 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4517 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4518 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4519 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4520 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4521 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4524 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4525 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4526 There can only be one such area.
4528 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4529 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4530 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4531 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4532 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4533 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4535 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4536 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4538 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4541 @node To From Newsgroups
4542 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4546 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4547 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4548 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4549 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4550 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4554 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4555 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4556 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4560 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4561 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4564 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4565 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4568 @findex gnus-extra-header
4569 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4570 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4571 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4574 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4578 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4579 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4580 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4581 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4582 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4583 headers are used instead.
4587 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4588 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4589 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4590 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4591 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4592 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4594 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4595 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4596 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4597 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4599 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4603 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4605 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4606 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4607 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4608 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4612 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4615 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4616 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4619 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4620 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4621 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4627 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4628 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4631 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4632 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4634 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4635 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4636 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4637 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4639 Here are the elements you can play with:
4645 Unprefixed group name.
4647 Current article number.
4649 Current article score.
4653 Number of unread articles in this group.
4655 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4658 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4659 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4660 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4661 and no unselected ones.
4663 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4664 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4666 Subject of the current article.
4668 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4670 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4672 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4674 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4676 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4678 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4682 @node Summary Highlighting
4683 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4687 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4688 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4689 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4690 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4691 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4693 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4694 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4695 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4696 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4698 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4699 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4700 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4701 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4703 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4704 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4705 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4706 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4707 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4708 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4711 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4712 ((> score default) . bold))
4714 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4715 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4719 @node Summary Maneuvering
4720 @section Summary Maneuvering
4721 @cindex summary movement
4723 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4724 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4726 None of these commands select articles.
4731 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4732 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4733 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4734 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4735 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4739 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4740 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4741 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4742 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4743 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4746 @kindex G g (Summary)
4747 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4748 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4749 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4752 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4753 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4754 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4755 to the group buffer.
4757 Variables related to summary movement:
4761 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4762 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4763 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4764 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4765 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4766 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4767 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4768 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4769 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4770 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4771 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4772 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4773 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4774 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4776 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4777 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4778 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4779 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4780 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4781 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4782 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4784 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4786 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4787 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4788 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4789 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4790 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4792 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4793 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4794 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4795 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4796 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4797 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4798 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4799 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4802 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4803 the given number of lines from the top.
4808 @node Choosing Articles
4809 @section Choosing Articles
4810 @cindex selecting articles
4813 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4814 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4818 @node Choosing Commands
4819 @subsection Choosing Commands
4821 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4822 and they all select and display an article.
4824 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4825 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4829 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4830 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4831 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4832 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4837 @kindex G n (Summary)
4838 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4839 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4840 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4845 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4846 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4847 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4852 @kindex G N (Summary)
4853 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4854 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4859 @kindex G P (Summary)
4860 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4861 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4864 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4865 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4866 Go to the next article with the same subject
4867 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4870 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4871 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4872 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4873 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4877 @kindex G f (Summary)
4879 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4880 Go to the first unread article
4881 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4885 @kindex G b (Summary)
4887 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4888 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4889 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4890 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4895 @kindex G l (Summary)
4896 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4897 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4900 @kindex G o (Summary)
4901 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4903 @cindex article history
4904 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4905 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4906 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4907 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4908 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4909 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4914 @kindex G j (Summary)
4915 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4916 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4917 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4922 @node Choosing Variables
4923 @subsection Choosing Variables
4925 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4928 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4929 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4930 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4931 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4932 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4933 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4935 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4936 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4937 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4938 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4940 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4941 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4942 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4943 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4944 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4945 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4946 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4947 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4948 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4949 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4950 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4951 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4952 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4953 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4958 @node Paging the Article
4959 @section Scrolling the Article
4960 @cindex article scrolling
4965 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4966 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4967 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4968 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4969 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4972 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4973 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4974 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4977 @kindex RET (Summary)
4978 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4979 Scroll the current article one line forward
4980 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4983 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4984 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4985 Scroll the current article one line backward
4986 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4990 @kindex A g (Summary)
4992 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4993 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4994 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4995 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4996 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4997 the way it came from the server.
4999 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5000 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5001 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5004 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5009 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5014 @kindex A < (Summary)
5015 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5016 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5017 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5022 @kindex A > (Summary)
5023 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5024 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5028 @kindex A s (Summary)
5030 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5031 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5032 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5036 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5037 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5042 @node Reply Followup and Post
5043 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5046 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5047 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5048 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5049 * Canceling and Superseding::
5053 @node Summary Mail Commands
5054 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5056 @cindex composing mail
5058 Commands for composing a mail message:
5064 @kindex S r (Summary)
5066 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5067 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5068 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5069 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5070 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5075 @kindex S R (Summary)
5076 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5077 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5078 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5079 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5080 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5083 @kindex S w (Summary)
5084 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5085 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5086 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5087 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5088 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5091 @kindex S W (Summary)
5092 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5093 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5094 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5095 the process/prefix convention.
5098 @kindex S v (Summary)
5099 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5100 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5101 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5102 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5103 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5104 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5107 @kindex S V (Summary)
5108 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5109 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5110 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5111 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5114 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5115 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5116 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5117 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5120 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5121 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5122 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5123 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5124 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5128 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5129 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5130 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5131 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5132 Forward the current article to some other person
5133 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5134 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5135 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5136 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5137 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5138 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5139 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5140 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5141 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5147 @kindex S m (Summary)
5148 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5149 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5150 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5151 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5152 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5157 @kindex S i (Summary)
5158 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5159 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5160 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5161 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5163 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5164 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5165 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5166 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5167 for this to work though.
5170 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5171 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5172 @cindex bouncing mail
5173 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5174 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5175 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5176 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5177 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5178 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5179 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5180 very well fail, though.
5183 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5184 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5185 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5186 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5187 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5188 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5189 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5190 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5191 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5192 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5194 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5195 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5196 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5197 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5198 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5200 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5201 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5204 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5205 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5206 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5207 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5208 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5211 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5212 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5213 @cindex crossposting
5214 @cindex excessive crossposting
5215 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5216 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5218 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5219 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5220 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5221 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5222 command understands the process/prefix convention
5223 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5227 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5228 Manual}, for more information.
5231 @node Summary Post Commands
5232 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5234 @cindex composing news
5236 Commands for posting a news article:
5242 @kindex S p (Summary)
5243 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5244 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5245 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5246 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5247 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5252 @kindex S f (Summary)
5253 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5254 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5255 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5259 @kindex S F (Summary)
5261 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5262 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5263 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5264 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5265 process/prefix convention.
5268 @kindex S n (Summary)
5269 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5270 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5271 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5274 @kindex S N (Summary)
5275 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5276 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5277 message through mail and include the original message
5278 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5279 the process/prefix convention.
5282 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5284 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5285 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5286 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5287 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5288 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5289 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5290 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5291 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5292 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5293 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5294 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5297 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5298 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5300 @cindex making digests
5301 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5302 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5303 process/prefix convention.
5306 @kindex S u (Summary)
5307 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5308 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5309 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5310 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5313 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5314 Manual}, for more information.
5317 @node Summary Message Commands
5318 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5322 @kindex S y (Summary)
5323 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5324 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5325 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5326 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5327 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5332 @node Canceling and Superseding
5333 @subsection Canceling Articles
5334 @cindex canceling articles
5335 @cindex superseding articles
5337 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5338 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5340 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5342 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5344 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5345 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5346 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5347 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5348 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5349 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5351 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5352 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5355 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5356 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5357 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5359 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5360 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5361 your original article.
5363 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5365 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5366 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5367 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5370 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5371 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5372 have posted almost the same article twice.
5374 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5375 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5376 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5377 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5378 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5379 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5380 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5381 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5382 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5383 canceled/superseded.
5385 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5387 @node Delayed Articles
5388 @section Delayed Articles
5389 @cindex delayed sending
5390 @cindex send delayed
5392 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5393 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5394 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5395 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5398 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5401 @findex gnus-delay-article
5402 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5403 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5404 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5405 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5409 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5410 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5411 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5412 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5415 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5416 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5417 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5420 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5421 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5422 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5423 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5424 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5425 that means a time tomorrow.
5428 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5429 couple of variables:
5432 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5433 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5434 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5435 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5437 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5438 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5439 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5440 formats described above.
5442 @item gnus-delay-group
5443 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5444 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5445 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5446 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5448 @item gnus-delay-header
5449 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5450 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5451 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5452 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5455 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5456 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5457 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5458 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5459 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5461 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5462 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5463 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5464 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5465 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5466 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5469 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5470 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5471 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5472 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5473 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-nil,
5474 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5475 argument is ignored.
5477 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5478 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5479 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5483 @node Marking Articles
5484 @section Marking Articles
5485 @cindex article marking
5486 @cindex article ticking
5489 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5491 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5492 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5493 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5495 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5498 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5499 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5500 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5504 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5508 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5509 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5510 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5514 @node Unread Articles
5515 @subsection Unread Articles
5517 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5522 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5523 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5525 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5526 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5527 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5528 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5529 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5530 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5531 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5534 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5535 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5537 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5538 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5539 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5540 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5544 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5545 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5547 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5552 @subsection Read Articles
5553 @cindex expirable mark
5555 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5560 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5561 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5562 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5565 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5566 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5569 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5570 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5571 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5574 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5575 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5578 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5579 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5582 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5583 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5586 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5587 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5590 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5591 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5594 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5595 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5598 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5599 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5603 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5604 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5605 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5609 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5610 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5612 One more special mark, though:
5616 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5617 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5619 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5620 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5621 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5622 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5628 @subsection Other Marks
5629 @cindex process mark
5632 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5638 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5639 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5640 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5641 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5642 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5645 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5646 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5647 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5648 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5651 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5652 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5653 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5656 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5657 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5658 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5661 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5662 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5663 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5664 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5667 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5668 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5669 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5670 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5671 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5672 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5675 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5676 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5677 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5678 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5681 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5682 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might not
5683 have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you are
5684 offline (unplugged). These articles get the @samp{@@} mark in the
5685 first column. (The variable @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls
5686 which character to use.)
5689 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5690 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5691 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5692 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5693 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5694 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5698 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5699 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5700 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5701 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5702 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5705 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5706 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5707 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5708 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5709 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5710 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5714 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5715 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5716 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5718 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5719 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5720 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5724 @subsection Setting Marks
5725 @cindex setting marks
5727 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5732 @kindex M c (Summary)
5733 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5734 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5735 @cindex mark as unread
5736 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5737 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5743 @kindex M t (Summary)
5744 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5745 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5746 @xref{Article Caching}.
5751 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5752 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5753 Mark the current article as dormant
5754 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5758 @kindex M d (Summary)
5760 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5761 Mark the current article as read
5762 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5766 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5767 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5768 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5773 @kindex M k (Summary)
5774 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5775 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5776 and then select the next unread article
5777 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5781 @kindex M K (Summary)
5782 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5783 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5784 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5785 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5788 @kindex M C (Summary)
5789 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5790 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5791 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5794 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5795 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5796 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5797 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5800 @kindex M H (Summary)
5801 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5802 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5803 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5806 @kindex M h (Summary)
5807 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5808 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5809 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5812 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5813 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5814 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5815 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5818 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5819 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5820 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5821 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5825 @kindex M e (Summary)
5827 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5828 Mark the current article as expirable
5829 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5832 @kindex M b (Summary)
5833 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5834 Set a bookmark in the current article
5835 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5838 @kindex M B (Summary)
5839 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5840 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5841 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5844 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5845 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5846 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5847 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5850 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5851 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5852 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5853 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5856 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5857 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5858 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5859 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5860 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5863 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5864 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5865 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5866 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5867 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5868 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5869 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5870 The default is @code{t}.
5873 @node Generic Marking Commands
5874 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5876 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5877 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5878 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5879 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5880 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5883 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5884 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5887 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5888 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5889 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5890 to list in this manual.
5892 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5893 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5894 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5895 article, you could say something like:
5898 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5899 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5900 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5906 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5907 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5911 @node Setting Process Marks
5912 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5913 @cindex setting process marks
5920 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5921 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5922 Mark the current article with the process mark
5923 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5924 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5928 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5929 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5930 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5931 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5934 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5935 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5936 Remove the process mark from all articles
5937 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5940 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5941 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5942 Invert the list of process marked articles
5943 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5946 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5947 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5948 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5949 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5952 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5953 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5954 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5955 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5958 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5959 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5960 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5964 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5965 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5968 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5969 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5970 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5971 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5974 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5975 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5976 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5977 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5980 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5981 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5982 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5983 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5986 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5987 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5988 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5991 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5992 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5993 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5994 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5997 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5998 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5999 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6002 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6003 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6004 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6005 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6008 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6009 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6010 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6011 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6014 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6015 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6016 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6017 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6020 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6021 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6022 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6023 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6027 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6028 set process marks based on article body contents.
6035 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6036 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6037 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6040 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6041 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6042 additional articles.
6048 @kindex / / (Summary)
6049 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6050 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6051 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6055 @kindex / a (Summary)
6056 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6057 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6058 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6062 @kindex / x (Summary)
6063 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6064 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6065 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6066 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6071 @kindex / u (Summary)
6073 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6074 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6075 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6076 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6077 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6080 @kindex / m (Summary)
6081 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6082 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6083 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6086 @kindex / t (Summary)
6087 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6088 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6089 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6090 articles younger than that number of days.
6093 @kindex / n (Summary)
6094 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6095 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6096 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6097 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6100 @kindex / w (Summary)
6101 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6102 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6103 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6107 @kindex / . (Summary)
6108 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6109 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6110 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6113 @kindex / v (Summary)
6114 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6115 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6116 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6119 @kindex / p (Summary)
6120 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6121 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6122 group parameter predicate
6123 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6124 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6128 @kindex M S (Summary)
6129 @kindex / E (Summary)
6130 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6131 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6132 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6135 @kindex / D (Summary)
6136 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6137 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6138 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6141 @kindex / * (Summary)
6142 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6143 Include all cached articles in the limit
6144 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6147 @kindex / d (Summary)
6148 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6149 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6150 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6153 @kindex / M (Summary)
6154 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6155 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6158 @kindex / T (Summary)
6159 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6160 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6163 @kindex / c (Summary)
6164 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6165 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6166 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6169 @kindex / C (Summary)
6170 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6171 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6172 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6173 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6176 @kindex / N (Summary)
6177 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6178 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6179 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6182 @kindex / o (Summary)
6183 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6184 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6185 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6193 @cindex article threading
6195 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6196 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6197 hierarchical fashion.
6199 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6200 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6201 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6202 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6203 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6204 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6205 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6207 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6211 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6214 A tree-like article structure.
6217 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6220 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6221 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6222 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6223 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6224 called loose threads.
6226 @item thread gathering
6227 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6229 @item sparse threads
6230 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6231 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6237 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6238 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6242 @node Customizing Threading
6243 @subsection Customizing Threading
6244 @cindex customizing threading
6247 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6248 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6249 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6250 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6255 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6258 @cindex loose threads
6261 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6262 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6263 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6264 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6265 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6266 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6268 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6269 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6270 There are four possible values:
6274 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6275 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6276 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6277 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6278 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6283 @cindex adopting articles
6288 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6289 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6290 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6291 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6294 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6295 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6296 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6297 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6298 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6299 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6300 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6303 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6304 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6305 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6309 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6310 display them after one another.
6313 Don't gather loose threads.
6316 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6317 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6318 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6319 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6320 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6321 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6322 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6323 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6324 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6325 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6326 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6328 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6329 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6330 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6333 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6334 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6335 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6336 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6337 simplification is used.
6339 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6340 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6341 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6342 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6344 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6346 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6352 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6353 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6354 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6355 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6360 (mapconcat 'identity
6361 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6363 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6366 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6369 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6370 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6371 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6372 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6373 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6374 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6376 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6379 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6380 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6381 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6383 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6384 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6387 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6388 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6389 Remove excessive whitespace.
6391 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6392 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6393 Remove all whitespace.
6396 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6399 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6400 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6401 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6402 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6403 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6404 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6405 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6406 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6408 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6409 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6410 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6411 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6412 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6413 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6414 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6415 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6416 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6420 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6421 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6422 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6423 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6425 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6426 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6427 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6430 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6434 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6435 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6441 @node Filling In Threads
6442 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6445 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6446 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6447 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6448 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6449 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6450 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6451 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6452 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6453 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6454 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6455 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6456 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6459 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6460 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6461 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6463 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6464 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6465 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6466 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6467 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6468 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6469 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6470 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6471 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6472 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6473 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6474 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6475 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6476 @code{nil} by default.
6478 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6479 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6480 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6481 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6482 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6483 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6484 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6486 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6487 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6488 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6493 @node More Threading
6494 @subsubsection More Threading
6497 @item gnus-show-threads
6498 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6499 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6500 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6501 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6502 slower and more awkward.
6504 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6505 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6506 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6509 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6510 Avaliable predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6511 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6516 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6517 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6518 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6521 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6522 unread, but you get my drift.)
6525 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6526 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6527 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6528 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6529 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6530 threads are expunged.
6532 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6533 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6534 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6537 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6538 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6539 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6540 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6541 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6542 result in a new thread.
6544 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6545 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6546 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6549 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6550 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6551 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6552 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6553 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6554 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6555 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6556 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6557 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6558 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6559 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6564 @node Low-Level Threading
6565 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6569 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6570 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6571 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6573 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6574 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6575 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6576 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6577 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6578 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6579 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6580 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6581 meaningful. Here's one example:
6584 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6586 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6587 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6589 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6591 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6598 @node Thread Commands
6599 @subsection Thread Commands
6600 @cindex thread commands
6606 @kindex T k (Summary)
6607 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6608 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6609 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6610 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6611 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6616 @kindex T l (Summary)
6617 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6618 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6619 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6620 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6623 @kindex T i (Summary)
6624 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6625 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6626 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6629 @kindex T # (Summary)
6630 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6631 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6632 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6635 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6636 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6637 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6638 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6641 @kindex T T (Summary)
6642 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6643 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6646 @kindex T s (Summary)
6647 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6648 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6649 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6652 @kindex T h (Summary)
6653 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6654 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6657 @kindex T S (Summary)
6658 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6659 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6662 @kindex T H (Summary)
6663 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6664 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6667 @kindex T t (Summary)
6668 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6669 Re-thread the current article's thread
6670 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6671 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6674 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6675 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6676 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6677 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6681 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6682 understand the numeric prefix.
6687 @kindex T n (Summary)
6689 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6691 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6692 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6693 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6696 @kindex T p (Summary)
6698 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6700 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6701 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6702 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6705 @kindex T d (Summary)
6706 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6707 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6710 @kindex T u (Summary)
6711 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6712 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6715 @kindex T o (Summary)
6716 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6717 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6720 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6721 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6722 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6723 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6724 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6725 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6726 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6727 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6728 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6729 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6730 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6731 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6735 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6736 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6738 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6739 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6740 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6741 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6742 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6743 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6744 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6745 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6746 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6747 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6748 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6749 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6750 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6752 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6753 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6754 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6755 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6756 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6757 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6758 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6759 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6761 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6762 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6763 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6765 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6766 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6767 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6768 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6769 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6770 ascending article order.
6772 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6773 by number, you could do something like:
6776 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6777 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6778 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6779 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6782 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6783 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6784 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6785 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6786 which the articles arrived.
6788 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6792 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6794 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6795 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6798 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6799 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6800 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6801 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6804 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6805 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6806 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6807 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6808 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6809 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6810 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6811 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6812 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6813 variable. It is very similar to the
6814 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6815 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6816 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6817 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6818 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6819 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6820 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6822 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6826 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6827 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6828 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6833 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6834 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6835 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6836 @cindex article pre-fetch
6839 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6840 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6841 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6842 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6843 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6845 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6846 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6848 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6849 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6850 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6851 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6852 connection is blocked.
6854 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6855 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6856 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6857 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6859 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6860 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6861 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6862 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6865 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6868 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6869 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6870 happen automatically.
6872 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6873 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6874 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6875 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6876 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6877 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6878 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6880 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6881 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6882 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6883 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6884 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6885 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6886 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6887 data structure as the only parameter.
6889 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6892 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6893 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6894 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6895 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6898 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6901 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6902 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6903 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6905 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6906 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6907 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6908 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6912 Remove articles when they are read.
6915 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6918 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6920 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6921 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6922 @c from the next group.
6925 @node Article Caching
6926 @section Article Caching
6927 @cindex article caching
6930 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6931 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6932 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6933 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6934 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6936 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6938 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6939 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6940 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6941 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6942 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6943 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6944 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6945 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6947 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6948 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6949 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6950 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6951 as dormant, and don't worry.
6953 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6955 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6956 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6957 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6958 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6959 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6960 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6961 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6962 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6963 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6964 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6966 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6967 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6968 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6969 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6970 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6971 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6972 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6973 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6974 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6975 not then be downloaded by this command.
6977 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6978 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6979 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6980 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6981 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6982 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6984 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6985 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6986 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6987 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6988 variables, the group is not cached.
6990 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6991 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6992 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6993 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6994 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6995 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6996 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6997 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6998 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7001 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7002 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7003 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7004 where, isn't that cool?
7006 @node Persistent Articles
7007 @section Persistent Articles
7008 @cindex persistent articles
7010 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7011 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7012 useful in my opinion.
7014 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7015 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7016 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7017 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7018 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7019 the expiry going on at the news server.
7021 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7022 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7023 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7029 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7030 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7033 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7034 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7035 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7036 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7040 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7042 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7043 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7044 interested in persistent articles:
7047 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7051 @node Article Backlog
7052 @section Article Backlog
7054 @cindex article backlog
7056 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7057 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7058 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7059 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7060 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7061 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7062 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7063 increase memory usage some.
7065 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7066 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7067 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7068 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7069 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7070 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7071 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7073 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7076 @node Saving Articles
7077 @section Saving Articles
7078 @cindex saving articles
7080 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7081 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7082 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7083 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7084 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7086 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7087 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7088 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7090 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7091 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7092 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7094 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7095 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7096 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7097 deleted before saving.
7103 @kindex O o (Summary)
7105 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7106 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7107 Save the current article using the default article saver
7108 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7111 @kindex O m (Summary)
7112 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7113 Save the current article in mail format
7114 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7117 @kindex O r (Summary)
7118 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7119 Save the current article in rmail format
7120 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7123 @kindex O f (Summary)
7124 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7125 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7126 Save the current article in plain file format
7127 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7130 @kindex O F (Summary)
7131 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7132 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7133 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7136 @kindex O b (Summary)
7137 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7138 Save the current article body in plain file format
7139 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7142 @kindex O h (Summary)
7143 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7144 Save the current article in mh folder format
7145 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7148 @kindex O v (Summary)
7149 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7150 Save the current article in a VM folder
7151 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7155 @kindex O p (Summary)
7157 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7158 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7159 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7162 @kindex O P (Summary)
7163 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7164 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7165 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7166 external program Muttprint (see
7167 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7168 options to use is controlled by the variable
7169 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7173 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7174 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7175 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7176 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7177 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7178 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7179 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7180 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7181 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7182 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7183 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7184 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7188 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7189 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7190 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7191 functions below, or you can create your own.
7195 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7196 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7197 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7198 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7199 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7200 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7201 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7203 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7204 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7205 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7206 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7207 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7208 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7210 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7211 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7212 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7213 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7214 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7215 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7216 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7218 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7219 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7220 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7221 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7222 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7223 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7225 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7226 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7227 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7228 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7229 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7231 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7232 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7233 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7234 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7235 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7238 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7239 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7240 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7241 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7242 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7244 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7245 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7246 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7247 reader to use this setting.
7250 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7251 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7252 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7253 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7256 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7257 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7258 available functions that generate names:
7262 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7263 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7264 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7266 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7267 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7268 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7270 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7271 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7272 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7274 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7275 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7276 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7278 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7279 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7280 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7283 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7284 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7285 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7286 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7287 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7291 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7292 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7293 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7294 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7297 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7298 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7299 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7300 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7301 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7302 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7303 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7304 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7305 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7307 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7308 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7309 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7310 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7312 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7313 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7314 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7317 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7318 lots of mail groups called things like
7319 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7320 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7321 following will do just that:
7324 (defun my-save-name (group)
7325 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7326 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7328 (setq gnus-split-methods
7329 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7334 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7335 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7336 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7337 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7338 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7339 all the files in the top level directory
7340 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7341 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7342 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7343 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7345 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7346 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7347 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7348 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7349 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7352 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7356 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7357 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7358 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7361 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7362 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7363 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7364 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7367 @node Decoding Articles
7368 @section Decoding Articles
7369 @cindex decoding articles
7371 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7372 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7375 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7376 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7377 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7378 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7379 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7380 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7384 @cindex article series
7385 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7386 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7387 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7388 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7389 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7391 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7392 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7393 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7395 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7396 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7397 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7399 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7400 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7401 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7404 @node Uuencoded Articles
7405 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7407 @cindex uuencoded articles
7412 @kindex X u (Summary)
7413 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7414 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7415 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7418 @kindex X U (Summary)
7419 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7420 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7421 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7424 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7425 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7426 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7429 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7430 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7431 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7432 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7436 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7437 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7438 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7439 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7440 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7442 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7443 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7444 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7445 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7448 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7449 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7450 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7451 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7452 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7453 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7457 @node Shell Archives
7458 @subsection Shell Archives
7460 @cindex shell archives
7461 @cindex shared articles
7463 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7464 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7465 some commands to deal with these:
7470 @kindex X s (Summary)
7471 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7472 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7475 @kindex X S (Summary)
7476 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7477 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7480 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7481 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7482 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7485 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7486 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7487 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7488 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7492 @node PostScript Files
7493 @subsection PostScript Files
7499 @kindex X p (Summary)
7500 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7501 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7504 @kindex X P (Summary)
7505 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7506 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7507 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7510 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7511 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7512 View the current PostScript series
7513 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7516 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7517 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7518 View and save the current PostScript series
7519 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7524 @subsection Other Files
7528 @kindex X o (Summary)
7529 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7530 Save the current series
7531 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7534 @kindex X b (Summary)
7535 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7536 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7537 doesn't really work yet.
7541 @node Decoding Variables
7542 @subsection Decoding Variables
7544 Adjective, not verb.
7547 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7548 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7549 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7553 @node Rule Variables
7554 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7555 @cindex rule variables
7557 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7558 variables are of the form
7561 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7568 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7569 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7571 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7572 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7575 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7576 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7579 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7580 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7581 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7582 user and default view rules.
7584 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7585 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7586 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7591 @node Other Decode Variables
7592 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7595 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7597 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7598 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7599 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7600 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7601 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7605 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7606 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7609 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7610 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7611 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7614 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7615 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7616 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7617 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7618 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7621 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7622 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7623 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7625 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7626 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7627 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7628 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7629 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7632 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7633 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7634 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7636 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7637 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7638 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7639 looking for files to display.
7641 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7642 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7643 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7646 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7647 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7648 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7651 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7652 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7653 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7656 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7657 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7658 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7661 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7662 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7663 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7664 decoded articles as unread.
7666 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7667 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7668 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7669 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7671 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7672 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7673 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7675 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7676 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7678 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7679 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7680 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7681 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7683 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7684 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7685 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7686 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7687 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7688 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7689 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7690 simply dropped them.
7695 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7696 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7700 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7701 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7702 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7703 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7704 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7705 for you when you post the article.
7707 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7708 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7709 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7710 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7712 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7713 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7714 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7715 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7716 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7717 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7718 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7720 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7721 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7722 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7723 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7724 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7725 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7726 Default is @code{t}.
7732 @subsection Viewing Files
7733 @cindex viewing files
7734 @cindex pseudo-articles
7736 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7737 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7738 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7739 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7740 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7741 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7742 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7744 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7745 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7746 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7747 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7749 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7750 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7751 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7753 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7754 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7755 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7756 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7757 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7759 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7760 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7761 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7762 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7763 a list of parameters to that command.
7765 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7766 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7767 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7769 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7770 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7771 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7774 @node Article Treatment
7775 @section Article Treatment
7777 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7778 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7779 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7780 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7781 these articles easier.
7784 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7785 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7786 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7787 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7788 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7789 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7790 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7791 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7792 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7793 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7797 @node Article Highlighting
7798 @subsection Article Highlighting
7799 @cindex highlighting
7801 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7802 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7807 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7808 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7809 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7810 Do much highlighting of the current article
7811 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7812 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7815 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7816 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7817 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7818 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7819 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7820 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7821 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7822 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7823 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7824 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7825 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7826 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7829 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7830 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7831 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7833 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7836 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7838 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7839 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7840 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7842 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7843 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7844 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7846 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7847 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7848 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7849 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7850 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7851 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7853 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7854 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7855 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7857 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7858 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7859 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7861 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7862 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7863 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7864 that it's a citation.
7866 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7867 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7868 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7870 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7871 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7872 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7874 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7875 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7876 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7877 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7883 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7884 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7885 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7886 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7887 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7888 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7889 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7890 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7895 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7898 @node Article Fontisizing
7899 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7901 @cindex article emphasis
7903 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7904 @kindex W e (Summary)
7905 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7906 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7907 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7908 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7910 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7911 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7912 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7913 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7914 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7915 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7916 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7917 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7921 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7922 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7923 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7932 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7933 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7934 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7935 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7936 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7937 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7938 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7939 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7940 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7941 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7942 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7943 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7944 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7946 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7947 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7948 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7952 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7955 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7957 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7958 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7959 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7960 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7962 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7965 @node Article Hiding
7966 @subsection Article Hiding
7967 @cindex article hiding
7969 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7970 too much cruft in most articles.
7975 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7976 @findex gnus-article-hide
7977 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7978 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7979 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7982 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7983 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7984 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7988 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7989 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7990 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7991 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7994 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7995 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7996 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8000 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8001 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8002 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8003 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8004 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8005 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8006 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8007 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8011 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8012 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8013 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8014 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8019 @kindex W W p (Summary)
8020 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
8021 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8022 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
8023 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
8024 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
8025 articles that have signatures in them do:
8027 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8029 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8031 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8032 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8034 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8037 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8042 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8043 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8044 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8045 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8048 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8049 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8050 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8051 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8054 @cindex stripping advertisements
8055 @cindex advertisements
8056 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8057 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8058 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8059 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8060 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8061 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8062 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8063 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8064 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8065 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8068 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8069 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8070 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8074 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8075 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8076 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8077 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8078 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8079 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8080 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8081 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8082 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8083 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8084 following element to remove them:
8087 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8093 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8094 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8095 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8096 customizing the hiding:
8100 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8101 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8102 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8103 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8104 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8105 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8106 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8111 Starting point of the hidden text.
8113 Ending point of the hidden text.
8115 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8117 Number of lines of hidden text.
8120 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8121 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8122 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8123 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8124 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8129 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8130 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8132 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8133 following two variables:
8136 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8137 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8138 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8139 50), hide the cited text.
8141 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8142 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8143 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8148 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8149 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8150 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8151 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8152 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8153 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8157 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8158 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8159 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8161 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8162 citation customization.
8164 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8168 @node Article Washing
8169 @subsection Article Washing
8171 @cindex article washing
8173 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8174 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8176 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8177 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8180 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8181 articles by default.
8186 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8187 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8191 @kindex W l (Summary)
8192 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8193 Remove page breaks from the current article
8194 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8198 @kindex W r (Summary)
8199 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8200 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8201 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8202 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8203 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8204 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8206 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8207 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8208 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8209 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8213 @kindex W t (Summary)
8215 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8216 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8217 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8220 @kindex W v (Summary)
8221 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8222 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8223 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8226 @kindex W o (Summary)
8227 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8228 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8231 @kindex W d (Summary)
8232 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8233 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8235 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8237 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8238 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8239 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8240 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8243 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8244 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8245 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8246 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8249 @kindex W k (Summary)
8250 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8251 @cindex Outlook Express
8252 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles and redisplay
8253 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8256 @kindex W w (Summary)
8257 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8258 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8260 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8264 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8265 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8266 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8269 @kindex W C (Summary)
8270 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8271 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8272 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8275 @kindex W c (Summary)
8276 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8277 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8278 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8279 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8280 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8283 @kindex W q (Summary)
8284 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8285 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8286 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8287 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8288 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8289 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8290 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8291 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8292 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8295 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8296 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8297 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8298 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8299 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8300 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8301 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8303 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8306 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8307 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8308 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8309 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8310 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8313 @kindex W u (Summary)
8314 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8315 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8316 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8317 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8318 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8321 @kindex W h (Summary)
8322 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8323 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8324 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8325 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8327 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8329 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8330 The default is to use the function specified by
8331 @code{mm-inline-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Customization, , , emacs-mime})
8332 to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8333 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8341 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8345 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8348 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8351 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8356 @kindex W b (Summary)
8357 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8358 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8359 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8362 @kindex W B (Summary)
8363 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8364 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8365 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8368 @kindex W p (Summary)
8369 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8370 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8371 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8372 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8373 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8374 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8375 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8378 @kindex W s (Summary)
8379 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8380 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8381 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8384 @kindex W a (Summary)
8385 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8386 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8387 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8390 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8391 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8392 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8393 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8396 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8397 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8398 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8399 lines with a single empty line.
8400 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8403 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8404 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8405 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8406 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8409 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8410 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8411 Do all the three commands above
8412 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8415 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8416 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8417 Remove all blank lines
8418 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8421 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8422 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8423 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8424 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8427 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8428 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8429 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8430 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8434 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8437 @node Article Header
8438 @subsection Article Header
8440 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8445 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8446 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8447 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8450 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8451 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8452 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8453 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8456 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8457 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8458 Fold all the message headers
8459 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8463 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8464 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8465 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8470 @node Article Buttons
8471 @subsection Article Buttons
8474 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8475 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8476 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8477 button on these references.
8479 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8480 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8481 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8482 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8483 one that handles article heads:
8487 @item gnus-button-alist
8488 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8489 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8492 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8498 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8499 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8500 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a variable containing a
8501 regexp, useful variables to use include @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8504 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8505 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8506 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8509 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8510 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8511 avoid false matches.
8514 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8517 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8518 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8522 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8525 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8528 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8529 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8530 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8531 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8532 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8535 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8538 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8540 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8541 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8542 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8543 default values of the variables above.
8545 @item gnus-article-button-face
8546 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8547 Face used on buttons.
8549 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8550 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8551 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8555 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8559 @subsection Article Date
8561 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8562 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8563 when the article was sent.
8568 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8569 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8570 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8571 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8574 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8575 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8577 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8578 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8581 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8582 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8583 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8586 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8587 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8588 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8589 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8592 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8593 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8594 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8595 @findex format-time-string
8596 Display the date using a user-defined format
8597 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8598 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8599 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8600 for a list of possible format specs.
8603 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8604 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8605 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8606 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8607 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8608 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8611 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8614 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8615 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8618 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8619 into wonderful absurdities.
8621 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8624 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8627 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8628 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8632 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8633 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8634 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8635 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8636 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8637 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8638 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8642 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8643 preferred format automatically.
8646 @node Article Display
8647 @subsection Article Display
8652 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8653 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8655 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8656 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8658 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8659 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8661 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8662 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8664 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8669 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8670 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8671 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8672 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8675 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8676 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8677 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8680 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8681 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8682 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8685 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8686 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8687 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8688 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8691 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8692 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8693 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8694 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8697 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8698 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8699 Remove all images from the article buffer
8700 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8706 @node Article Signature
8707 @subsection Article Signature
8709 @cindex article signature
8711 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8712 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8713 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8714 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8715 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8716 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8717 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8718 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8719 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8722 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8723 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8724 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8725 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8726 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8727 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8728 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8729 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8732 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8735 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8736 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8737 signature when displaying articles.
8741 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8744 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8747 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8748 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8750 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8751 in question is not a signature.
8754 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8755 listed above. Here's an example:
8758 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8759 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8762 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8763 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8764 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8765 signature after all.
8768 @node Article Miscellania
8769 @subsection Article Miscellania
8773 @kindex A t (Summary)
8774 @findex gnus-article-babel
8775 Translate the article from one language to another
8776 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8782 @section MIME Commands
8783 @cindex MIME decoding
8785 @cindex viewing attachments
8787 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8788 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8794 @kindex K v (Summary)
8795 View the @sc{mime} part.
8798 @kindex K o (Summary)
8799 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8802 @kindex K c (Summary)
8803 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8806 @kindex K e (Summary)
8807 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8810 @kindex K i (Summary)
8811 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8814 @kindex K | (Summary)
8815 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8818 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8823 @kindex K b (Summary)
8824 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8825 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8829 @kindex K m (Summary)
8830 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8831 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8832 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8833 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8834 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8837 @kindex X m (Summary)
8838 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8839 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8840 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8841 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8844 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8845 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8846 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8847 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8850 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8851 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8852 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8853 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8856 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8857 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8858 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8859 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8861 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8862 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8863 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8864 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8865 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8866 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8869 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8870 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8871 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8872 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8879 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8880 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8881 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8882 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8885 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8888 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8892 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8893 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8894 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8895 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8896 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8897 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8900 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8901 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8902 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8903 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8904 displayed. This variable overrides
8905 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8907 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8908 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8909 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8911 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8912 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8913 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8914 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8915 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8916 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8917 save all jpegs into some directory).
8919 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8922 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8923 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8925 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8926 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8927 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8928 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8929 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8932 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8933 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8934 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8936 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8937 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8938 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8939 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8941 Ready-made functions include@*
8942 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8943 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8944 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8945 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8946 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8947 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8948 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8949 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8950 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8951 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8952 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8953 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8955 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8956 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8958 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8959 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8960 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8963 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8964 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8965 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8966 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8970 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8979 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8980 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8981 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8982 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8983 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8984 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8985 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8987 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8988 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8989 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8990 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8992 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8993 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8994 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8995 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8996 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8997 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8998 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8999 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9001 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9002 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9003 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9004 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9005 quoted-printable header encoding.
9007 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9008 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9009 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9013 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9016 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9017 means encode all charsets),
9019 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9020 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9021 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9028 @cindex coding system aliases
9029 @cindex preferred charset
9031 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9033 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9034 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9037 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9038 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9041 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9042 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9044 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9047 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9050 This will almost do the right thing.
9052 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9056 (codepage-setup 1251)
9057 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9061 @node Article Commands
9062 @section Article Commands
9069 @kindex A P (Summary)
9070 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9071 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9072 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9073 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9074 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9075 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9080 @node Summary Sorting
9081 @section Summary Sorting
9082 @cindex summary sorting
9084 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9085 can't really see why you'd want that.
9090 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9091 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9092 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9095 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9096 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9097 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9100 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9101 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9102 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9105 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9106 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9107 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9110 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9111 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9112 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9115 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9116 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9117 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9120 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9121 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9122 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9125 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9126 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9127 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9130 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9131 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9132 Sort using the default sorting method
9133 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9136 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9137 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9138 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9139 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9140 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9144 @node Finding the Parent
9145 @section Finding the Parent
9146 @cindex parent articles
9147 @cindex referring articles
9152 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9153 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9154 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9155 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9156 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9157 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9158 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9159 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9160 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9162 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9163 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9164 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9165 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9166 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9170 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9171 @kindex A R (Summary)
9172 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9173 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9176 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9177 @kindex A T (Summary)
9178 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9179 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9180 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9181 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9182 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9183 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9184 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9186 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9187 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9188 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9189 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9190 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9191 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9194 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9195 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9197 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9198 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9199 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9200 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9201 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9202 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9203 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9206 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9207 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9208 by giving this command a prefix.
9210 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9211 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9212 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9213 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9214 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9215 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9218 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9219 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9220 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9223 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9224 then ask Google if that fails:
9227 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9229 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type google))))
9232 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9233 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9234 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9235 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9236 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9237 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9238 support this at all.
9241 @node Alternative Approaches
9242 @section Alternative Approaches
9244 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9245 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9248 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9249 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9254 @subsection Pick and Read
9255 @cindex pick and read
9257 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9258 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9259 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9260 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9262 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9263 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9264 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9265 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9266 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9267 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9269 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9274 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9275 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9276 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9277 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9278 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9279 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9280 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9281 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9284 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9285 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9286 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9287 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9291 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9292 Unpick the thread or article
9293 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9294 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9295 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9296 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9297 the thread or article at that line.
9301 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9302 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9303 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9304 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9305 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9306 will still be visible when you are reading.
9310 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9311 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9312 which is mapped to the same function
9313 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9315 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9318 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9321 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9322 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9324 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9325 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9326 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9328 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9329 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9330 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9331 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9332 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9333 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9334 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9338 @subsection Binary Groups
9339 @cindex binary groups
9341 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9342 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9343 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9344 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9345 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9346 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9347 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9350 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9351 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9352 command, when you have turned on this mode
9353 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9355 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9356 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9360 @section Tree Display
9363 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9364 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9365 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9366 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9369 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9372 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9373 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9374 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9376 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9377 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9378 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9379 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9380 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9382 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9383 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9384 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9385 default is @code{modeline}.
9387 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9388 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9389 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9390 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9391 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9392 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9393 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9399 The name of the poster.
9401 The @code{From} header.
9403 The number of the article.
9405 The opening bracket.
9407 The closing bracket.
9412 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9414 Variables related to the display are:
9417 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9418 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9419 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9420 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9421 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9422 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9424 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9425 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9426 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9427 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9431 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9432 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9433 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9434 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9435 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9436 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9437 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9438 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9439 other windows displayed next to it.
9441 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9445 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9446 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9449 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9450 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9451 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9452 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9453 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9454 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9455 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9459 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9462 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9472 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9476 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9477 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9479 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9481 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9486 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9487 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9488 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9491 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9492 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9493 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9494 (gnus-add-configuration
9498 (summary 0.75 point)
9503 @xref{Window Layout}.
9506 @node Mail Group Commands
9507 @section Mail Group Commands
9508 @cindex mail group commands
9510 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9511 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9513 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9514 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9519 @kindex B e (Summary)
9520 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9521 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9522 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9523 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9524 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9527 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9528 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9529 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9530 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9531 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9532 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9535 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9536 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9537 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9538 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9539 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9540 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9543 @kindex B m (Summary)
9545 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9546 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9547 Move the article from one mail group to another
9548 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9549 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9552 @kindex B c (Summary)
9554 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9555 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9556 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9557 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9558 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9561 @kindex B B (Summary)
9562 @cindex crosspost mail
9563 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9564 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9565 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9566 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9567 be properly updated.
9570 @kindex B i (Summary)
9571 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9572 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9573 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9574 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9577 @kindex B I (Summary)
9578 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9579 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9580 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9581 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9584 @kindex B r (Summary)
9585 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9586 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9587 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9588 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9589 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9590 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9591 (which is the default).
9595 @kindex B w (Summary)
9597 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9598 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9599 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9600 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9601 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9602 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9603 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9606 @kindex B q (Summary)
9607 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9608 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9609 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9610 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9613 @kindex B t (Summary)
9614 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9615 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9616 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9619 @kindex B p (Summary)
9620 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9621 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9622 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9623 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9624 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9625 article from your news server (or rather, from
9626 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9627 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9628 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9629 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9630 just not have arrived yet.
9633 @kindex K E (Summary)
9634 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9635 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9636 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9637 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9638 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9642 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9643 @cindex moving articles
9644 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9645 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9646 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9647 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9648 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9649 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9650 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9653 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9654 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9655 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9656 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9660 @node Various Summary Stuff
9661 @section Various Summary Stuff
9664 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9665 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9666 * Summary Generation Commands::
9667 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9671 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9672 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9673 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9675 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9676 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9677 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9678 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9679 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9680 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9683 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9684 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9685 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9686 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9687 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9689 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9690 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9691 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9694 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9695 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9696 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9697 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9698 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9699 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9700 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9701 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9702 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9703 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9705 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9706 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9707 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9708 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9709 list of articles to be selected.
9711 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9712 the list in one particular group:
9715 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9716 (if (string= group "some.group")
9717 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9721 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9722 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9723 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9724 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9725 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9726 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9727 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9728 buffers. For example:
9731 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9732 '(message-use-followup-to
9733 (gnus-visible-headers .
9734 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9740 @node Summary Group Information
9741 @subsection Summary Group Information
9746 @kindex H f (Summary)
9747 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9748 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9749 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9750 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9751 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9752 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9753 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9754 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9755 be used for fetching the file.
9758 @kindex H d (Summary)
9759 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9760 Give a brief description of the current group
9761 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9762 rereading the description from the server.
9765 @kindex H h (Summary)
9766 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9767 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9768 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9771 @kindex H i (Summary)
9772 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9773 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9777 @node Searching for Articles
9778 @subsection Searching for Articles
9783 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9784 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9785 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9786 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9789 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9790 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9791 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9792 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9796 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9797 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9798 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9799 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9800 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9801 search backward instead.
9803 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9804 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9807 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9808 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9809 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9810 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9813 @node Summary Generation Commands
9814 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9819 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9820 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9821 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9824 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9825 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9826 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9827 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9832 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9833 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9839 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9840 @kindex A D (Summary)
9841 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9842 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9843 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9844 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9845 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9846 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9847 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9848 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9852 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9853 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9854 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9855 several documents into one biiig group
9856 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9857 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9858 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9859 command understands the process/prefix convention
9860 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9863 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9864 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9865 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9866 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9867 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9868 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9872 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9873 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9874 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9877 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9878 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9879 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9880 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9883 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9884 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9885 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9886 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9891 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9892 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9893 @cindex summary exit
9894 @cindex exiting groups
9896 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9897 group and return you to the group buffer.
9903 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9905 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9906 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9907 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9908 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9909 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9910 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9911 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9912 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9913 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9914 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9915 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9919 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9921 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9922 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9923 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9927 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9929 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9930 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9931 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9932 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9935 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9936 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9937 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9938 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9941 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9942 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9943 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9944 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9947 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9948 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9949 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9950 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9951 all articles, both read and unread.
9955 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9956 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9957 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9958 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9959 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9960 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9961 articles, both read and unread.
9964 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9965 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9966 Exit the group and go to the next group
9967 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9970 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9971 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9972 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9973 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9976 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9977 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9978 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9979 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9980 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9981 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9984 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9985 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9986 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9987 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9989 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9990 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9991 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9992 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9993 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9994 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9995 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9996 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9997 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9998 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9999 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10000 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10002 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10004 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10005 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10006 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10007 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10008 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10009 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10010 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10011 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10012 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10015 @node Crosspost Handling
10016 @section Crosspost Handling
10020 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10021 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10022 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10023 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10024 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10025 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10028 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10029 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10030 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10031 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10032 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10034 @cindex cross-posting
10037 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10038 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10039 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10040 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10041 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10042 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10043 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10044 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10045 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10046 the cross reference mechanism.
10048 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10049 @cindex overview.fmt
10050 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10051 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10052 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10053 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10054 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10055 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10058 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10059 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10060 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10065 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10068 @node Duplicate Suppression
10069 @section Duplicate Suppression
10071 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10072 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10073 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10074 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10079 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10080 is evil and not very common.
10083 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10084 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10087 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10088 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10091 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10094 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10095 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10097 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10098 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10099 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10100 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10101 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10102 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10103 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10106 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10107 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10108 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10109 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10110 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10111 saw the article in.
10114 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10115 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10116 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10118 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10119 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10120 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10121 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10122 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10123 session are suppressed.
10125 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10126 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10127 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10128 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10130 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10131 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10132 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10133 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10136 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10137 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10138 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10139 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10140 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10141 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10142 to you to figure out, I think.
10147 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10148 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10149 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10153 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10154 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10157 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10158 or newer is recommended.
10162 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10163 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10166 @item mm-verify-option
10167 @vindex mm-verify-option
10168 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10169 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10170 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10172 @item mm-decrypt-option
10173 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10174 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10175 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10176 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10181 @section Mailing List
10183 @kindex A M (summary)
10184 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10185 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10186 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10187 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10188 summary buffer, or say:
10191 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10194 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10199 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10200 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10201 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10204 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10205 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10206 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10209 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10210 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10211 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10215 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10216 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10217 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10220 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10221 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10222 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10225 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10226 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10227 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10231 @node Article Buffer
10232 @chapter Article Buffer
10233 @cindex article buffer
10235 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10236 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10237 tell Gnus otherwise.
10240 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10241 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10242 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10243 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10244 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10248 @node Hiding Headers
10249 @section Hiding Headers
10250 @cindex hiding headers
10251 @cindex deleting headers
10253 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10254 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10256 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10257 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10258 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10259 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10260 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10261 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10262 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10263 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10264 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10266 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10270 @item gnus-visible-headers
10271 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10272 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10273 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10274 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10276 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10277 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10280 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10283 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10286 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10287 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10288 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10289 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10290 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10291 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10293 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10294 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10297 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10300 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10303 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10304 variable will have no effect.
10308 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10309 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10310 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10311 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10312 the headers are to be displayed.
10314 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10315 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10318 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10321 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10322 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10324 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10325 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10326 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10327 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10328 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10329 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10330 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10333 These conditions are:
10336 Remove all empty headers.
10338 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10339 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10341 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10342 @code{From} header.
10344 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10347 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10348 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10350 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10353 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10355 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10358 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10361 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10362 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10365 This is also the default value for this variable.
10369 @section Using MIME
10372 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10373 while people stand around yawning.
10375 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10376 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10378 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10379 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10380 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10382 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10383 @findex gnus-display-mime
10384 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10385 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10386 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10387 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10389 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10393 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10394 @item RET (Article)
10395 @kindex RET (Article)
10396 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10397 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10398 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10399 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10400 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10401 object is displayed inline.
10403 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10404 @item M-RET (Article)
10405 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10407 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10408 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10410 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10412 @kindex t (Article)
10413 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10414 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10416 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10418 @kindex C (Article)
10419 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10420 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10422 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10424 @kindex o (Article)
10425 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10426 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10428 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10429 @item C-o (Article)
10430 @kindex C-o (Article)
10431 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10432 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10433 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10434 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10435 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10436 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10438 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10440 @kindex c (Article)
10441 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10442 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
10444 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10446 @kindex p (Article)
10447 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10448 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10449 @file{.mailcap} file.
10451 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10453 @kindex i (Article)
10454 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10455 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10456 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10457 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10458 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10461 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10463 @kindex E (Article)
10464 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10465 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10466 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10468 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10470 @kindex e (Article)
10471 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10472 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10474 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10476 @kindex | (Article)
10477 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10479 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10481 @kindex . (Article)
10482 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10483 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10487 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10488 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10491 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10492 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10493 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10494 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10495 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10496 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10497 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10498 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10499 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10501 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10503 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10506 @node Customizing Articles
10507 @section Customizing Articles
10508 @cindex article customization
10510 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10511 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10512 called automatically when you select the articles.
10514 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10515 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10516 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10517 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10519 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10520 for sensible values.
10524 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10527 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10530 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10533 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10536 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10540 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10541 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10542 regexps in the list.
10545 A list where the first element is not a string:
10547 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10548 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10549 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10553 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10558 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10559 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10560 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10561 considered to contain just a single part.
10563 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10564 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10565 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10566 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10567 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10568 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10569 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10571 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10572 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10573 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10574 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10577 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10578 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10580 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10582 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10583 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10584 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10585 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10586 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10587 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10588 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10589 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10590 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10591 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10593 @xref{Article Washing}.
10595 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10596 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10597 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10598 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10599 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10600 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10601 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10603 @xref{Article Date}.
10605 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10606 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10607 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10611 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10613 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10615 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10616 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10617 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10621 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10625 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10626 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10627 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10628 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10629 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10630 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10631 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10632 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10634 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10636 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10637 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10638 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10640 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10642 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10643 @item gnus-treat-translate
10644 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10646 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10647 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10648 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10649 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10651 @xref{Article Header}.
10656 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10657 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10658 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10659 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10660 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10664 @node Article Keymap
10665 @section Article Keymap
10667 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10668 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10669 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10670 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10673 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10678 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10679 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10680 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10683 @kindex DEL (Article)
10684 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10685 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10688 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10689 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10690 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10691 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10692 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10695 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10696 @findex gnus-article-mail
10697 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10698 given a prefix, include the mail.
10701 @kindex s (Article)
10702 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10703 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10704 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10707 @kindex ? (Article)
10708 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10709 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10710 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10713 @kindex TAB (Article)
10714 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10715 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10716 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10719 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10720 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10721 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10724 @kindex R (Article)
10725 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10726 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10727 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10728 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10732 @kindex F (Article)
10733 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10734 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10735 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10736 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10744 @section Misc Article
10748 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10749 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10750 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10751 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10754 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10755 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10757 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10758 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10760 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10761 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10762 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10763 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10764 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10765 the contents of the article buffer.
10767 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10768 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10769 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10771 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10772 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10773 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10774 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10776 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10777 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10778 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10779 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10780 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10786 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10787 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10788 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10793 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10796 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10799 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10800 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10801 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10804 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10807 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10810 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10815 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10819 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10821 @item gnus-break-pages
10822 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10823 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10824 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10825 paging will not be done.
10827 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10828 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10829 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10834 @node Composing Messages
10835 @chapter Composing Messages
10836 @cindex composing messages
10839 @cindex sending mail
10844 @cindex using s/mime
10845 @cindex using smime
10847 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10848 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10849 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10850 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10851 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10852 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10855 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10856 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10857 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10858 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10859 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10860 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10861 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10862 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10865 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10866 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10872 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10875 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10876 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10877 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10878 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10880 @item gnus-add-to-list
10881 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10882 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10883 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10885 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10886 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10887 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus requests confirmation when replying to news.
10888 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10889 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10894 @node Posting Server
10895 @section Posting Server
10897 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10898 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10900 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10902 It can be quite complicated.
10904 @vindex gnus-post-method
10905 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10906 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10907 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10908 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10909 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10910 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10911 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10912 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10913 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10916 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10919 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10920 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10921 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10922 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10924 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10925 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10927 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10928 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10931 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10932 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10934 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
10935 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
10936 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
10937 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
10938 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
10939 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
10940 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
10941 package correctly. An example:
10944 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
10945 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
10948 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
10949 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
10950 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
10952 Other possible choises for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
10953 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
10954 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
10956 @node Mail and Post
10957 @section Mail and Post
10959 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10963 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10964 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10965 @cindex mailing lists
10967 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10968 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10969 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10970 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10971 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10972 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10973 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10974 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10975 still a pain, though.
10979 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10980 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10981 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10984 @findex ispell-message
10986 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10989 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10990 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10993 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10997 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10998 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11000 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11003 Modify to suit your needs.
11006 @node Archived Messages
11007 @section Archived Messages
11008 @cindex archived messages
11009 @cindex sent messages
11011 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11012 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11013 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11014 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11017 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11018 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11021 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11022 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11023 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11026 (nnfolder "archive"
11027 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11028 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11029 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11030 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11033 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11034 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11035 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11036 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11039 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11040 '(nnfolder "archive"
11041 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11042 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11043 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11046 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11048 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11049 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11050 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11052 This variable can be used to do the following:
11057 Messages will be saved in that group.
11059 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11060 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11061 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11062 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11063 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11064 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11065 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11066 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11070 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11072 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11073 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11076 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11081 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11083 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11086 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11088 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11091 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11093 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11094 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11095 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11096 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11099 More complex stuff:
11101 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11102 '((if (message-news-p)
11107 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11108 messages in one file per month:
11111 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11112 '((if (message-news-p)
11114 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11117 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11118 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11120 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11121 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11122 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11123 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11124 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11125 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11126 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11127 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11128 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11129 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11131 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11132 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11133 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11134 this will disable archiving.
11137 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11138 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11139 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11140 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11141 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11144 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11145 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11146 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11149 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11150 but the latter is the preferred method.
11152 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11153 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11154 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11156 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11157 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11158 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11159 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11160 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11161 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11162 changed in the future.
11167 @node Posting Styles
11168 @section Posting Styles
11169 @cindex posting styles
11172 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11174 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11175 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11176 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11179 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11180 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11181 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11182 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11183 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11188 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11189 (organization "What me?"))
11191 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11192 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11193 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11196 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11197 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11198 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11199 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11200 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11201 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11202 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11203 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11205 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11206 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11207 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11208 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11209 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. If it's a function symbol, that
11210 function will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol,
11211 then the variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list
11212 will be @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil}
11213 value, then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
11215 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11216 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11217 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11218 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11219 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11220 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11221 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11222 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11223 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11224 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11227 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11228 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11229 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11230 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11231 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11232 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11233 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11234 references chars lines xref extra.
11236 @vindex message-reply-headers
11238 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11239 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11240 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11242 @findex message-mail-p
11243 @findex message-news-p
11245 So here's a new example:
11248 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11250 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11252 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11253 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11255 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11256 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11257 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11258 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11259 (signature my-news-signature))
11260 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11261 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11262 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11263 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11264 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11265 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11266 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11267 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11268 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11269 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11271 (From (save-excursion
11272 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11273 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11275 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11278 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11279 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11280 if you fill many roles.
11287 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11288 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11289 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11290 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11291 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11293 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11294 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11295 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11296 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11297 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11301 @vindex nndraft-directory
11302 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11303 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11304 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11305 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11306 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11307 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11309 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11310 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11313 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11314 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11315 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11316 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11317 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11318 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11319 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11320 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11321 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11322 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11323 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11324 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11325 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11326 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11328 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11329 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11330 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11332 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11333 @kindex D e (Draft)
11334 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11335 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11336 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11338 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11341 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11342 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11343 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11344 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11345 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11346 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11347 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11350 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11351 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11352 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11355 @node Rejected Articles
11356 @section Rejected Articles
11357 @cindex rejected articles
11359 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11360 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11361 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11362 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11364 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11365 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11366 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11367 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11368 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11370 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11371 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11372 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11374 @node Signing and encrypting
11375 @section Signing and encrypting
11377 @cindex using s/mime
11378 @cindex using smime
11380 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11381 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11382 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11383 (@pxref{Security}).
11385 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11386 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11387 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11389 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11390 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11391 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11392 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11393 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11394 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11395 automatically encrypted messages.
11397 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11398 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11399 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11404 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11405 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11407 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11410 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11411 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11413 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11416 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11417 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11419 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11422 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11423 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11425 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11428 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11429 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11431 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11434 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11435 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11437 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11440 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11441 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11442 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11446 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11448 @node Select Methods
11449 @chapter Select Methods
11450 @cindex foreign groups
11451 @cindex select methods
11453 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11454 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11455 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11456 personal mail group.
11458 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11459 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11460 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11461 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11462 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11463 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11465 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11466 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11468 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11471 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11472 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11473 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11474 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11475 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11477 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11480 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11481 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11482 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11483 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11484 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11485 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11486 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11487 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11491 @node Server Buffer
11492 @section Server Buffer
11494 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11495 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11496 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11497 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11498 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11499 back end represents a virtual server.
11501 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11502 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11503 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11504 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11506 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11507 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11508 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11509 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11510 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11511 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11512 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11514 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11515 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11518 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11519 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11520 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11521 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11522 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11523 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11524 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11527 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11528 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11531 @node Server Buffer Format
11532 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11533 @cindex server buffer format
11535 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11536 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11537 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11538 variable, with some simple extensions:
11543 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11546 The name of this server.
11549 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11552 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11555 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11556 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11557 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11558 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11568 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11571 @node Server Commands
11572 @subsection Server Commands
11573 @cindex server commands
11579 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11580 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11584 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11585 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11588 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11589 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11590 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11594 @findex gnus-server-exit
11595 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11599 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11600 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11604 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11605 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11609 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11610 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11614 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11615 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11619 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11620 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11621 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11626 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11627 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11628 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11629 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11634 @node Example Methods
11635 @subsection Example Methods
11637 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11640 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11643 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11649 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11650 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11653 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11654 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11656 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11657 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11661 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11664 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11665 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11667 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11668 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11669 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11673 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11676 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11679 Here's the method for a public spool:
11683 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11684 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11690 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11691 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11692 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11693 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11694 should probably look something like this:
11698 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11699 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11700 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11701 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11704 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11705 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11706 configuration to the example above:
11709 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11712 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11714 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11715 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11716 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11720 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11721 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11722 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11723 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11726 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11727 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11728 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11729 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11732 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11733 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11735 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11736 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11738 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11739 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11740 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11742 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11744 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11745 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11746 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11747 will contain the following:
11757 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11758 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11759 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11762 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11763 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11764 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11767 @node Server Variables
11768 @subsection Server Variables
11770 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11771 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11772 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11773 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11774 won't change the "derived" variables.
11776 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11777 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11778 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11779 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11780 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11781 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11782 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11783 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11784 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11788 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11789 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11790 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11794 @node Servers and Methods
11795 @subsection Servers and Methods
11797 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11798 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11799 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11800 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11804 @node Unavailable Servers
11805 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11807 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11808 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11809 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11810 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11811 actually the case or not.
11813 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11814 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11815 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11816 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11817 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11818 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11819 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11820 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11822 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11823 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11825 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11826 with the following commands:
11832 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11833 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11834 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11838 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11839 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11840 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11844 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11845 Mark the current server as unreachable
11846 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11849 @kindex M-o (Server)
11850 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11851 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11852 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11855 @kindex M-c (Server)
11856 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11857 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11858 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11862 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11863 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11864 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11868 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11869 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11875 @section Getting News
11876 @cindex reading news
11877 @cindex news back ends
11879 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11880 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11881 or it can read from a local spool.
11884 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11885 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11893 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11894 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11895 server as the, uhm, address.
11897 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11898 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11899 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11900 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11902 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11903 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11904 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11906 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11911 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11912 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11913 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11915 @cindex authentification
11916 @cindex nntp authentification
11917 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11918 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11919 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11920 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11921 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11922 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11923 present in this hook.
11925 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11926 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11927 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11928 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11929 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11930 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11931 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11932 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11933 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11934 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11935 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11936 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11940 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11943 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11945 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11946 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11947 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11948 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11949 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11950 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11951 @samp{force} is explained below.
11955 Here's an example file:
11958 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11959 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11962 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11963 have to be first, for instance.
11965 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11966 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11967 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11968 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11969 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11970 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11971 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11973 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11974 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11980 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11981 previously mentioned.
11983 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11985 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11986 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11987 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11988 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11989 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11992 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11993 '(("innd" (ding))))
11996 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11998 The default value is
12001 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12002 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12003 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12006 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12007 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12009 @item nntp-maximum-request
12010 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12011 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12012 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12013 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12014 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12015 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12016 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12018 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12019 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12020 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12021 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12022 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12023 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12024 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12025 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12026 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12027 no timeouts are done.
12029 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12030 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12031 @c @cindex PPP connections
12032 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12033 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12034 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12035 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12036 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12037 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12038 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12039 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12040 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12041 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12043 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12044 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12045 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12046 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12047 @c described above.
12049 @item nntp-server-hook
12050 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12051 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12054 @item nntp-buggy-select
12055 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12056 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12058 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12059 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12060 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12061 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12064 @item nntp-xover-commands
12065 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12068 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12069 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12073 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12074 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12075 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12076 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12077 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12078 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12079 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12080 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12081 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12082 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12083 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12085 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12086 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12087 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12089 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12090 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12091 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12092 server closes connection.
12094 @item nntp-record-commands
12095 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12096 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12097 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12098 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12099 that doesn't seem to work.
12101 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12102 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12103 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12104 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12105 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12106 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12107 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12108 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12110 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12111 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12112 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12113 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12114 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12115 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12116 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12119 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12122 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12123 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12127 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12128 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12129 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12133 @node Direct Functions
12134 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12135 @cindex direct connection functions
12137 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12138 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12139 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12140 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12143 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12144 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12145 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12148 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12149 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12150 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12151 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12152 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12153 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12154 define a server as follows:
12157 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12159 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12160 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12162 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12163 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12164 (nntp-port-number 563)
12165 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12168 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12169 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12170 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12171 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12172 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12173 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12174 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12175 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12179 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12180 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12181 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12184 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12185 session, which is not a good idea.
12189 @node Indirect Functions
12190 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12191 @cindex indirect connection functions
12193 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12194 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12195 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12196 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12197 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12198 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12201 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12202 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12203 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12204 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12205 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12207 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12210 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12211 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12212 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12213 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12215 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12216 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12217 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12218 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12219 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12220 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12221 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12222 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12225 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12226 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12227 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12228 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12230 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12233 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12234 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12235 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12238 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12239 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12240 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12241 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12243 @item nntp-via-user-password
12244 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12245 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12247 @item nntp-via-envuser
12248 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12249 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12250 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12251 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12253 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12254 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12255 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12256 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12263 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12268 @item nntp-via-user-name
12269 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12270 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12272 @item nntp-via-address
12273 @vindex nntp-via-address
12274 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12279 @node Common Variables
12280 @subsubsection Common Variables
12282 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12283 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12288 @item nntp-pre-command
12289 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12290 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12291 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12292 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12293 wrapper for instance.
12296 @vindex nntp-address
12297 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12299 @item nntp-port-number
12300 @vindex nntp-port-number
12301 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12302 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12303 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12304 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12306 @item nntp-end-of-line
12307 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12308 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12309 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12310 using a non native connection function.
12312 @item nntp-telnet-command
12313 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12314 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12315 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12316 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12318 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12319 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12320 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12327 @subsection News Spool
12331 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12332 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12333 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12336 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12337 anything else) as the address.
12339 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12340 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12341 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12342 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12346 @item nnspool-inews-program
12347 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12348 Program used to post an article.
12350 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12351 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12352 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12354 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12355 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12356 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12357 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12359 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12360 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12361 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12362 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12364 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12365 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12366 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12368 @item nnspool-active-file
12369 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12370 The path to the active file.
12372 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12373 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12374 The path to the group descriptions file.
12376 @item nnspool-history-file
12377 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12378 The path to the news history file.
12380 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12381 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12382 The path to the active date file.
12384 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12385 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12386 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12389 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12390 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12392 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12393 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12394 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12400 @section Getting Mail
12401 @cindex reading mail
12404 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12408 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12409 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12410 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12411 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12412 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12413 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12414 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12415 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12416 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12417 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12418 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12419 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12420 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12424 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12425 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12427 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12428 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12429 of a culture shock.
12431 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12432 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12434 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12435 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12436 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12437 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12439 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12441 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12442 deleted? How awful!
12444 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12445 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12446 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12447 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12450 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12451 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12452 they want to treat a message.
12454 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12455 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12456 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12457 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12458 archived somewhere else.
12460 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12461 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12462 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12463 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12464 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12466 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12467 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12468 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12470 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12471 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12474 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12475 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12476 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12477 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12478 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12480 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12481 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12482 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12483 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12484 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12485 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12489 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12490 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12492 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12493 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12494 and things will happen automatically.
12496 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12497 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12500 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12503 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12504 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12505 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12506 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12507 like any other group.
12509 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12512 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12513 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12514 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12518 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12519 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12520 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12523 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12524 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12525 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12528 @node Splitting Mail
12529 @subsection Splitting Mail
12530 @cindex splitting mail
12531 @cindex mail splitting
12533 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12534 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12535 to be split into groups.
12538 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12539 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12540 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12541 ("mail.other" "")))
12544 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12545 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12546 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12547 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12548 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12549 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12550 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12553 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12556 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12557 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12558 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12559 mail belongs in that group.
12561 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12562 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12563 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12564 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12565 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12566 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12568 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12569 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12570 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12571 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12572 thinks should carry this mail message.
12574 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12575 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12576 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12577 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12579 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12580 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12581 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12582 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12583 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12585 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12588 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12589 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12590 links. If that's the case for you, set
12591 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12592 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12594 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12595 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12596 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12597 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12598 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12599 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12602 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12603 Header lines longer than the value of
12604 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12607 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12608 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12609 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12610 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12611 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12612 can be turned off completely by binding
12613 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12614 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12616 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12617 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12618 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12619 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12620 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12621 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12622 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12625 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12626 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12627 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12628 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12629 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12630 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12631 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12632 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12633 month's rent money.
12637 @subsection Mail Sources
12639 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12640 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12644 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12645 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12646 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12650 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12651 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12653 @cindex mail server
12656 @cindex mail source
12658 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12659 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12664 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12667 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12668 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12669 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12672 The following mail source types are available:
12676 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12682 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12683 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12684 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12687 An example file mail source:
12690 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12693 Or using the default path:
12699 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12700 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12701 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12704 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12708 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12711 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12715 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12718 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12720 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12723 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12727 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12728 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12729 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12730 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12731 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12732 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12733 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12734 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12735 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12736 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12738 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12739 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12740 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12741 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12747 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12751 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12755 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12756 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12757 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12758 predicate are considered.
12762 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12766 An example directory mail source:
12769 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12774 Get mail from a POP server.
12780 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12781 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12784 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12785 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12786 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12787 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12788 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12791 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12795 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12799 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12800 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12803 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12806 The valid format specifier characters are:
12810 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12811 included in this string.
12814 The name of the server.
12817 The port number of the server.
12820 The user name to use.
12823 The password to use.
12826 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12827 corresponding keywords.
12830 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12831 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12834 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12835 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12838 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12839 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12842 @item :authentication
12843 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12844 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12849 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12850 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12852 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12853 default user name, and default fetcher:
12859 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12862 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12863 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12866 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12869 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12873 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12874 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12875 contains exactly one mail.
12881 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12882 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12885 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12886 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12888 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12889 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12890 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12893 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12894 from locking problems).
12898 Two example maildir mail sources:
12901 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12902 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12906 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12911 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12912 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12913 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12914 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12917 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12918 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12924 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12925 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12928 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12929 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12932 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12936 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12940 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12941 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12942 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12943 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12945 @item :authentication
12946 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12947 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12948 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12949 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12952 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12953 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12954 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12960 The valid format specifier characters are:
12964 The name of the server.
12967 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12970 The port number of the server.
12973 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12974 corresponding keywords.
12977 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12978 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12981 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12982 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12983 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12984 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
12985 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12986 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
12989 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12990 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12991 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12992 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
12995 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12996 after finishing the fetch.
13000 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13003 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13005 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13009 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13010 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13011 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13013 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13014 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13016 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13022 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13023 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13026 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13030 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13034 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13035 folder after finishing the fetch.
13039 An example webmail source:
13042 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13044 :password "secret")
13049 @item Common Keywords
13050 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13056 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13057 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13061 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13066 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13067 useful when you use local mail and news.
13072 @subsubsection Function Interface
13074 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13075 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13076 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13077 consider the following mail-source setting:
13080 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13081 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13084 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13085 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13086 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13087 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13088 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13090 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13093 @node Mail Source Customization
13094 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13096 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13097 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13101 @item mail-source-crash-box
13102 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13103 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13104 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13106 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13107 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13108 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13110 @item mail-source-directory
13111 @vindex mail-source-directory
13112 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13113 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13114 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13117 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13118 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13119 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13120 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13121 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13122 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13124 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13125 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13126 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13128 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13129 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13130 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13131 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13136 @node Fetching Mail
13137 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13139 @vindex mail-sources
13140 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13141 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13142 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13143 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13145 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13146 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13149 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13150 mail server, you'd say something like:
13155 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13156 :password "secret")))
13159 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13163 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13164 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13167 :password "secret")))
13171 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13172 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13173 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13174 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13175 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13176 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13180 @node Mail Back End Variables
13181 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13183 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13187 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13188 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13189 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13190 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13192 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13193 @item nnmail-split-hook
13194 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13195 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13196 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13197 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13198 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13199 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13200 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13201 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13202 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13205 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13206 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13207 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13208 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13209 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13210 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13211 starting to handle the new mail) and
13212 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13213 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13214 default file modes the new mail files get:
13217 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13218 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13220 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13221 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13224 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13225 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13226 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13227 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13228 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13229 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13230 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13232 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13233 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13234 @findex delete-file
13235 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13237 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13238 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13239 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13240 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13241 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13243 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13244 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13245 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13246 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13247 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13249 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13250 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13251 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13256 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13257 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13258 @cindex mail splitting
13259 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13261 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13262 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13263 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13264 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13265 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13266 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13268 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13271 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13272 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13273 ;; from real errors.
13274 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13276 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13277 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13278 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13279 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13280 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13281 ;; Other mailing lists...
13282 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13283 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13284 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13285 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13286 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13287 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13288 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13289 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13291 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13292 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13296 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13297 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13298 the five possible split syntaxes:
13303 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13304 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13308 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13309 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13310 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13311 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13312 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13313 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13314 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13315 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13318 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13319 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13320 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13321 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13324 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13325 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13328 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13329 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13332 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13333 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13334 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13335 function should return a @var{split}.
13338 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13339 body of the messages:
13342 (defun split-on-body ()
13344 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13345 (goto-char (point-min))
13346 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13350 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13351 when the @code{:} function is run.
13354 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13355 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13356 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13360 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13364 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13365 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13366 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13367 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13368 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13370 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13371 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13372 are expanded as specified by the variable
13373 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13374 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13377 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13378 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13379 when all this splitting is performed.
13381 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13382 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13383 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13386 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13389 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13390 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13392 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13393 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13394 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13395 groupings 1 through 9.
13397 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13398 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13399 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13400 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13401 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13402 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13403 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13404 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13405 it once per thread.
13407 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13408 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13409 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13412 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13413 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13415 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13416 ;; other splits go here
13420 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13421 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13422 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13423 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13424 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13425 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13426 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13427 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13428 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13429 unless the group name matches the regexp
13430 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13431 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13432 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13433 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13434 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13435 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13436 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13437 messages goes into the new group.
13439 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13440 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13441 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13442 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13443 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13447 @node Group Mail Splitting
13448 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13449 @cindex mail splitting
13450 @cindex group mail splitting
13452 @findex gnus-group-split
13453 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13454 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13455 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13456 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13457 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13458 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13459 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13460 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13462 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13463 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13464 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13465 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13467 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13468 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13469 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13470 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13471 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13472 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13473 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13475 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13476 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13477 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13478 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13479 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13480 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13481 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13483 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13484 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13485 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13486 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13487 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13488 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13489 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13490 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13491 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13492 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13493 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13494 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13495 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13497 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13502 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13503 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13505 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13506 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13507 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13508 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13510 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13513 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13514 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13515 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13518 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13519 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13520 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13524 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13525 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13526 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13530 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13533 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13534 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13535 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13536 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13537 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13538 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13539 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13540 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13541 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13543 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13544 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13545 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13546 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13547 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13548 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13549 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13550 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13551 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13553 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13554 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13555 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13556 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13557 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13558 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13561 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13564 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13565 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13566 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13567 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13568 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13571 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13572 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13573 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13574 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13576 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13577 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13578 @cindex incorporating old mail
13579 @cindex import old mail
13581 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13582 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13583 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13586 Doing so can be quite easy.
13588 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13589 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13590 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13591 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13592 your @code{nnml} groups.
13598 Go to the group buffer.
13601 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13602 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13605 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13608 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13609 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13612 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13613 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13616 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13617 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13618 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13619 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13620 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13622 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13623 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13624 using the new mail back end.
13627 @node Expiring Mail
13628 @subsection Expiring Mail
13629 @cindex article expiry
13631 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13632 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13633 different approach to mail reading.
13635 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13636 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13637 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13638 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13639 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13640 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13643 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13644 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
13645 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13646 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13647 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13648 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13649 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13650 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13652 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13653 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
13654 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
13655 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
13656 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
13657 column in the summary buffer.
13659 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13660 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13661 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13662 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13665 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13667 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13668 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13669 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13672 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13673 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13674 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13675 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13676 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13678 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13679 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13682 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13683 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13686 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13687 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13689 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13690 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13691 don't really mix very well.
13693 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13694 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13695 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13696 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13699 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13700 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13701 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13702 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13705 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13707 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13709 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13711 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13713 ((string= group "important")
13719 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13720 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13722 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13723 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13724 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13727 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13728 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13730 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13731 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13732 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13733 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13734 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13735 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13736 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13737 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13738 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13739 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13740 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13741 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13742 name or @code{delete}.
13744 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13746 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13749 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13750 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13751 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13752 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13753 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13756 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13757 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13758 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13759 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13760 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13763 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13764 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13765 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13766 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13767 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13768 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13770 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13771 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13772 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13773 easier for procmail users.
13775 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13776 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13777 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13778 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13779 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13780 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13781 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13782 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13783 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13784 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13785 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13786 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13787 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13790 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13792 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13793 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13794 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13795 auto-expire turned on.
13799 @subsection Washing Mail
13800 @cindex mail washing
13801 @cindex list server brain damage
13802 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13804 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13805 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13806 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13807 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13808 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13809 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13811 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13812 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13813 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13816 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13817 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13818 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13819 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13822 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13823 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13824 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13825 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13826 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13829 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13830 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13831 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13832 Emacs running on MS machines.
13836 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13837 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13838 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13839 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13842 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13843 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13844 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13845 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13847 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
13848 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
13849 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
13850 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
13851 into a feature by documenting it.)
13853 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13854 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13855 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13856 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13857 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13858 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13859 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13862 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13863 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13866 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13867 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13870 This can also be done non-destructively with
13871 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13873 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13874 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13875 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13877 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13878 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13880 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13881 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13882 @code{References} headers.
13886 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13887 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13888 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13892 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13893 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13894 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13901 @subsection Duplicates
13903 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13904 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13905 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13906 @cindex duplicate mails
13907 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13908 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13909 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13910 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13911 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13912 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13913 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13914 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13915 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13916 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13917 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13918 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13919 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13921 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13922 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13923 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13924 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13926 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13929 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13930 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13934 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13935 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13936 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13937 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13938 (any mail "mail.misc")
13945 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13946 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13951 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13952 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13953 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13954 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13955 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13958 @node Not Reading Mail
13959 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13961 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13962 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13963 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13965 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13966 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13967 mail, which should help.
13969 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13970 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13971 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13972 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13973 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13974 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13975 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13976 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13977 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13978 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13979 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13981 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13982 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13986 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13987 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13989 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13990 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13991 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13993 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13994 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13995 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
13996 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
13997 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
13998 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
13999 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
14002 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14003 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14004 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14005 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14006 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14007 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14011 @node Unix Mail Box
14012 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14014 @cindex unix mail box
14016 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14017 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14018 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14019 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14020 which group it belongs in.
14022 Virtual server settings:
14025 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14026 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14027 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14030 @item nnmbox-active-file
14031 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14032 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14033 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14035 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14036 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14037 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14038 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14043 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14047 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14048 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14049 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14050 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14051 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14053 Virtual server settings:
14056 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14057 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14058 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14060 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14061 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14062 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14063 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14065 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14066 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14067 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14073 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14075 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14077 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14078 format. It should be used with some caution.
14080 @vindex nnml-directory
14081 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14082 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14083 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14084 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14086 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14089 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14090 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14091 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14092 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14093 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14094 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14095 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14096 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14098 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14099 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14100 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14101 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14103 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14105 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14106 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14107 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14108 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14109 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14110 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14111 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14112 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14115 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14116 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14117 them next time it starts.
14119 Virtual server settings:
14122 @item nnml-directory
14123 @vindex nnml-directory
14124 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14125 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14128 @item nnml-active-file
14129 @vindex nnml-active-file
14130 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14131 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14133 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14134 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14135 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14136 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14138 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14139 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14140 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14143 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14144 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14145 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14146 default is @code{nil}.
14148 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14149 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14150 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14152 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14153 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14154 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14156 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14157 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14158 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14159 default is @code{nil}.
14161 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14162 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14163 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14165 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14166 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14167 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14172 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14173 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14174 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14175 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14176 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14177 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14178 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14183 @subsubsection MH Spool
14185 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14187 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14188 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14189 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14190 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14192 Virtual server settings:
14195 @item nnmh-directory
14196 @vindex nnmh-directory
14197 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14198 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14201 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14202 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14203 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14207 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14208 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14209 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14210 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14211 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14212 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14213 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14218 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14220 @cindex mbox folders
14221 @cindex mail folders
14223 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14224 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14225 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14228 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14230 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14231 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14232 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14233 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14234 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14235 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14236 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14237 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14238 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14239 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14241 Virtual server settings:
14244 @item nnfolder-directory
14245 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14246 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14247 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14250 @item nnfolder-active-file
14251 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14252 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14254 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14255 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14256 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14257 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14259 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14260 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14261 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14264 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14265 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14266 @cindex backup files
14267 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14268 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14269 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14270 your @file{.emacs} file:
14273 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14274 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14276 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14279 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14280 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14281 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14282 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14283 extract some information from it before removing it.
14285 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14286 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14287 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14288 default is @code{nil}.
14290 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14291 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14292 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14294 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14295 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14296 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14297 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14299 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14300 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14301 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14302 default is @code{nil}.
14304 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14305 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14306 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14308 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14309 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14310 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14311 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14316 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14317 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14318 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14319 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14320 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14321 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14324 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14325 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14327 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14328 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14329 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14330 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14331 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14333 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14334 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14335 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14336 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14337 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14338 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14339 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14340 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14343 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14344 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14345 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14346 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14351 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14352 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14353 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14354 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14355 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14356 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14357 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14358 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14359 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14360 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14361 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14362 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14363 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14368 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14369 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14370 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14371 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14372 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14373 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14374 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14375 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14376 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14377 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14378 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14379 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14380 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14381 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14383 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14384 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14389 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14390 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14391 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14392 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14393 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14394 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14395 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14396 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14397 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14398 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14399 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14400 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14401 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14402 provided by the active file and overviews.
14404 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14405 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
14406 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14407 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14408 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14411 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14412 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14417 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14418 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14419 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14420 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14421 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14422 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14423 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14427 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14428 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14429 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14430 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14431 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14432 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14433 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14434 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14435 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14437 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14438 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14439 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14440 friendly mail back end all over.
14444 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14445 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14446 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14447 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14448 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14449 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14450 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14451 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14454 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14455 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14456 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14457 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14458 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14459 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14460 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14461 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14462 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14463 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14464 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14466 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14467 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14468 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14469 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14470 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14471 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14472 This will probably be changed in the future.
14474 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14475 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14476 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14477 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14478 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14481 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14482 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14484 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14485 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14486 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14487 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14488 parameter to somthing small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14489 would) to make it use less memory.
14491 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14492 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14493 depending in part on your filesystem.
14495 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14496 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14501 @node Browsing the Web
14502 @section Browsing the Web
14504 @cindex browsing the web
14508 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14509 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14510 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14511 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14512 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14513 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14514 even know what a news group is.
14516 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14517 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14518 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14519 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14520 you mad in the end.
14522 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14525 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14526 interfaces to these sources.
14530 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14531 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14532 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14533 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14534 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14535 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14538 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14540 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14541 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14542 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14543 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14544 though, you should be ok.
14546 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14547 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14548 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14549 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14550 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14552 @node Archiving Mail
14553 @subsection Archiving Mail
14554 @cindex archiving mail
14555 @cindex backup of mail
14557 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14558 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14559 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14560 marks is fairly simple.
14562 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14563 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14566 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14567 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14568 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14569 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14570 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14571 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14572 might interfer with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14573 before you restore the data.
14575 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14576 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14577 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14578 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14579 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14580 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14581 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14582 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14583 is unnecessary in that case.
14586 @subsection Web Searches
14591 @cindex Usenet searches
14592 @cindex searching the Usenet
14594 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14595 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14596 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14597 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14598 searches without having to use a browser.
14600 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14601 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14602 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14603 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14604 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14606 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14607 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14608 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14609 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14610 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14611 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14612 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14613 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14614 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14615 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14618 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14619 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14620 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14621 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14622 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14623 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14625 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14626 to use @code{nnweb}.
14628 Virtual server variables:
14633 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14634 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14635 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14638 @vindex nnweb-search
14639 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14641 @item nnweb-max-hits
14642 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14643 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14646 @item nnweb-type-definition
14647 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14648 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14649 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14654 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14658 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14661 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14664 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14668 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14675 @subsection Slashdot
14679 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14680 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14681 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14683 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14684 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14687 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14688 '((nnslashdot "")))
14691 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14692 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14693 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14694 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14695 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14698 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14699 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14701 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14702 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14703 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14704 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14705 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14706 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14709 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14712 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14713 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14714 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14715 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14716 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14717 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14718 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14720 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14721 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14722 The login name to use when posting.
14724 @item nnslashdot-password
14725 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14726 The password to use when posting.
14728 @item nnslashdot-directory
14729 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14730 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14731 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14733 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14734 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14735 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14736 news articles and comments. The default is
14737 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14739 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14740 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14741 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14743 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14745 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14746 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14747 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14749 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14751 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14752 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14753 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14755 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14756 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14757 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14758 updated. The default is 0.
14765 @subsection Ultimate
14767 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14769 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14770 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14771 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14772 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14774 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14775 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14776 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14777 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14778 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14779 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14780 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14782 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14785 @item nnultimate-directory
14786 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14787 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14788 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14793 @subsection Web Archive
14795 @cindex Web Archive
14797 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14798 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14799 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14800 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14803 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14804 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14805 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14806 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14807 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14808 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14809 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14811 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14814 @item nnwarchive-directory
14815 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14816 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14817 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14819 @item nnwarchive-login
14820 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14821 The account name on the web server.
14823 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14824 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14825 The password for your account on the web server.
14833 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14834 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14835 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14838 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14839 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14842 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14845 @item nnrss-directory
14846 @vindex nnrss-directory
14847 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14848 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14852 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14853 the summary buffer.
14856 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14857 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14859 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14861 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14862 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14865 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14868 (require 'browse-url)
14870 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14872 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14875 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14876 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14879 (browse-url (cdr url))
14880 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
14881 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14883 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14884 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14885 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14886 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14889 @node Customizing w3
14890 @subsection Customizing w3
14896 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14897 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14898 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14900 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14901 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14902 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14905 (eval-after-load "w3"
14907 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14908 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14909 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14910 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14912 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14915 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14916 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14925 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14926 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14927 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14928 specify the network address of the server.
14930 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14931 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14932 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14933 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
14934 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
14936 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
14937 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
14938 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
14939 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
14941 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14942 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
14943 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14944 usage explained in this section.
14946 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14947 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
14948 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
14951 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14952 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14953 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14955 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14956 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14957 ; a UW server running on localhost
14959 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14960 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14961 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14962 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14963 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14964 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14965 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14966 (nnimap-stream network))
14967 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14969 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14970 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14971 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14974 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14979 @item nnimap-address
14980 @vindex nnimap-address
14982 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14983 server name if not specified.
14985 @item nnimap-server-port
14986 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14987 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14989 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
14992 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14993 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14996 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14997 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14998 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14999 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15000 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15001 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15002 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15004 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15005 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15006 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15009 Example server specification:
15012 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15013 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15014 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15017 @item nnimap-stream
15018 @vindex nnimap-stream
15019 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15020 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15021 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15022 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15024 Example server specification:
15027 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15028 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15031 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15035 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15036 @samp{imtest} program.
15038 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15040 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15041 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15044 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15045 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15046 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15048 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15050 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15053 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15054 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15055 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15056 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15057 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15058 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15059 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15060 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15061 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15064 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15065 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15066 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15067 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
15068 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15069 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15070 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15071 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15072 distribution, for instance).
15074 @vindex imap-shell-program
15075 @vindex imap-shell-host
15076 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15077 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15079 @item nnimap-authenticator
15080 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15082 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15083 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15085 Example server specification:
15088 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15089 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15092 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15096 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15097 external program @code{imtest}.
15099 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15102 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15103 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15105 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15107 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15109 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
15112 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15114 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15115 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15116 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15117 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15118 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15119 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15122 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15123 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15124 running in circles yet?
15126 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15127 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15130 The possible options are:
15135 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15138 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15139 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15140 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15141 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15143 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15148 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15149 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15151 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15152 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15153 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15154 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15155 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15158 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15159 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15162 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15163 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15164 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15165 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15168 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15169 as ticked for other users.
15171 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15173 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15175 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15176 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15177 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15178 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15180 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15181 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15182 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15183 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15185 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15186 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15188 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15189 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15190 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15196 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15197 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15198 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15199 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15200 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15205 @node Splitting in IMAP
15206 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15207 @cindex splitting imap mail
15209 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15210 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15211 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15212 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15213 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15217 Here are the variables of interest:
15221 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15222 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15224 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15226 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15227 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15229 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15231 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15232 @cindex splitting, inbox
15234 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15236 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15237 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15241 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15242 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15245 No nnmail equivalent.
15247 @item nnimap-split-rule
15248 @cindex Splitting, rules
15249 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15251 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15254 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15255 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15256 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15257 Neither did I, we need examples.
15260 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15262 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15263 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15264 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15267 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15268 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15269 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15271 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15272 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15276 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15279 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15280 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15282 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15283 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15284 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15285 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15287 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15288 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15289 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15290 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15291 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15292 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15294 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15295 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15296 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15298 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15299 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15300 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15302 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15304 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15305 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15306 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15309 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15310 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15311 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15312 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15313 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15314 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15317 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15318 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15319 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15320 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15321 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15322 group/function elements.
15324 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15326 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15328 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15330 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15331 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15333 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15334 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15335 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15338 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15339 @cindex splitting, fancy
15340 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15341 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15343 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15344 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15345 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15347 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15348 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15349 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15350 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15355 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15356 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15359 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15363 @node Expiring in IMAP
15364 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
15365 @cindex expiring imap mail
15367 Even though @sc{nnimap} is not a proper @sc{nnmail} derived backend,
15368 it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15369 Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do not clone
15370 the @sc{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating @var{nnimap-expiry-wait})
15371 but reuse the @sc{nnmail} variables. What follows below are the
15372 variables used by the @sc{nnimap} expiry process and any related notes
15375 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
15376 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
15377 @sc{imap} client specific mark @code{gnus-expire} and store on the
15378 message. This means that only likely only Gnus will understand and
15379 treat the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may
15380 allow to view client specific flags on a message. It also means that
15381 your server must support the permanent storage of client specific
15382 flags on messages. Most do, fortunately.
15386 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
15387 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15389 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
15390 number, the symbol @var{immediate} or @var{never}.
15392 @item nnmail-expiry-target
15394 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
15395 @sc{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
15396 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
15397 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
15401 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15402 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15403 @cindex editing imap acls
15404 @cindex Access Control Lists
15405 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15407 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15409 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15410 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15411 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15414 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15415 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15416 editing window with detailed instructions.
15418 Some possible uses:
15422 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15423 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15424 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15426 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15427 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15428 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15432 @node Expunging mailboxes
15433 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15437 @cindex Manual expunging
15439 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15441 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15442 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15443 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15445 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15448 @node A note on namespaces
15449 @subsection A note on namespaces
15450 @cindex IMAP namespace
15453 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15454 following text in the RFC:
15457 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15459 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15460 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15461 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15462 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15464 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15465 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15466 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15467 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15468 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15469 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15472 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15473 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15474 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15476 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15477 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15478 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15479 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15480 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15481 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15482 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15483 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15485 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15486 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15487 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15489 @node Other Sources
15490 @section Other Sources
15492 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15493 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15497 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15498 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15499 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15500 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15501 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15505 @node Directory Groups
15506 @subsection Directory Groups
15508 @cindex directory groups
15510 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15511 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15514 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15515 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15516 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15517 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15519 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15520 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15521 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15522 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15523 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15525 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15527 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15528 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15529 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15530 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15533 @node Anything Groups
15534 @subsection Anything Groups
15537 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15538 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15539 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15542 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15543 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15544 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15545 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15546 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15547 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15548 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15549 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15550 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15551 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15554 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15555 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15556 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15557 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15559 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15560 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15561 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15562 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15564 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15565 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15566 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15567 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15568 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15569 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15570 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15571 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15576 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15577 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15578 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15579 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15581 @item nneething-exclude-files
15582 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15583 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15584 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15586 @item nneething-include-files
15587 @vindex nneething-include-files
15588 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15589 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15591 @item nneething-map-file
15592 @vindex nneething-map-file
15593 Name of the map files.
15597 @node Document Groups
15598 @subsection Document Groups
15600 @cindex documentation group
15603 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15604 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15611 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15616 The standard Unix mbox file.
15618 @cindex MMDF mail box
15620 The MMDF mail box format.
15623 Several news articles appended into a file.
15626 @cindex rnews batch files
15627 The rnews batch transport format.
15628 @cindex forwarded messages
15631 Forwarded articles.
15634 Netscape mail boxes.
15637 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15639 @item standard-digest
15640 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15643 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15645 @item lanl-gov-announce
15646 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15648 @item rfc822-forward
15649 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15652 The Outlook mail box.
15655 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15658 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15661 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15664 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15670 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15673 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15679 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15680 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15681 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15684 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15685 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15686 group. And that's it.
15688 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15689 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15690 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15691 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15692 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15693 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15694 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15695 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15696 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15697 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15699 Virtual server variables:
15702 @item nndoc-article-type
15703 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15704 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15705 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15706 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15707 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15708 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15710 @item nndoc-post-type
15711 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15712 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15713 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15718 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15722 @node Document Server Internals
15723 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15725 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15726 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15727 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15728 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15730 First, here's an example document type definition:
15734 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15735 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15738 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15739 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15740 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15741 types can be defined with very few settings:
15744 @item first-article
15745 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15746 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15749 @item article-begin
15750 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15751 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15753 @item head-begin-function
15754 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15757 @item nndoc-head-begin
15758 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15761 @item nndoc-head-end
15762 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15763 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15765 @item body-begin-function
15766 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15770 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15773 @item body-end-function
15774 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15778 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15781 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15782 regexp will be totally ignored.
15786 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15787 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15788 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15789 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15790 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15793 @item prepare-body-function
15794 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15795 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15796 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15798 @item article-transform-function
15799 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15800 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15801 body of the article.
15803 @item generate-head-function
15804 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15805 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15806 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15807 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15811 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15816 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15817 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15818 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15819 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15820 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15821 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15822 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15823 (subtype digest guess))
15826 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15827 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15828 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15829 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15830 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15832 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15833 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15834 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15835 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15836 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
15837 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15838 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15839 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15840 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15841 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15849 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15850 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15851 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15853 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15854 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15855 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15858 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15859 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15860 that interested in doing things properly.
15862 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15863 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15866 First some terminology:
15871 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15872 get news and/or mail from.
15875 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15876 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15879 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15883 @item message packets
15884 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15885 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15886 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15888 @item response packets
15889 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15890 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15891 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15901 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15902 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15903 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15904 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15907 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15910 You put the packet in your home directory.
15913 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15914 the native or secondary server.
15917 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15918 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15921 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15925 You transfer this packet to the server.
15928 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15931 You then repeat until you die.
15935 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15936 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15939 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15940 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15941 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15945 @node SOUP Commands
15946 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15948 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15952 @kindex G s b (Group)
15953 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15954 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15955 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15956 process/prefix convention.
15959 @kindex G s w (Group)
15960 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15961 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15964 @kindex G s s (Group)
15965 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15966 Send all replies from the replies packet
15967 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15970 @kindex G s p (Group)
15971 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
15972 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
15975 @kindex G s r (Group)
15976 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
15977 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
15980 @kindex O s (Summary)
15981 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
15982 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
15983 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
15984 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15989 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
15994 @item gnus-soup-directory
15995 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
15996 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
15997 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
15999 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16000 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16001 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16002 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16004 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16005 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16006 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16007 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16009 @item gnus-soup-packer
16010 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16011 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16012 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16014 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16015 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16016 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16017 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16019 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16020 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16021 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16023 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16024 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16025 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16026 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16032 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16035 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16036 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16037 you can read them at leisure.
16039 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16043 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16044 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16045 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16046 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16048 @item nnsoup-directory
16049 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16050 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16051 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16053 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16054 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16055 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16056 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
16058 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16059 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16060 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16061 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16062 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16064 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16065 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16066 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16067 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16069 @item nnsoup-active-file
16070 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16071 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16072 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16073 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16074 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16076 @item nnsoup-packer
16077 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16078 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16079 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16081 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16082 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16083 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16084 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16086 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16087 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16088 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16091 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16092 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16093 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16096 @item nnsoup-always-save
16097 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16098 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16104 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16106 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16107 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16108 more for that to happen.
16110 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16111 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16112 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16115 In specific, this is what it does:
16118 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16119 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16122 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16123 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16124 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16127 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16128 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16129 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16132 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16133 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16134 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16136 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16142 @item nngateway-address
16143 @vindex nngateway-address
16144 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16146 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16147 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16148 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16149 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16150 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16151 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16152 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16155 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16156 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16157 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16160 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16163 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16166 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16169 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16171 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16174 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16175 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16176 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16178 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16180 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16181 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16182 @code{nngateway-address}.
16187 (setq gnus-post-method
16189 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16190 (nngateway-header-transformation
16191 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16199 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16202 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16207 @node Combined Groups
16208 @section Combined Groups
16210 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16214 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16215 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16219 @node Virtual Groups
16220 @subsection Virtual Groups
16222 @cindex virtual groups
16223 @cindex merging groups
16225 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16228 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16229 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16230 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16232 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16233 regexp to match component groups.
16235 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16236 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16237 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16238 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16239 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16240 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16241 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16242 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16244 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16245 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16248 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16251 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16252 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16254 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16255 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16256 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16257 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16260 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16263 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16264 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16265 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16267 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16268 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16269 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16270 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16271 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16273 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16274 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16275 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16277 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16278 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16279 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16280 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16281 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16282 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16283 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16284 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16285 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16286 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16287 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16289 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16290 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16291 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16292 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16293 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16294 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16295 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16297 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16298 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16300 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16301 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16305 @node Kibozed Groups
16306 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16310 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16311 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16312 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16313 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16315 @kindex G k (Group)
16316 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16319 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16320 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16321 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16322 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16324 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16325 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16326 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16328 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16329 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16330 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16331 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16332 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16333 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16334 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16335 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16337 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16338 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16339 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16340 Stranger things have happened.
16342 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16343 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16345 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16346 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16347 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16348 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16349 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16350 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16352 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16353 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16356 @node Gnus Unplugged
16357 @section Gnus Unplugged
16362 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16364 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16365 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16366 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16367 read news. Believe it or not.
16369 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16370 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16371 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16372 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16373 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16375 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16376 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16377 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16378 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16379 reading news on a machine.
16381 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16382 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16384 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16387 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16388 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16389 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16390 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16391 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16392 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16393 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16394 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16395 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16396 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16397 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16402 @subsection Agent Basics
16404 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16406 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16407 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16408 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16409 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16411 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16412 connected to the net continuously.
16414 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16415 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16417 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16422 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16423 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16424 already fetched while in this mode.
16427 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16428 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16429 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16430 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16431 Source Specifiers}).
16434 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16435 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16436 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16437 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16438 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16441 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16442 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16443 then you read the news offline.
16446 And then you go to step 2.
16449 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16455 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16456 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16457 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16458 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16459 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16460 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16461 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16462 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16465 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16472 @node Agent Categories
16473 @subsection Agent Categories
16475 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16476 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16477 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16478 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16479 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16480 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16481 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16483 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16484 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16485 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16486 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16487 managing categories.
16490 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16491 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16492 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16496 @node Category Syntax
16497 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16499 A category consists of two things.
16503 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16504 are eligible for downloading; and
16507 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16508 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16509 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16512 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16513 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16514 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16515 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16517 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16518 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16519 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16521 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16522 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16523 operators sprinkled in between.
16525 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16527 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16528 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16534 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16535 short (for some value of ``short'').
16537 Here's a more complex predicate:
16546 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16547 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16550 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16551 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16552 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16554 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16555 you want to do, you can write your own.
16559 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16560 lines; default 100.
16563 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16564 lines; default 200.
16567 True iff the article has a download score less than
16568 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16571 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16572 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16575 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16576 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16577 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16586 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16587 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16588 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16591 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16592 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16593 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16594 something along the lines of the following:
16597 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16598 "Say whether an article is old."
16599 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16600 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16603 with the predicate then defined as:
16606 (not my-article-old-p)
16609 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16610 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16614 (require 'gnus-agent)
16615 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16616 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16617 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16620 and simply specify your predicate as:
16626 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16627 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16628 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16629 just don't give a damn.
16631 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16632 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16633 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16634 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16635 parameters like so:
16638 (agent-predicate . short)
16641 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16642 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16643 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16645 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16648 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16651 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16652 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16653 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16656 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16657 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16658 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16659 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16660 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16661 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16663 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16664 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16665 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16666 if it's to be specific to that group.
16668 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16675 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16676 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16682 Category specification
16686 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16692 Group Parameter specification
16695 (agent-score ("from"
16696 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16701 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16707 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16714 Category specification
16717 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16723 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16727 Group Parameter specification
16730 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16733 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16738 Use @code{normal} score files
16740 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16741 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16742 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16743 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16745 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16746 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16747 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16748 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16752 Category Specification
16759 Group Parameter specification
16762 (agent-score . file)
16767 @node Category Buffer
16768 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16770 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16771 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16772 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16774 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16778 @kindex q (Category)
16779 @findex gnus-category-exit
16780 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16783 @kindex k (Category)
16784 @findex gnus-category-kill
16785 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16788 @kindex c (Category)
16789 @findex gnus-category-copy
16790 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16793 @kindex a (Category)
16794 @findex gnus-category-add
16795 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16798 @kindex p (Category)
16799 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16800 Edit the predicate of the current category
16801 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16804 @kindex g (Category)
16805 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16806 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16807 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16810 @kindex s (Category)
16811 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16812 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16813 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16816 @kindex l (Category)
16817 @findex gnus-category-list
16818 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16822 @node Category Variables
16823 @subsubsection Category Variables
16826 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16827 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16828 Hook run in category buffers.
16830 @item gnus-category-line-format
16831 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16832 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16833 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16837 The name of the category.
16840 The number of groups in the category.
16843 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16844 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16845 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16847 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16848 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16849 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16851 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16852 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16853 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16855 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16856 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16857 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16860 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16861 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16862 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16868 @node Agent Commands
16869 @subsection Agent Commands
16871 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16872 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16873 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16877 * Group Agent Commands::
16878 * Summary Agent Commands::
16879 * Server Agent Commands::
16882 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
16883 following incantation:
16885 @cindex gnus-agent-batch
16887 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch
16892 @node Group Agent Commands
16893 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16897 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16898 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16899 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16900 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16903 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16904 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16905 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16908 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16909 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16910 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16911 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16914 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16915 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
16916 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
16917 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
16920 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16921 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16922 Add the current group to an Agent category
16923 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16924 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16927 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16928 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16929 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16930 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16931 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16934 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16935 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16936 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16942 @node Summary Agent Commands
16943 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16947 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16948 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16949 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16952 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16953 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16954 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16955 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16958 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16959 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16960 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16963 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16964 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16965 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16968 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16969 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16970 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16971 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
16976 @node Server Agent Commands
16977 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
16981 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
16982 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
16983 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
16984 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
16987 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
16988 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
16989 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
16990 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
16995 @node Agent as Cache
16996 @subsection Agent as Cache
16998 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
16999 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17000 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17001 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17002 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17003 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17004 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17005 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17006 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17008 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17009 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
17012 @subsection Agent Expiry
17014 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17015 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17016 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17017 @cindex Agent expiry
17018 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17021 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
17022 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
17023 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
17024 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
17025 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
17026 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
17028 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
17029 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
17030 expiry in different groups.
17033 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
17039 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
17040 method---it must always match all groups.
17042 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17043 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
17044 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
17045 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
17046 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
17048 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17049 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17050 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
17051 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
17053 @node Agent and IMAP
17054 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17056 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17057 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17058 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17059 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17061 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17062 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
17063 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17064 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17066 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17067 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17068 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17069 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17071 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17072 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17073 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17074 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17075 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17076 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17078 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17079 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17080 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17081 in the group buffer.
17083 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17084 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17089 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17092 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17096 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17097 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17098 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17099 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17100 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17101 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17102 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17103 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17106 @node Outgoing Messages
17107 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17109 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17110 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17111 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17113 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17114 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17115 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17116 messages in the draft group.
17120 @node Agent Variables
17121 @subsection Agent Variables
17124 @item gnus-agent-directory
17125 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17126 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17127 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17129 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17130 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17131 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17132 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17133 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17136 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17137 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17138 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17140 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17141 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17142 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17144 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17145 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17146 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17148 @item gnus-agent-cache
17149 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17150 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17151 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17152 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17154 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17155 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17156 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17157 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17158 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17159 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17160 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17163 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17164 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17165 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17166 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17167 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17168 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17169 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17170 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17171 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17176 @node Example Setup
17177 @subsection Example Setup
17179 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17180 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17181 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17184 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17185 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17186 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17188 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17189 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17190 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17192 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17193 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17195 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17196 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17197 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17200 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17201 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17204 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17205 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17206 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17207 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17208 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17211 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17212 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17213 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17214 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17215 back all the killed groups.)
17217 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17218 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17219 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17222 @node Batching Agents
17223 @subsection Batching Agents
17225 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17226 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17227 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17231 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
17235 @node Agent Caveats
17236 @subsection Agent Caveats
17238 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17239 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17243 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17247 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17249 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17253 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17254 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17255 locally stored articles.
17262 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17263 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17264 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17267 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17268 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17269 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17270 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17271 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17273 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17274 before generating the summary buffer.
17276 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17277 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17278 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17280 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17281 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17282 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17283 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17286 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17287 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17288 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17289 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17290 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17291 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17292 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17293 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17294 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17295 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17296 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17297 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17298 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17299 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17300 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17301 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17302 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17306 @node Summary Score Commands
17307 @section Summary Score Commands
17308 @cindex score commands
17310 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17311 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17312 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17313 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17314 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17316 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17317 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17318 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17319 score file the current one.
17321 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17326 @kindex V s (Summary)
17327 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17328 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17331 @kindex V S (Summary)
17332 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17333 Display the score of the current article
17334 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17337 @kindex V t (Summary)
17338 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17339 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17340 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17343 @kindex V w (Summary)
17344 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17345 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17348 @kindex V R (Summary)
17349 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17350 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17351 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17352 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17353 effect you're having.
17356 @kindex V c (Summary)
17357 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17358 Make a different score file the current
17359 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17362 @kindex V e (Summary)
17363 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17364 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17365 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17369 @kindex V f (Summary)
17370 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17371 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17372 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17375 @kindex V F (Summary)
17376 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17377 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17378 after editing score files.
17381 @kindex V C (Summary)
17382 @findex gnus-score-customize
17383 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17384 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17388 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17393 @kindex V m (Summary)
17394 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17395 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17396 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17399 @kindex V x (Summary)
17400 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17401 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17402 expunge all articles below this score
17403 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17406 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17407 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17410 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17411 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17415 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17416 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17418 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17419 keys are available:
17423 Score on the author name.
17426 Score on the subject line.
17429 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17432 Score on the @code{References} line.
17438 Score on the number of lines.
17441 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17444 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17445 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17448 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17449 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17450 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17459 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17465 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17466 what headers you are scoring on.
17478 Substring matching.
17481 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17510 Greater than number.
17515 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17516 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17517 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17522 Temporary score entry.
17525 Permanent score entry.
17528 Immediately scoring.
17532 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17533 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17534 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17538 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17539 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17540 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17541 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17543 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17544 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17545 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17546 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17547 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17549 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17550 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17551 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17552 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17553 current score file.
17555 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17556 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17557 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17560 @node Group Score Commands
17561 @section Group Score Commands
17562 @cindex group score commands
17564 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17569 @kindex W f (Group)
17570 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17571 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17572 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17573 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17577 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17579 @findex gnus-batch-score
17580 @cindex batch scoring
17582 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17586 @node Score Variables
17587 @section Score Variables
17588 @cindex score variables
17592 @item gnus-use-scoring
17593 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17594 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17595 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17597 @item gnus-kill-killed
17598 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17599 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17600 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17601 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17602 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17603 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17604 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17606 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17607 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17608 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17609 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17610 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17612 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17613 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17614 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17615 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17617 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17618 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17619 @cindex score cache
17620 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17621 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17622 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
17623 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17624 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17625 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17628 @item gnus-save-score
17629 @vindex gnus-save-score
17630 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17631 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17632 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17634 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17635 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17636 across group visits.
17638 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17639 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17640 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17641 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17642 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17643 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17644 manually entered data.
17646 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17647 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17648 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17650 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17651 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17652 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17653 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17654 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17655 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17657 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17658 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17659 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17660 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17662 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17663 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17664 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17665 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17667 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17668 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17669 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17670 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17672 Predefined functions available are:
17675 @item gnus-score-find-single
17676 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17677 Only apply the group's own score file.
17679 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17680 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17681 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17682 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17683 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17684 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17685 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17686 then a regexp match is done.
17688 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17689 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17691 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17692 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17693 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17694 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17696 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17697 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17698 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17699 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17700 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17704 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17705 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17706 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17707 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17708 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17709 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17710 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17713 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17714 overall score file, you could use the value
17716 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17717 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17720 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17721 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17722 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17723 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17724 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17726 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17727 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17728 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17729 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17730 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17731 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17732 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17733 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17735 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17736 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17737 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17739 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17740 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17741 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17742 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17743 threading---according to the current value of
17744 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17745 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17746 simplified in this manner.
17751 @node Score File Format
17752 @section Score File Format
17753 @cindex score file format
17755 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17756 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17757 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17759 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17763 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17765 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17767 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17769 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17774 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17778 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17779 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17780 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17781 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17785 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17786 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17788 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17789 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17790 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17792 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17797 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17798 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17799 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17800 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17801 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17802 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17803 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17804 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17805 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17806 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17807 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17808 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17809 to articles that matches these score entries.
17811 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17812 score entry has one to four elements.
17816 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17817 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17821 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17822 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17823 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17824 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17825 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17826 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17829 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17830 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17831 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17832 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17833 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17836 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17837 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17838 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17839 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17842 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17843 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17844 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17845 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17846 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17847 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17848 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17849 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17850 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17851 instead, if you feel like.
17854 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
17855 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
17856 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
17857 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
17858 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
17859 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
17862 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
17866 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17867 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17869 These predicates are true if
17872 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17875 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17876 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17883 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17884 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17885 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17886 it's not. I think.)
17888 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17889 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17890 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17891 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17894 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17895 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17896 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17897 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17898 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17899 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17900 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17904 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17905 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17906 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17907 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17908 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17909 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17910 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17911 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17914 @item Head, Body, All
17915 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17919 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17920 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17921 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17922 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17923 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17924 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17925 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17929 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17930 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17931 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17932 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17933 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17934 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17935 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17936 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17937 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17938 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17939 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17943 @cindex Score File Atoms
17945 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17946 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17949 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17950 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17952 @item mark-and-expunge
17953 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17954 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
17957 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
17958 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
17959 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
17960 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
17961 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
17964 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
17965 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
17968 @item exclude-files
17969 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
17970 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
17974 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
17975 ignored when handling global score files.
17978 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
17979 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
17980 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
17981 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
17984 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
17985 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
17986 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
17987 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
17989 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
17993 (mark-and-expunge -100)
17996 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
17997 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
17998 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
17999 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18000 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18002 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18003 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18004 scoring rules exist.
18007 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18008 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18009 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18010 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18011 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18012 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18013 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18014 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18015 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18016 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18017 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18021 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18022 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18023 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18024 file for a number of groups.
18027 @cindex local variables
18028 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
18029 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
18030 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
18031 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
18032 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
18036 @node Score File Editing
18037 @section Score File Editing
18039 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18040 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18041 with a mode for that.
18043 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18044 additional commands:
18049 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18050 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18051 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18052 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18055 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18056 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18057 Insert the current date in numerical format
18058 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18059 you were wondering.
18062 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18063 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18064 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18065 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18066 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18071 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18073 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18074 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18076 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18077 e} to begin editing score files.
18080 @node Adaptive Scoring
18081 @section Adaptive Scoring
18082 @cindex adaptive scoring
18084 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18085 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18086 stupidity, to be precise.
18088 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18089 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18090 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18091 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18092 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18093 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18094 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18095 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18096 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18098 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18099 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18100 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18101 might look something like this:
18104 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18105 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18106 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18107 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18108 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18109 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18110 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18111 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18112 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18113 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18114 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18115 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18118 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18119 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18120 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18121 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18122 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18123 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18126 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18127 will be applied to each article.
18129 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18130 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18131 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18132 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18134 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18135 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18136 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18137 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18139 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18140 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18141 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18142 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18144 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18145 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18146 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18147 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18148 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18149 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18151 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
18152 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
18153 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
18154 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
18155 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
18156 aspirins afterwards.)
18158 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18159 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18160 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18162 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18163 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18164 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18166 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18167 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18168 let you use different rules in different groups.
18170 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18171 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18172 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18175 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18176 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18177 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18178 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18179 the length of the match is less than
18180 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18181 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18184 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18185 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18186 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18187 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18188 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18191 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18192 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18193 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18194 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18195 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18198 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18199 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18200 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18201 score with 30 points.
18203 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18204 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18205 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18206 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18207 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18209 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18210 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18211 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18212 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18213 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
18215 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18216 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18217 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18218 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18220 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18221 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18222 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18223 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18225 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18226 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18227 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18228 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18229 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18231 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18232 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18233 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18235 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18236 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18237 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18238 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18241 @node Home Score File
18242 @section Home Score File
18244 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18245 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18246 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18247 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18249 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18250 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18251 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18253 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18254 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18259 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18263 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18264 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18268 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18272 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18273 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18276 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18277 the home score file.
18280 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18283 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18288 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18291 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18292 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18295 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18296 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18298 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18300 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18301 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18304 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18305 Other functions include
18308 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18309 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18310 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18311 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18315 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18316 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18317 their own home score files:
18320 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18321 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18322 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18323 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18324 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18327 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18328 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18329 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18330 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18331 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18333 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18334 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18335 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18336 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18337 precedence over this variable.
18340 @node Followups To Yourself
18341 @section Followups To Yourself
18343 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18344 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18345 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18346 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18347 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18348 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18352 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18353 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18354 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18357 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18358 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18359 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18363 @vindex message-sent-hook
18364 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18365 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18367 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18371 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18372 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18376 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18377 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18380 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18381 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18386 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18390 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18391 is system-dependent.
18394 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18395 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18396 @cindex scoring on other headers
18398 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18399 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18400 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18401 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18402 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18404 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18405 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18406 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18407 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18408 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18410 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18413 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18414 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18417 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18418 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18419 time if you have much mail.
18421 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18422 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18428 @section Scoring Tips
18429 @cindex scoring tips
18435 @cindex scoring crossposts
18436 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18437 the @code{Xref} header.
18439 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18442 @item Multiple crossposts
18443 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18444 more than, say, 3 groups:
18447 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18451 @item Matching on the body
18452 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18453 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18454 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18455 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18456 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18457 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18458 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18461 @item Marking as read
18462 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18463 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18464 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18468 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18470 @item Negated character classes
18471 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18472 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18473 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18477 @node Reverse Scoring
18478 @section Reverse Scoring
18479 @cindex reverse scoring
18481 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18482 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18483 like this in your score file:
18487 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18492 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18493 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18496 @node Global Score Files
18497 @section Global Score Files
18498 @cindex global score files
18500 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18501 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18502 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18504 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18505 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18506 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18508 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18509 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18510 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18511 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18512 files are applicable to which group.
18514 To use the score file
18515 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18516 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18520 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18521 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18522 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18525 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18527 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18528 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18529 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18530 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18532 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18533 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18535 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18536 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18537 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18538 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18539 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18540 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18542 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18548 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18550 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18552 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18554 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18555 lowered out of existence.
18557 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18558 articles completely.
18561 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18562 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18563 old articles for a long time.
18566 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18567 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18568 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18569 holding our breath yet?
18573 @section Kill Files
18576 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18577 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18578 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18580 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18581 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18582 files into score files.
18584 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18585 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18586 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18587 that isn't a very good idea.
18589 Normal kill files look like this:
18592 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18593 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18597 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18598 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18600 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18601 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18604 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18609 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18610 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18611 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18614 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18615 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18616 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18619 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18624 @kindex M-k (Group)
18625 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18626 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18629 @kindex M-K (Group)
18630 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18631 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18634 Kill file variables:
18637 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18638 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18639 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18640 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18641 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18642 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18643 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18645 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18646 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18647 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18648 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18651 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18652 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18653 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18654 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18655 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18656 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18657 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18658 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18659 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18661 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18662 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18663 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18668 @node Converting Kill Files
18669 @section Converting Kill Files
18671 @cindex converting kill files
18673 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18674 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18675 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18678 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18679 You can fetch it from
18680 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18682 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18683 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18684 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18692 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18693 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18694 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18695 news articles generated every day.
18697 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18698 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18699 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18700 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18701 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18702 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18703 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18704 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18707 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18708 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18711 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18712 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18713 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18714 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18718 @node Using GroupLens
18719 @subsection Using GroupLens
18721 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18723 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18724 better bit in town at the moment.
18726 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18730 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18731 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18732 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18733 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18735 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18736 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18737 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18738 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18740 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18741 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18742 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18746 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18747 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18748 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18749 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18750 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18751 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18754 @node Rating Articles
18755 @subsection Rating Articles
18757 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18758 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18759 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18760 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18763 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18768 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18769 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18770 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18773 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18774 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18775 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18776 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18777 threads in rec.humor.
18781 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18782 the score of the article you're reading.
18787 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18788 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18789 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18792 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18793 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18794 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18798 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18799 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18802 @node Displaying Predictions
18803 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18805 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18806 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18807 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18808 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18809 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18811 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18812 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18813 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18814 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18815 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18816 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18817 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18818 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18819 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18820 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18821 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18822 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18823 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18825 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18826 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18827 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18828 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18830 The following are valid values for that variable.
18833 @item prediction-spot
18834 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18837 @item confidence-interval
18838 A numeric confidence interval.
18840 @item prediction-bar
18841 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18843 @item confidence-bar
18844 Numerical confidence.
18846 @item confidence-spot
18847 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18849 @item prediction-num
18850 Plain-old numeric value.
18852 @item confidence-plus-minus
18853 Prediction +/- confidence.
18858 @node GroupLens Variables
18859 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18863 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18864 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18865 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18866 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18869 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18870 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18873 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18874 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18876 @item grouplens-score-offset
18877 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18878 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18881 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18882 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18883 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18888 @node Advanced Scoring
18889 @section Advanced Scoring
18891 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18892 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18893 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18894 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18895 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18897 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18901 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18902 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18903 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18907 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18908 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18910 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18911 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18912 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18913 non-@code{nil} value.
18915 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18916 operator, and various match operators.
18923 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18924 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18925 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18930 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18931 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18932 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18937 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18938 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18942 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18943 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18944 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18945 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18946 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18947 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18948 the ancestry you want to go.
18950 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18951 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18952 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18953 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18954 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
18957 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
18958 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
18960 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
18961 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
18964 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
18965 when he's talking about Gnus:
18969 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18970 ("subject" "Gnus"))
18976 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
18980 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18987 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
18988 really don't want to read what he's written:
18992 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18993 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
18997 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
18998 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
18999 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19006 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19007 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19008 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19009 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19013 The possibilities are endless.
19016 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19017 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19019 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19020 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19021 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19022 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19023 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19024 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19025 @samp{subject}) first.
19027 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19028 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19039 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19040 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19046 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19053 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19054 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19059 @section Score Decays
19060 @cindex score decays
19063 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19064 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19065 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19066 use them in any sensible way.
19068 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19069 @findex gnus-decay-score
19070 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19071 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19072 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19073 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19074 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19075 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19076 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19077 definition of that function:
19080 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19082 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19083 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19086 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19088 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19090 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19093 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19094 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19095 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19096 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19100 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19103 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19106 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19110 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19111 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19112 the new score, which should be an integer.
19114 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19115 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19120 @include message.texi
19121 @chapter Emacs MIME
19122 @include emacs-mime.texi
19124 @include sieve.texi
19134 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19135 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19136 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19137 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19138 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19139 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19140 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19141 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19142 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19143 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19144 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19145 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19146 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19147 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19148 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19149 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19150 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19151 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19152 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19156 @node Process/Prefix
19157 @section Process/Prefix
19158 @cindex process/prefix convention
19160 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19161 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19163 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19164 command to be performed on.
19168 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19169 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19170 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19171 with the current one.
19173 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19174 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19175 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19177 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19178 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19181 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19182 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19184 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19187 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19188 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19189 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19190 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19192 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19193 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19194 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19195 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19196 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19197 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19198 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19199 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19201 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19202 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19203 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19204 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19205 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19209 @section Interactive
19210 @cindex interaction
19214 @item gnus-novice-user
19215 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19216 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19217 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19218 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19219 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19222 @item gnus-expert-user
19223 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19224 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19225 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19226 matter how strange.
19228 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19229 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19230 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19231 is @code{t} by default.
19233 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19234 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19235 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19240 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19241 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19242 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19244 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19245 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19246 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19247 rule of 900 to the current article.
19249 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19250 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19251 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19252 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19253 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19254 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19255 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19257 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19258 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19259 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19260 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19261 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19262 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19263 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19264 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19265 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19267 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19268 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19269 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19271 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19275 @node Formatting Variables
19276 @section Formatting Variables
19277 @cindex formatting variables
19279 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19280 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19281 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19282 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19283 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19286 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19287 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19288 lots of percentages everywhere.
19291 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19292 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19293 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19294 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19295 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19296 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19297 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19298 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19301 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19302 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19303 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19304 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19305 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19306 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19307 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19308 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19310 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19311 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19313 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19314 @findex gnus-update-format
19315 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19316 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19317 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19318 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19322 @node Formatting Basics
19323 @subsection Formatting Basics
19325 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19326 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19327 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19329 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19330 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19331 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19332 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19333 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19336 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19337 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19338 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19339 less than 4 characters wide.
19341 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19342 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19345 @node Mode Line Formatting
19346 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19348 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19349 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19350 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19351 with the following two differences:
19356 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19359 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19360 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19361 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19362 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19363 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19364 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19365 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19370 @node Advanced Formatting
19371 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19373 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19374 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19375 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19376 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19378 These are the valid modifiers:
19383 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19387 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19392 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19395 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19400 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19403 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19406 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19409 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19415 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19420 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19421 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19422 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19423 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19424 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19425 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19426 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19428 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19429 last operation, padding.
19431 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
19432 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
19433 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
19434 @xref{Compilation}.
19437 @node User-Defined Specs
19438 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19440 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19441 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19442 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19443 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19444 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19445 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19446 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19447 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19448 should protect against that.
19450 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19451 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19453 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19454 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19455 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19456 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19460 @node Formatting Fonts
19461 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19463 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19464 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19465 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19466 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19469 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19470 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19471 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19472 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19473 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19474 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19476 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19477 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19478 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19479 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19480 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19481 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19482 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19483 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19484 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
19485 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
19487 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19490 ;; Create three face types.
19491 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19492 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19494 ;; We want the article count to be in
19495 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19496 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19497 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19499 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19500 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19502 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19503 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19504 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19507 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19508 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19510 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19511 mode-line variables.
19513 @node Positioning Point
19514 @subsection Positioning Point
19516 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19517 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19518 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19520 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19522 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19523 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19524 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19526 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19527 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
19528 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19533 @subsection Tabulation
19535 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19536 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19537 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19538 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19540 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19541 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19543 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19544 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19545 This is the soft tabulator.
19547 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19548 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19549 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19552 @node Wide Characters
19553 @subsection Wide Characters
19555 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19556 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19557 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19559 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19560 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19561 these coutries, that's not true.
19563 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19564 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19565 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19566 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
19570 @node Window Layout
19571 @section Window Layout
19572 @cindex window layout
19574 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19576 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19577 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19578 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19579 @code{t} by default.
19581 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19582 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19584 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19585 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19586 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19589 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19590 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19591 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19595 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19596 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19597 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19598 possible names is listed below.
19600 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19601 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19604 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19608 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19609 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19610 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19611 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19612 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19613 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19614 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19615 size spec per split.
19617 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19618 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19619 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19620 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19621 present) gets focus.
19623 Here's a more complicated example:
19626 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19627 (summary 0.25 point)
19628 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19632 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19633 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19634 occupy, not a percentage.
19636 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19637 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19638 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19639 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19640 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19643 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19646 (article (horizontal 1.0
19651 (summary 0.25 point)
19656 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19657 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19659 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19660 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19661 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19662 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19663 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19665 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19666 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19667 lines from the splits.
19669 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19673 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19674 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19675 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19676 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19677 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19678 size = number | frame-params
19679 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19682 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19683 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19684 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19685 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19687 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19688 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19689 @cindex window height
19690 @cindex window width
19691 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19692 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19693 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19694 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19695 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19696 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19698 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19699 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19700 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19701 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19703 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19704 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19705 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19706 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19707 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19708 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19709 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19710 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19711 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19712 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19713 configuration list.
19716 (gnus-configure-frame
19720 (article 0.3 point))
19728 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19729 @code{frame} split:
19732 (gnus-configure-frame
19735 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19737 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19738 (user-position . t)
19739 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19744 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19745 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19746 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19747 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19748 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19749 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19750 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19751 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19753 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19754 be found in its default value.
19756 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19757 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19758 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19762 (message (horizontal 1.0
19763 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19765 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19770 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19771 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19772 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19777 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19778 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19779 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19780 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19781 (name . "Message"))
19782 (message 1.0 point))))
19785 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19786 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19787 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19788 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19789 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19792 (gnus-add-configuration
19793 '(article (vertical 1.0
19795 (summary .25 point)
19799 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19800 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19801 Gnus has been loaded.
19803 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19804 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19805 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19806 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19807 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19809 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19810 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19811 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19814 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19818 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19819 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19834 (gnus-add-configuration
19837 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19839 (summary 0.16 point)
19842 (gnus-add-configuration
19845 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19846 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19852 @node Faces and Fonts
19853 @section Faces and Fonts
19858 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19859 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19860 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19865 @section Compilation
19866 @cindex compilation
19867 @cindex byte-compilation
19869 @findex gnus-compile
19871 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19872 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19873 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
19874 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19875 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19876 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19879 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19880 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19881 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19882 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
19883 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
19884 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
19885 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
19889 @section Mode Lines
19892 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19893 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19894 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
19895 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
19896 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
19897 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
19898 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
19901 @cindex display-time
19903 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
19904 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
19905 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
19906 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
19907 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
19908 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
19909 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
19910 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19913 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19915 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19916 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19918 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19919 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19920 (length display-time-string)))))
19923 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19924 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19925 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19926 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19927 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19930 @node Highlighting and Menus
19931 @section Highlighting and Menus
19933 @cindex highlighting
19936 @vindex gnus-visual
19937 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19938 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19939 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19942 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19943 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19946 @item group-highlight
19947 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19948 @item summary-highlight
19949 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19950 @item article-highlight
19951 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19953 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
19955 Create menus in the group buffer.
19957 Create menus in the summary buffers.
19959 Create menus in the article buffer.
19961 Create menus in the browse buffer.
19963 Create menus in the server buffer.
19965 Create menus in the score buffers.
19967 Create menus in all buffers.
19970 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
19971 buffers, you could say something like:
19974 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
19977 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
19980 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
19983 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
19984 in all Gnus buffers.
19986 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
19989 @item gnus-mouse-face
19990 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
19991 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
19992 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
19996 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20000 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20001 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20002 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20004 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20005 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20006 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20008 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20009 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20010 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20012 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20013 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20014 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20016 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20017 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20018 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20020 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20021 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20022 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20033 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20034 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20035 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20036 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20037 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20041 @vindex gnus-carpal
20042 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20043 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20044 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20049 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20050 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20051 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20053 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20054 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20055 Face used on buttons.
20057 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20058 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20059 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20061 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20062 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20063 Buttons in the group buffer.
20065 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20066 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20067 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20069 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20070 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20071 Buttons in the server buffer.
20073 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20074 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20075 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20078 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20079 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20080 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20088 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20089 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20090 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20091 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20092 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20094 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20095 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20096 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20098 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20099 been idle for thirty minutes:
20102 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20105 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20109 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20112 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20113 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20114 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20116 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20117 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20118 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20119 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20121 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20122 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20123 @var{idle} minutes.
20125 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20126 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20129 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20130 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20131 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20133 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20134 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20135 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20136 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20138 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20139 your @file{.gnus} file:
20141 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20143 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20146 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20147 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20148 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20149 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20150 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20151 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20152 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20153 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20154 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20155 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20156 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
20158 @findex gnus-demon-init
20159 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20160 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20161 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20162 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20163 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20165 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20166 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20167 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20176 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20177 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20179 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20180 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20181 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20182 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20185 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20186 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20187 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20188 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20190 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20191 this will make spam disappear.
20193 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20196 @item gnus-use-nocem
20197 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20198 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20201 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20202 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20203 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20204 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20205 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20207 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20208 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20209 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20210 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20211 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20212 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20214 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20215 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20217 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20218 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20219 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20220 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20221 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20222 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20223 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20224 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20225 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20226 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20228 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20229 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20232 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20235 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20236 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20239 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20242 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20245 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20246 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20248 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20249 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20250 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20251 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20253 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20254 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20257 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20259 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20267 This might be dangerous, though.
20269 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20270 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20271 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20272 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20274 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20275 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20276 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20277 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20278 might then see old spam.
20280 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20281 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20282 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20283 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20284 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20287 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20288 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20289 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20290 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20294 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20295 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20296 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20297 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20304 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20305 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20306 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20308 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20309 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20310 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20311 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20312 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20313 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20314 @code{undo} function.
20316 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20317 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20318 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20319 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20320 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20321 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20322 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20323 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20324 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20325 never be totally undoable.
20327 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20328 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20330 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20331 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20332 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20333 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20337 @node Predicate Specifiers
20338 @section Predicate Specifiers
20339 @cindex predicate specifiers
20341 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20342 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20343 to type all that much.
20345 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20350 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20351 gnus-article-unread-p)
20354 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20355 functions all take one parameter.
20357 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20358 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20359 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20360 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20365 @section Moderation
20368 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20369 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20370 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20373 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20377 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20380 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20382 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20387 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20388 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20389 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20392 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20393 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20396 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20397 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20401 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20404 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20405 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20409 @node Image Enhancements
20410 @section Image Enhancements
20412 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20413 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20416 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20417 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20418 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20419 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20420 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20433 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20434 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20435 over your shoulder as you read news.
20438 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20439 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20440 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20441 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20442 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20447 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20449 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20458 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20459 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20460 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20461 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20462 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20463 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20464 @code{GIF} formats.
20467 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20468 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20469 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20470 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20471 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20473 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20474 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20475 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20476 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20477 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20478 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20480 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20481 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20484 @node Picon Requirements
20485 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20487 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20488 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20489 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20490 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20492 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20493 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20494 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20495 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20496 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20497 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20500 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20502 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20503 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20506 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20507 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20510 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20511 containing the Picons databases.
20513 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20516 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20517 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20522 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20530 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20531 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20532 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20533 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20534 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20539 @item gnus-picons-database
20540 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20541 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20542 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20543 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20544 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20545 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20547 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20548 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20549 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20550 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20551 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20552 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20553 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20555 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20556 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20557 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20558 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20559 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20560 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20561 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20562 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20564 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20565 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20566 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20571 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20572 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20574 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20575 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20578 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20580 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20581 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20582 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20583 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20585 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20586 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20587 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20588 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20594 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20595 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20603 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20604 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20605 don't need to worry about.
20609 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20610 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20611 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20612 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20614 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20615 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20616 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20617 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20619 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20620 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20621 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20622 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20623 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20625 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20626 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20627 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20628 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20629 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20630 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20631 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20632 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20634 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20635 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20636 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20637 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20638 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20640 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20641 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20642 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20643 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20644 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20645 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20646 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20648 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20649 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20650 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20651 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20653 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20654 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20655 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20656 Defaults to @code{t}.
20658 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20659 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20660 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20661 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20663 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20664 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20665 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20667 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20668 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20669 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20670 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20672 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20673 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20675 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20676 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20677 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20678 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20679 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20680 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20681 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20682 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20693 @subsection Smileys
20698 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20703 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20704 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20706 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20707 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20710 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20713 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20714 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20715 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20716 text and maps that to file names.
20718 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20719 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20720 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20721 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20722 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20723 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20725 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20726 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20728 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20729 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20730 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20732 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20733 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20737 @item smiley-data-directory
20738 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20739 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20741 @item smiley-flesh-color
20742 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20743 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20745 @item smiley-features-color
20746 @vindex smiley-features-color
20747 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20749 @item smiley-tongue-color
20750 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20751 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20753 @item smiley-circle-color
20754 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20755 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20757 @item smiley-mouse-face
20758 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20759 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20768 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20769 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20770 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20774 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20775 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20776 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20777 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20785 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20786 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20787 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20788 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20790 The variable that controls this is the
20791 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20792 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20793 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20794 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20795 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20797 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20798 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20799 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20800 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20803 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20804 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20805 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20806 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20807 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20808 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20809 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20810 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20812 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20815 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20816 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20818 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20819 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20820 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20821 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20822 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20823 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20825 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20826 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20827 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20829 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20830 like the folllowing in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20833 (setq message-required-news-headers
20834 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20835 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20838 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20841 (setq message-required-news-headers
20842 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20843 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20844 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20845 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20850 @subsection Toolbar
20860 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20861 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20862 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20863 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20864 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20866 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20867 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20868 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20870 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20871 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20872 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20874 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20875 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20876 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20882 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20885 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20886 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20887 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20888 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20889 unusual directory structure.
20891 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20892 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20893 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20894 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20896 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20897 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20898 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20899 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20900 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20901 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20903 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20904 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20905 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20919 @node Fuzzy Matching
20920 @section Fuzzy Matching
20921 @cindex fuzzy matching
20923 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20924 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20926 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
20927 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
20928 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
20930 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
20931 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
20932 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
20933 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
20934 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
20937 @node Thwarting Email Spam
20938 @section Thwarting Email Spam
20942 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20944 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
20945 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
20946 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
20947 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
20948 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
20949 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
20950 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
20951 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
20954 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
20955 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
20956 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
20957 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
20958 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
20959 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
20964 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
20965 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
20966 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
20969 @node Anti-Spam Basics
20970 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
20974 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20976 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
20977 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
20979 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
20980 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
20981 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
20982 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
20983 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
20984 part of the mail address.)
20987 (setq message-default-news-headers
20988 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
20991 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
20992 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20997 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
20998 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
20999 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21005 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21006 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21007 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21008 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21010 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21011 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21012 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21013 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21014 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21015 your fancy split rule in this way:
21020 (to "larsi" "misc")
21024 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21025 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21026 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21027 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21028 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21030 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21031 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21032 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21033 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21034 cosmic balance somewhat.
21036 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21037 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21038 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21039 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21044 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21045 @cindex SpamAssassin
21046 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21049 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21050 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21051 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21052 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21053 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21054 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21055 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21057 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21058 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21059 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21060 Specifiers}) follows.
21064 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21067 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21070 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21071 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21072 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21075 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21079 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21082 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21083 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21087 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21088 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21089 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21090 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21093 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21095 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21097 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21098 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21100 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21102 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21103 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21107 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21108 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21109 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21112 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21113 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21115 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21116 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21117 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21121 @subsection Hashcash
21124 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21125 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21126 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21127 since it is not part of the internet standards, but it may be useful
21128 in smaller communities.
21130 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21131 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21132 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21133 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21134 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21135 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21136 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21137 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21138 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21139 one of them separately.
21142 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21143 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21144 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21145 header. For more details, and for the external application
21146 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21147 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21148 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21150 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21154 (require 'hashcash)
21155 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21158 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21159 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21160 development contrib directory.
21162 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21166 @item hashcash-default-payment
21167 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21168 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21169 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21170 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21172 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21173 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21174 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21175 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21176 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21177 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21178 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21179 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21183 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21187 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21188 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21189 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21190 a useful contribution, however.
21192 @node Various Various
21193 @section Various Various
21199 @item gnus-home-directory
21200 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
21201 defaults to @file{~/}.
21203 @item gnus-directory
21204 @vindex gnus-directory
21205 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
21206 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
21207 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
21209 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
21210 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
21211 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
21212 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
21214 @item gnus-default-directory
21215 @vindex gnus-default-directory
21216 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
21217 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
21218 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
21219 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
21220 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
21221 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
21224 @vindex gnus-verbose
21225 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
21226 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
21227 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
21228 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
21229 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
21231 @item gnus-verbose-backends
21232 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
21233 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
21234 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
21236 @item nnheader-max-head-length
21237 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
21238 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
21239 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
21240 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
21241 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
21242 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
21243 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
21244 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
21245 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
21247 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
21248 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
21249 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
21250 read when doing the operation described above.
21252 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21253 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21255 @cindex invalid characters in file names
21256 @cindex characters in file names
21257 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
21258 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
21259 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
21262 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21266 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
21267 Windows (phooey) systems.
21269 @item gnus-hidden-properties
21270 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
21271 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
21272 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
21273 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
21275 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
21276 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
21277 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
21278 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
21279 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
21281 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
21282 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
21283 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
21285 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21286 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21288 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
21289 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
21290 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
21291 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
21294 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
21302 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
21303 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
21305 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
21307 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
21313 Not because of victories @*
21316 but for the common sunshine,@*
21318 the largess of the spring.
21322 but for the day's work done@*
21323 as well as I was able;@*
21324 not for a seat upon the dais@*
21325 but at the common table.@*
21330 @chapter Appendices
21333 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
21334 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
21335 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
21336 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
21337 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
21338 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
21339 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
21340 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
21341 * Frequently Asked Questions::
21348 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
21350 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
21351 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
21352 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
21353 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
21354 @samp{xemacs-base}, and @samp{fsf-compat}.
21361 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
21362 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
21364 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
21365 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
21366 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
21367 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
21368 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
21370 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
21371 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
21372 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
21373 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
21374 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
21375 appropriate name, don't you think?)
21377 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
21378 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
21379 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
21380 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
21383 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
21384 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
21385 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
21386 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
21387 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
21388 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
21389 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
21390 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
21391 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
21395 @node Gnus Versions
21396 @subsection Gnus Versions
21398 @cindex September Gnus
21400 @cindex Quassia Gnus
21401 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
21405 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
21406 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
21407 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
21409 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
21410 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
21412 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
21413 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
21415 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
21416 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
21418 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
21419 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
21422 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
21424 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
21425 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
21426 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
21427 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
21428 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
21429 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
21432 @node Other Gnus Versions
21433 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
21436 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
21437 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
21438 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
21439 @sc{mime} capabilities.
21441 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
21442 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
21443 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
21444 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
21451 What's the point of Gnus?
21453 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
21454 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
21455 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
21456 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
21457 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
21458 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
21459 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
21460 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
21461 keep track of millions of people who post?
21463 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
21464 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
21465 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
21466 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
21467 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
21468 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
21469 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
21470 every one of you to explore and invent.
21472 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
21473 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
21476 @node Compatibility
21477 @subsection Compatibility
21479 @cindex compatibility
21480 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
21481 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
21482 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
21487 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
21491 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
21494 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
21497 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
21498 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
21499 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
21500 important variables have their values copied into their global
21501 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
21502 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
21504 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
21505 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
21506 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
21507 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
21508 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
21512 @cindex highlighting
21513 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
21514 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
21515 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
21516 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
21517 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
21518 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
21521 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
21522 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
21523 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
21524 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
21526 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
21527 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
21528 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
21529 to stop doing it the old way.
21531 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
21533 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21535 @cindex reporting bugs
21537 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
21538 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
21539 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
21541 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
21542 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
21543 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
21544 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
21549 @subsection Conformity
21551 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
21552 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
21560 There are no known breaches of this standard.
21564 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
21566 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
21567 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
21568 We do have some breaches to this one.
21574 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
21575 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
21576 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
21577 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
21578 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
21583 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
21584 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
21585 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
21586 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
21588 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
21590 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
21592 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
21593 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
21595 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
21598 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
21599 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
21600 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
21601 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
21602 decoding (verification and decryption).
21604 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
21605 RFC 2015 (superceded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
21606 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
21607 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
21609 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
21610 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
21612 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
21613 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
21614 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
21615 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
21616 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
21617 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
21618 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
21622 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
21623 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
21628 @subsection Emacsen
21634 Gnus should work on :
21642 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
21646 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
21647 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
21650 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
21651 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
21652 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
21656 @node Gnus Development
21657 @subsection Gnus Development
21659 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
21660 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
21661 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
21662 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
21663 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
21664 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
21665 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
21666 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
21668 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
21669 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
21670 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
21671 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
21672 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
21675 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
21676 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
21677 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
21678 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
21679 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
21681 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
21682 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
21683 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
21684 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
21685 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
21686 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
21687 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
21688 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
21689 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
21690 can't be assumed to do so.
21695 @subsection Contributors
21696 @cindex contributors
21698 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
21699 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
21700 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
21701 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
21702 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
21703 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
21704 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
21705 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
21706 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
21707 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
21709 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
21715 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
21718 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
21719 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
21720 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
21721 functionality and stuff.
21724 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
21725 well as numerous other things).
21728 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
21731 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
21734 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
21737 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
21740 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
21741 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
21744 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
21747 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
21748 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
21751 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
21754 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
21757 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
21760 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
21763 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
21764 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
21767 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
21770 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
21773 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
21776 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
21780 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
21783 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
21786 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
21789 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
21790 well as autoconf support.
21794 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
21795 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
21797 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
21806 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
21810 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
21820 Alexei V. Barantsev,
21835 Massimo Campostrini,
21840 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
21841 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
21845 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
21848 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
21854 Michael Welsh Duggan,
21859 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
21863 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
21871 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
21873 Michelangelo Grigni,
21877 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
21879 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
21881 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
21888 François Felix Ingrand,
21889 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
21890 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
21892 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
21903 Peter Skov Knudsen,
21904 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
21906 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
21907 Thor Kristoffersen,
21910 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
21928 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
21929 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
21936 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
21941 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
21945 John McClary Prevost,
21951 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
21956 Christian von Roques,
21959 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
21966 Philippe Schnoebelen,
21968 Randal L. Schwartz,
21982 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
21987 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
22003 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
22008 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
22009 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
22010 (550kB and counting).
22012 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
22015 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
22016 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
22020 @subsection New Features
22021 @cindex new features
22024 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
22025 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
22026 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
22027 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
22028 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
22031 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
22032 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
22033 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
22036 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
22038 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
22043 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
22044 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
22047 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
22048 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
22051 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
22054 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
22055 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
22056 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
22059 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
22060 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
22061 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
22062 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22065 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
22066 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22069 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
22070 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
22071 (@pxref{The Active File}).
22074 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
22075 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
22078 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
22079 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
22080 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22083 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
22084 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
22085 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
22088 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
22089 the @file{.emacs} file.
22092 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
22093 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
22096 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
22097 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
22100 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
22101 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22104 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
22105 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
22108 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
22109 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22112 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
22115 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
22116 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
22119 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
22120 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
22123 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
22124 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
22127 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
22130 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
22131 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22134 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
22138 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
22142 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
22143 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
22146 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
22152 @node September Gnus
22153 @subsubsection September Gnus
22157 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
22161 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
22166 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
22167 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
22171 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
22172 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
22176 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
22180 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
22181 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
22184 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
22188 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22191 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
22194 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
22197 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
22201 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
22202 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
22205 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
22209 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
22213 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
22217 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
22221 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
22224 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
22225 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
22228 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
22232 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
22233 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
22236 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
22239 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
22240 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
22241 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22244 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
22248 The Gnus cache is much faster.
22251 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
22255 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
22256 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
22259 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
22260 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
22263 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
22264 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22267 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
22268 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
22269 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
22272 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
22273 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
22276 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
22279 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22282 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
22285 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
22288 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
22289 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
22292 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
22296 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
22299 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
22304 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
22307 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
22311 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22314 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
22318 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
22321 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
22324 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
22325 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22328 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
22329 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
22333 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
22334 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
22337 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
22341 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
22342 buffer to allow easier treatment.
22345 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
22348 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
22352 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
22356 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
22357 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
22360 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
22364 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
22365 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22368 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
22369 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22372 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
22376 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22379 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
22382 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
22388 @subsubsection Red Gnus
22390 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
22394 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
22401 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
22404 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
22405 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22408 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
22409 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
22413 Article washing status can be displayed in the
22414 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
22417 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
22420 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
22421 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
22424 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
22428 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
22429 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
22433 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
22434 Server Internals}).
22437 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
22441 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
22444 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
22445 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
22448 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
22449 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
22450 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
22453 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
22454 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22457 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
22458 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
22461 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
22465 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
22466 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22469 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
22470 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22473 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
22477 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
22480 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
22484 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
22485 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22488 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
22489 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22492 A new command for reading collections of documents
22493 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
22494 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
22497 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
22501 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
22502 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
22505 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
22506 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
22507 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
22510 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
22511 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
22515 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
22519 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
22523 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
22528 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
22532 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
22536 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
22537 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
22540 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
22546 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
22548 New features in Gnus 5.6:
22553 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
22554 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
22555 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
22558 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
22559 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
22560 group, which is created automatically.
22563 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
22567 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
22570 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
22571 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
22574 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
22578 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
22581 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
22582 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
22585 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
22588 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
22589 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
22592 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
22593 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
22596 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
22597 control over simplification.
22600 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
22603 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
22607 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
22610 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
22613 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
22614 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
22615 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
22618 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
22619 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
22622 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
22626 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
22627 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
22630 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
22631 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
22634 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
22638 A history of where mails have been split is available.
22641 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
22644 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
22645 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
22648 A new function for citing in Message has been
22649 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
22652 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
22655 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
22659 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
22660 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
22663 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
22664 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
22667 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
22670 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
22674 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
22675 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
22677 New features in Gnus 5.8:
22682 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
22683 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
22685 If you used procmail like in
22688 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
22689 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
22690 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
22691 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
22694 this now has changed to
22698 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
22702 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
22703 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
22706 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
22707 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
22710 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
22711 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
22714 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
22715 called to position point.
22718 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
22719 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
22722 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
22723 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
22726 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
22727 subtly different manner.
22730 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
22731 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
22732 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
22735 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
22743 @section The Manual
22747 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
22748 either @code{texi2dvi}
22750 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
22751 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
22753 to get what you hold in your hands now.
22755 The following conventions have been used:
22760 This is a @samp{string}
22763 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
22766 This is a @file{file}
22769 This is a @code{symbol}
22773 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
22777 (setq flargnoze "yes")
22780 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
22783 (setq flumphel 'yes)
22786 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
22787 ever get them confused.
22791 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
22792 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
22793 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
22794 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
22795 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
22796 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
22797 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
22803 @node On Writing Manuals
22804 @section On Writing Manuals
22806 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
22807 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
22808 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
22809 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
22810 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
22811 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
22814 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
22815 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
22816 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
22819 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
22820 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
22825 @section Terminology
22827 @cindex terminology
22832 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
22833 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
22834 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
22835 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
22836 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
22840 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
22841 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
22842 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
22843 not posting, and replying is not following up.
22847 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
22851 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
22856 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
22857 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
22858 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
22859 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
22860 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
22861 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
22862 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
22863 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
22864 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
22866 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
22867 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
22868 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
22869 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
22870 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
22873 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
22874 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
22875 access the articles.
22877 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
22878 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
22879 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
22884 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
22885 default, way of getting news.
22889 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
22890 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
22895 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
22896 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
22900 A message that has been posted as news.
22903 @cindex mail message
22904 A message that has been mailed.
22908 A mail message or news article
22912 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
22917 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
22922 A line from the head of an article.
22926 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
22927 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
22931 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
22932 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
22933 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
22934 normal @sc{head} format.
22938 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
22939 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
22940 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
22941 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
22942 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
22943 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
22945 @item killed groups
22946 @cindex killed groups
22947 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
22948 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
22950 @item zombie groups
22951 @cindex zombie groups
22952 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
22955 @cindex active file
22956 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
22957 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
22958 is rather large, as you might surmise.
22961 @cindex bogus groups
22962 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
22963 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
22964 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
22967 @cindex activating groups
22968 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
22969 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
22970 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
22974 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
22976 @item select method
22977 @cindex select method
22978 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
22981 @item virtual server
22982 @cindex virtual server
22983 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
22984 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
22985 whole is a virtual server.
22989 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
22990 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
22993 @item ephemeral groups
22994 @cindex ephemeral groups
22995 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
22996 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
22997 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
23000 @cindex solid groups
23001 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
23002 group buffer are solid groups.
23004 @item sparse articles
23005 @cindex sparse articles
23006 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
23007 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
23011 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
23012 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
23016 @cindex thread root
23017 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
23018 articles in the thread.
23022 An article that has responses.
23026 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
23030 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
23031 specified by RFC 1153.
23037 @node Customization
23038 @section Customization
23039 @cindex general customization
23041 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
23042 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
23043 for some quite common situations.
23046 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
23047 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
23048 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
23049 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
23053 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
23054 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
23056 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
23057 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
23058 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
23062 @item gnus-read-active-file
23063 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
23064 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
23065 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23066 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
23067 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
23069 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
23070 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
23071 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
23072 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
23076 @node Slow Terminal Connection
23077 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
23079 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
23080 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
23081 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
23085 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
23086 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
23087 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
23088 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
23089 horizontal and vertical recentering.
23091 @item gnus-visible-headers
23092 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
23093 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
23094 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
23095 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
23097 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
23099 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
23100 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
23101 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
23104 @item gnus-use-full-window
23105 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
23106 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
23107 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
23108 want to read them anyway.
23110 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
23111 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
23115 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
23116 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
23117 lines, which might save some time.
23121 @node Little Disk Space
23122 @subsection Little Disk Space
23125 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
23126 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
23130 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
23131 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
23132 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23133 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23136 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
23137 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
23138 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23139 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23142 @item gnus-save-killed-list
23143 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
23144 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
23145 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
23146 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
23152 @subsection Slow Machine
23153 @cindex slow machine
23155 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
23156 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
23158 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23159 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
23161 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
23162 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
23163 summary buffer faster.
23167 @node Troubleshooting
23168 @section Troubleshooting
23169 @cindex troubleshooting
23171 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
23179 Make sure your computer is switched on.
23182 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
23183 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
23187 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
23188 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
23189 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
23190 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
23193 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
23197 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
23198 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
23199 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
23200 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
23201 something like that.
23204 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
23207 @cindex reporting bugs
23209 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23211 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
23212 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
23213 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
23214 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
23216 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
23217 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
23218 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
23219 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
23222 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
23223 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
23224 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
23225 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
23226 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
23227 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
23229 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
23230 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
23231 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
23235 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
23236 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
23239 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
23240 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
23241 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
23242 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
23243 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
23244 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
23245 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
23246 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
23247 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
23248 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
23249 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
23250 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
23251 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
23252 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
23254 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
23255 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
23257 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
23258 @cindex ding mailing list
23259 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
23260 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
23264 @node Gnus Reference Guide
23265 @section Gnus Reference Guide
23267 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
23268 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
23269 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
23270 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
23273 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
23274 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
23275 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
23276 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
23277 and general methods of operation.
23280 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
23281 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
23282 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
23283 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
23284 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
23285 * Group Info:: The group info format.
23286 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
23287 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
23288 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
23292 @node Gnus Utility Functions
23293 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
23294 @cindex Gnus utility functions
23295 @cindex utility functions
23297 @cindex internal variables
23299 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
23300 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
23301 Below is a list of the most common ones.
23305 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
23306 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
23307 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
23309 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
23310 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
23311 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
23313 @item gnus-group-real-name
23314 @findex gnus-group-real-name
23315 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
23318 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
23319 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
23320 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
23321 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
23323 @item gnus-get-info
23324 @findex gnus-get-info
23325 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
23327 @item gnus-group-unread
23328 @findex gnus-group-unread
23329 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
23333 @findex gnus-active
23334 The active entry for @var{group}.
23336 @item gnus-set-active
23337 @findex gnus-set-active
23338 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
23340 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23341 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23342 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
23345 @item gnus-continuum-version
23346 @findex gnus-continuum-version
23347 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
23348 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
23351 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
23352 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
23353 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
23355 @item gnus-news-group-p
23356 @findex gnus-news-group-p
23357 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
23359 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23360 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23361 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
23363 @item gnus-server-to-method
23364 @findex gnus-server-to-method
23365 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
23367 @item gnus-server-equal
23368 @findex gnus-server-equal
23369 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
23371 @item gnus-group-native-p
23372 @findex gnus-group-native-p
23373 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
23375 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
23376 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
23377 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
23379 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
23380 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
23381 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
23383 @item group-group-find-parameter
23384 @findex group-group-find-parameter
23385 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
23386 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
23388 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
23389 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
23390 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
23392 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
23393 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
23394 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
23396 @item gnus-check-backend-function
23397 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
23398 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
23399 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
23402 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
23406 @item gnus-read-method
23407 @findex gnus-read-method
23408 Prompts the user for a select method.
23413 @node Back End Interface
23414 @subsection Back End Interface
23416 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
23417 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
23418 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
23419 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
23420 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
23421 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
23423 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
23424 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
23425 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
23426 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
23427 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
23428 been opened, the function should fail.
23430 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
23431 name. Take this example:
23435 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
23436 (nntp-port-number 4324))
23439 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
23440 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
23442 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
23443 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
23444 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
23446 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
23447 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
23448 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
23450 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
23451 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
23452 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
23453 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
23454 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
23455 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
23458 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
23459 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
23460 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
23461 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
23464 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
23465 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
23466 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
23467 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
23468 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
23469 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
23470 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
23471 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
23472 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
23473 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
23475 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
23476 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
23477 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
23478 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
23479 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
23480 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
23481 of numbers as long as possible.
23483 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
23486 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
23489 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
23490 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
23491 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
23492 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
23493 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
23494 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
23498 @node Required Back End Functions
23499 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
23503 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
23505 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
23506 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
23507 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
23508 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
23510 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
23511 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
23512 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
23513 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
23515 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
23516 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
23517 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
23518 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
23519 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
23520 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
23521 number, do maximum fetches.
23523 Here's an example HEAD:
23526 221 1056 Article retrieved.
23527 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
23528 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
23529 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
23530 Subject: Re: Something very droll
23531 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
23532 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
23534 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
23535 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
23536 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
23540 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
23541 these in the data buffer.
23543 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
23547 head = error / valid-head
23548 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
23549 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
23550 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
23551 header = <text> eol
23554 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
23555 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
23559 nov-buffer = *nov-line
23560 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
23561 field = <text except TAB>
23564 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
23568 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
23570 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
23571 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
23573 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
23574 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
23575 server. In fact, it should do so.
23577 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
23578 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
23581 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
23583 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
23584 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
23587 There should be no data returned.
23590 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
23592 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
23593 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
23594 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
23595 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
23597 There should be no data returned.
23600 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
23602 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
23603 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
23604 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
23605 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
23607 There should be no data returned.
23610 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
23612 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
23614 There should be no data returned.
23617 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
23619 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
23620 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
23621 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
23622 it would be nice if that were possible.
23624 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
23625 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
23626 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
23627 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
23628 into its article buffer.
23630 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
23631 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
23632 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
23633 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
23634 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
23635 on successful article retrieval.
23638 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
23640 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
23641 making @var{group} the current group.
23643 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
23646 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
23649 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
23652 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
23653 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
23654 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
23655 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
23656 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
23657 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
23658 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
23659 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
23660 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
23664 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
23665 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
23666 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
23670 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23672 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
23673 a no-op on most back ends.
23675 There should be no data returned.
23678 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
23680 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
23683 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
23686 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
23687 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
23690 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
23691 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
23692 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
23693 and the highest as 0.
23696 active-file = *active-line
23697 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
23699 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
23702 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
23703 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
23704 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
23707 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
23709 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
23710 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
23711 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
23712 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
23713 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
23714 clear if the posting could not be completed.
23716 There should be no result data from this function.
23721 @node Optional Back End Functions
23722 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
23726 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
23728 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
23729 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
23730 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
23732 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
23733 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
23734 former is in the same format as the data from
23735 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
23736 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
23739 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
23743 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
23745 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
23746 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
23747 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
23748 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
23749 should return the (altered) group info.
23751 There should be no result data from this function.
23754 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
23756 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
23757 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
23758 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
23759 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
23760 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
23761 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
23762 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
23763 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
23765 There should be no result data from this function.
23768 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
23770 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
23771 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
23772 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
23773 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
23774 propagate the mark information to the server.
23776 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
23779 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
23782 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
23783 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
23784 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
23785 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
23786 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
23787 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
23788 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
23789 possible, not limit itself to these.
23791 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
23792 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
23793 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
23794 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
23796 An example action list:
23799 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
23800 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
23801 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
23804 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
23805 mark on (currently not used for anything).
23807 There should be no result data from this function.
23809 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
23811 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
23812 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
23813 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
23814 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
23815 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
23817 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
23818 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
23819 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
23822 There should be no result data from this function.
23825 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
23827 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
23828 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
23829 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
23830 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
23831 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
23832 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
23833 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
23835 There should be no result data from this function.
23838 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
23840 The result data from this function should be a description of
23844 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
23846 description = <text>
23849 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
23851 The result data from this function should be the description of all
23852 groups available on the server.
23855 description-buffer = *description-line
23859 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
23861 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
23862 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
23863 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
23864 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
23865 in the active buffer format.
23867 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
23868 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
23869 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
23870 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
23871 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
23872 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
23873 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
23876 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23878 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
23880 There should be no return data.
23883 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
23885 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
23886 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
23887 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
23888 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
23889 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
23892 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
23895 There should be no result data returned.
23898 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
23901 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
23902 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
23904 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
23905 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
23906 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
23907 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
23908 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
23909 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
23911 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
23912 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
23915 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23916 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23918 There should be no data returned.
23921 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
23923 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
23924 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
23925 this function in short order.
23927 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23928 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23930 There should be no data returned.
23933 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
23935 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
23936 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
23938 There should be no data returned.
23941 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
23943 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
23944 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
23945 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
23947 There should be no data returned.
23950 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
23952 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
23953 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
23955 There should be no data returned.
23960 @node Error Messaging
23961 @subsubsection Error Messaging
23963 @findex nnheader-report
23964 @findex nnheader-get-report
23965 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
23966 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
23967 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
23968 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
23969 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
23970 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
23973 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
23975 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
23978 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
23979 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
23980 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
23981 takes one argument---the server symbol.
23983 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
23984 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
23985 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
23988 @node Writing New Back Ends
23989 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
23991 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
23992 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
23993 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
23994 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
23995 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
23998 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
23999 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
24000 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
24002 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
24003 package called @code{nnoo}.
24005 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
24006 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
24012 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
24013 parameters. For instance:
24016 (nnoo-declare nndir
24020 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
24021 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
24024 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
24025 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
24026 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
24028 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
24029 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
24030 a function in those back ends.
24033 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
24034 "Where nndir will look for groups."
24035 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
24038 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
24039 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
24040 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
24042 @item nnoo-define-basics
24043 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
24047 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
24051 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
24052 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
24053 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
24055 @item nnoo-map-functions
24056 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
24057 functions from the parent back ends.
24060 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24061 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24062 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
24065 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
24066 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
24067 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
24068 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
24071 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
24072 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
24073 haven't already been defined.
24079 nnmh-request-newgroups)
24083 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
24084 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
24085 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
24090 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
24093 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
24094 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
24098 (require 'nnheader)
24102 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
24104 (nnoo-declare nndir
24107 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
24108 "Where nndir will look for groups."
24109 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
24111 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
24112 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
24115 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
24117 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
24118 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
24119 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
24121 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
24122 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
24124 ;;; Interface functions.
24126 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
24128 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
24129 (setq nndir-directory
24130 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
24132 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
24133 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
24134 (push `(nndir-current-group
24135 ,(file-name-nondirectory
24136 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24138 (push `(nndir-top-directory
24139 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24141 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
24143 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24144 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24145 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24146 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
24147 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
24151 nnmh-status-message
24153 nnmh-request-newgroups))
24159 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24160 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24162 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
24163 @findex gnus-declare-backend
24164 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
24165 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
24166 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
24168 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
24169 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
24174 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
24177 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
24179 The abilities can be:
24183 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
24185 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
24187 This back end supports both mail and news.
24189 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
24192 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
24193 articles and groups.
24195 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
24196 true for almost all back ends.
24197 @item prompt-address
24198 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
24199 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
24200 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
24204 @node Mail-like Back Ends
24205 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
24207 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
24208 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
24209 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
24210 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
24213 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
24214 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
24215 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
24218 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
24219 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
24222 This function takes four parameters.
24226 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
24229 @item exit-function
24230 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
24232 @item temp-directory
24233 Where the temporary files should be stored.
24236 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
24237 performed for one group only.
24240 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
24241 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
24242 find the article number assigned to this article.
24244 The function also uses the following variables:
24245 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
24246 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
24247 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
24248 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
24252 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
24253 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
24257 @node Score File Syntax
24258 @subsection Score File Syntax
24260 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
24261 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
24262 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
24264 Here's a typical score file:
24268 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
24275 BNF definition of a score file:
24278 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
24279 element = rule / atom
24280 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
24281 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
24282 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
24283 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
24285 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
24286 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
24287 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
24288 date-header = "date"
24289 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24290 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24291 score = "nil" / <integer>
24292 date = "nil" / <natural number>
24293 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
24294 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
24295 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
24296 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
24297 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24298 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24299 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
24300 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24301 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
24302 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
24303 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
24304 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
24305 exclude-files / read-only / touched
24306 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
24307 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
24308 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
24309 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
24310 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
24311 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
24312 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
24313 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
24314 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
24315 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
24316 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
24317 eval = "eval" space <form>
24318 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
24321 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
24324 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
24325 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
24326 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
24327 one looong line, then that's ok.
24329 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
24330 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24334 @subsection Headers
24336 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
24337 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
24338 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
24339 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
24341 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
24342 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
24343 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
24344 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
24345 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
24346 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
24347 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
24349 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
24350 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
24351 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
24352 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
24353 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
24355 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
24356 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
24362 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
24363 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
24365 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
24366 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
24367 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
24368 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
24370 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
24374 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
24377 is transformed into
24380 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
24383 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
24384 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
24387 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
24390 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
24391 is slightly tricky:
24394 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
24400 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
24403 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
24409 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
24416 and is equal to the previous range.
24418 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
24419 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
24420 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
24424 range = simple-range / normal-range
24425 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
24426 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
24427 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
24428 number *[ " " contents ]
24431 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
24432 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
24433 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
24434 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
24435 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
24440 @subsection Group Info
24442 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
24443 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
24444 describes the group.
24446 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
24447 second is a more complex one:
24450 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
24452 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
24453 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
24455 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
24458 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
24459 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
24460 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
24461 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
24462 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
24463 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
24464 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
24465 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
24466 this section is about.
24468 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
24469 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
24470 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
24472 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
24475 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
24476 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
24477 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24478 group = quote <string> quote
24479 ralevel = rank / level
24480 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24481 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
24482 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24484 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
24485 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
24486 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
24487 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
24490 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
24491 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
24494 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
24495 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
24498 @item gnus-info-group
24499 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
24500 @findex gnus-info-group
24501 @findex gnus-info-set-group
24502 Get/set the group name.
24504 @item gnus-info-rank
24505 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
24506 @findex gnus-info-rank
24507 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
24508 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
24510 @item gnus-info-level
24511 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
24512 @findex gnus-info-level
24513 @findex gnus-info-set-level
24514 Get/set the group level.
24516 @item gnus-info-score
24517 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
24518 @findex gnus-info-score
24519 @findex gnus-info-set-score
24520 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
24522 @item gnus-info-read
24523 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
24524 @findex gnus-info-read
24525 @findex gnus-info-set-read
24526 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
24528 @item gnus-info-marks
24529 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
24530 @findex gnus-info-marks
24531 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
24532 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
24534 @item gnus-info-method
24535 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
24536 @findex gnus-info-method
24537 @findex gnus-info-set-method
24538 Get/set the group select method.
24540 @item gnus-info-params
24541 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
24542 @findex gnus-info-params
24543 @findex gnus-info-set-params
24544 Get/set the group parameters.
24547 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
24548 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
24550 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
24551 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
24552 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
24553 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
24556 @node Extended Interactive
24557 @subsection Extended Interactive
24558 @cindex interactive
24559 @findex gnus-interactive
24561 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
24562 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
24563 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
24566 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
24567 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
24572 The best thing to do would have been to implement
24573 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
24574 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
24575 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
24576 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
24577 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
24578 @code{interactive}.
24580 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
24585 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
24586 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
24590 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
24591 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
24592 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
24595 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
24599 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
24603 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
24609 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
24610 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
24614 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
24615 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
24616 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
24618 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
24619 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
24620 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
24621 Gnus, that's very useful.
24623 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
24624 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
24625 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
24626 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
24627 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
24628 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
24629 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
24630 following function:
24633 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
24637 (,function ,@@args))
24641 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
24642 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
24643 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
24646 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
24647 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
24648 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
24650 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
24651 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
24652 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
24655 @node Various File Formats
24656 @subsection Various File Formats
24659 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
24660 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
24664 @node Active File Format
24665 @subsubsection Active File Format
24667 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
24668 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
24671 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
24674 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
24675 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
24676 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
24677 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
24678 no.general 1000 900 y
24681 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
24684 active = *group-line
24685 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
24686 group = <non-white-space string>
24688 high-number = <non-negative integer>
24689 low-number = <positive integer>
24690 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
24693 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
24694 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
24697 @node Newsgroups File Format
24698 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
24700 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
24701 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
24702 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
24705 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
24706 Here's the definition:
24710 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
24711 group = <non-white-space string>
24713 description = <string>
24718 @node Emacs for Heathens
24719 @section Emacs for Heathens
24721 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
24722 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
24723 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
24724 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
24725 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
24726 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
24727 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
24731 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
24732 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
24737 @subsection Keystrokes
24741 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
24744 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
24747 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
24748 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
24749 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
24750 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
24751 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
24752 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
24754 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
24755 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
24756 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
24757 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
24758 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
24759 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
24760 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
24762 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
24763 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
24764 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
24765 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
24766 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
24767 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
24768 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
24770 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
24771 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
24772 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
24773 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
24774 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
24780 @subsection Emacs Lisp
24782 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
24783 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
24784 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
24785 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
24787 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
24788 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
24789 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
24790 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
24791 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
24792 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
24793 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
24796 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
24797 write the following:
24800 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
24803 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
24804 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
24805 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
24808 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
24809 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
24810 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
24811 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
24812 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
24814 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
24815 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
24816 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
24820 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
24824 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
24827 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
24828 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
24831 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
24834 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
24835 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
24838 @include gnus-faq.texi
24858 @c Local Variables:
24860 @c coding: iso-8859-1
24862 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
24863 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
24864 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
24865 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
24866 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref